Insurers’ earnings performance raises recapitalisation hopes

Target acquisition of life underwriters

Recapitalisation is a form of a corporate reorganisation, which involves making substantial changes to a company’s capital structure. But earnings by the industry operators could serve as elixir ahead of the deadline.

Recapitalisation is one of the strategies companies use to improve their financial stability. Currently, the nation’s insurance industry is undergoing the process.The decision to recapitalise may be taken by the company voluntarily, but sometimes a company undertakes compulsory recapitalisation in compliance with a regulatory directive.

In the latter sense, recapitalisation has proven to be a useful tool in the hands of the authorities for sectoral reformation to sustain adequate economic growth and development.

To meet the compulsory recapitalisation requirements by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the sector operators will have to raise additional funds or go through mergers and acquisitions.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian insurance market has been faced with different challenges in its efforts to serve the needs of the relevant stakeholders.

As a result, NAICOM, the body responsible for the regulation of the industry has over time devised different means in its aim to achieve this.

At the 18th yearly general meeting of Life underwriting company- Capital Express Assurance Limited, it revealed plans to acquire life companies in the ongoing recapitalisation exercise in the insurance industry.The underwriter said it’s already talking to three companies for possible acquisition and it’s hopeful to retain the brand name post recapitalisation.

“Acquisition is part of our recapitalisation plan, which we submitted to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) and it was approved, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the company, Adebola Odukale, said.

Odukale who was responding to shareholders questions at the event in Lagos, said it has embarked on strategies to increase its authorized capital from initial N7.5 billion to N10 billion, and depending on the palliatives extended on the basis of the recapitalization directive, it hopes to increase the figure from N10 billion to N15 billion.

According to her, other plans of the company to meet the new capital requirement, which also got the shareholder’s approval includes rights issue and private placement.On the financial performance for the year ended December 31, 2018, Capital Express Assurance recorded a 48 percent increase in gross premium written, moving from N2.297 billion in 2017 to N3.391 billion.

Net underwriting income also rose by 41 percent to N3.317 billion in the review year, from N2.360 billion the previous year, just as the underwriting profit also rose by 3,367 percent to N1.132 billion from N32.664 million in 2017.

The company which was in negative position in 2017, also increased its profit before tax by 267 percent to close at N575.272 million, while profit after tax also rose from a negative N353.71 million to a positive N563 million, a 259 percent jerk up.

Tony Aletor, who is the vice chairman of the company, said the company’s sterling performance despite the challenging business environment was due largely its strategy for sustained growth momentum and reinvigorated marketing team.

Aletor also stated that the total assets and shareholders fund grew by 28 percent and 44 percent to N8.890 billion and N3.108 billion respectively, up from N6.925 billion and N2.156 billion in 2017.“We will continue to build on our financial strength in support of the plans of our clients and those they love in order to reinforce unwavering commitment to fulfilling our obligations, he said.