Cornerstone Insurance Posts N126m Profit in 2003
By Nnamdi Duru
Cornerstone Insurance Plc, a new generation underwriting firm operating in the country has posted N126.23 million profit after tax from its operations last year, increasing its net assets to N72.7 million last year. The company's after tax profit improved by 40.32 percent while its asset base was increased by 11.56 percent.
This information is the content of the company's 2003 annual REport and Accounts made available to the public at the company's 12th Annual General Meeting in Lagos recently.
Last year, the company was able to rake in N1.219 billion gross premium and N978.25 million net premium income respectively. These were 22 percent improvement on gross premium income which stood at N1.001 billion in 2002 and 50.66 percent increase over net premium income that was N649.32 million retained the previous year.
Its profit before tax last year was 19.92 percent higher than what it was the previous year, rising from N149.52 million in 2002 to N179.3 million in 2003. Likewise, the company's profit after tax peaked at N126.23 million last year, a 40.32 percent rise in the amount recorded the previous year, which was N89.96 million.
The company also increased its paid-up share capital by 80 percent from N210 million the previous year to N378 million last year as well as increase its insurance fund by 141.61 percent from N41.71 million in 2002 to N100.76 million in 2003.
The company's total assets was also grown by 11.56 percent from N638.86 million the previous year to N712.7 million last year while improving upon the dividends paid to its shareholders by 25 percent from N42 million paid out to shareholders the previous year to N52.5 million last year.
The dividend's per share which stood at 10 kobo per share at the end of the previous year increased to 12.5 kobo for every 50 kobo ordinary share held in the company by the end of lat year while earnings per share increased by 25 percent, rising from 12 kobo per share in 2002 to 15 kobo per share in 2003.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the company, Mr. Ambrose Feese in his statement noted that the year under consideration was characterised y the introduction of different policies aimed at stimulating foreign direct investment, local productiona nd redirecting public investment to provision of infrastructures.
He observed that the nations foreign income was ignificantly boosted by the increased in the international price of crude oil.
He also regretted that "the year was fraught with epileptic power supply, increased energy prices as a result of deregulation of prices of petroleum products, depreciating the value of the Naira, civil and industrial stife and intermittent crisis in the oil producing Niger Delta region, capital flight and a weak economy".
He further regretted that the targetted 5 percent Gross Demostic Products growth was not realised while inflation peaked at 21.2 percent as against 12.9 percent the previous year. The value of the national currency according to him fell by 15 percent last year, from N120.50 to a Dollar to N138.20.
The only notable achievement recorded by the Federal Government last year according to him was the 51 percent divestment of government in Nigeria Reinsurance Corporatin to a the Reinsurance Acquisition Group in a management buyout.
|
