Royal Exchange pays N3bn as claims in FY2015, posts N10.7bn as GWP

The management of Royal Exchange Plc, says it paid a sum of N3 billion claims for the financial year ended December 31, 2015, which represent an increase of 26 percent from 2014, which was N2.4 billion.

The Nigeria’s premier insurance and financial services group also posted a Gross Written Premium of N10.7 billion from its business activities which represented an increase of 14 percent over the figure of 2014, which stood at N9.4billion.

Reading the firm’s financial stand in the year ended 2015, at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company in Lagos, Group Managing Director, Alhaji Auwalu Muktari, said that the underwriter’s Net Premium Income for the period amounted to N8.4Billion, with a modest growth of 9 percent over that of Year 2014, which stood at N7.8 billion.

The Total Assets of the firm also increased to N26.525 billion, up by two percent from the preceding year.

Despite the harsh operating environment Muktari, said that the group was able to grow its top-line figures by participating in large-ticket financial transactions, as well as playing in the retail insurance market, which shall be a key growth driver in the years ahead.

“Royal Exchange Plc will in the years to come, continue to be an aggressive player in the retail market in Nigeria and will be looking at different strategies to increase its product offering and visibility in the marketplace, while not losing track of the corporate market, where the returns and margins, are dwindling, yearly.”

The Group Managing Director noted that the bottom-line results of the group did not turn out as expected, due to increase in operational costs, branch expansion, acquisition of new business solutions to improve its internal business processes, as well as thin margins on investments.

To stem this tide, Alhaji Muktari said that “the company has implemented various cost optimization strategies and measures which shall guarantee profitability in both the current financial year and the years ahead.

He further added that the Group will under some form of restructuring, to enable it streamline its operations and processes and make it more responsive to the changing needs and demands of its clientele.

A shareholders’ activist, Nona Awo, lauded the firm for its donations and urged the management to consider merging the life and non life firms to improve profitability.

Gbenga Idowu, a shareholder of the firm congratulates the board for a job well done and for enabling the subsidiaries to make profits.

He also commended the firm for looking into the future through investment in information technology that would help drive its operations.

Another shareholder Chief T .O Adegboyega urged the firm to intensify efforts in growing its investment income.

He lauded the board for controlling its expenses and called on the management to pay attention to directors’ allowances and the consultancy fees.

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