Linkage Assurance Plc office

Linkage Assurance Plc, one of the non-life insurance groups in the country, has settled recorded profit to the tune of N171.01 million for the period ended December 31, 2011.

Within the same period, shareholders’ fund in the company was grown marginally from N4.80 billion in to N5.14 billion. This information formed part of the contents of the company’s 2011 Annual Report unveiled at the 18th Annual General Meeting of the company in Lagos recently.

Gross premium written by the firm last year peaked at N2.28 billion, a 7.01 per cent increase over the figure for the previous year which was N2.14 billion. Also, gross premium earned by the firm fell by 2.99 per cent, going down from N2.31 billion in the previous year to N2.24 billion last year.

Premium earned by the firm within the year under consideration also went down by 5.08 per cent, falling from N1.77 billion in 2010 to N1.68 billion last year while commission earned by the group rose from N106.53 million in 2010 to N118.43 million last year, an 11.09 per cent increase.

Within the year under review, total income raked in by the company last year went down from N1.88 billion in 2010 to N1.80 billion last year, a 4.26 per cent shortfall.

Also last year, Linkage Assurance incurred claims to the tune of N493.06 million last year, a 30.75 per cent improvement in customers’ expectations met and surpassed.  In the previous year, claim incurred by the firm was N377.11 million.

Also within the same period, Linkage Assurance made underwriting profits to the tune of N437.69 million; this went down by 23.71 per cent when compared with the N573.74 million made in 2010. Also, the firm made N36.83 million profit from its managed funds last year, a 93.43 per cent increase over the N19.04 million recorded in the previous year.

Investment income raked in by the firm last year was 43.12 per cent higher than that of the previous year as it rose from N34.15 million in 2010 to N506.87 million in 2011. Also, other incomes raked in by the firm fell by 58.58 per cent, going down from N59.56 million in 2010 to N24.67 million last year.

The company recorded an N265.15 million profit before exceptional items and tax for the year, a 5.30 per cent shortfall from the N279.98 million recorded in the previous year.

Profit before tax recorded by the firm peaked last year at N238.71 million, a 289.93 per cent improvement on the N125.69 million loss before tax that it suffered in the 2010 financial year.  Also its profit after tax rose to N171.01 million, a 213.30 per cent increase over the N150.93 million loss after tax suffered by the firm the 2010 financial year.

Linkage Assurance within the year under consideration maintained its paid-up share capital, share premium and revaluation reserve at N2.55 billion, N729.04 million and N440.36 million respectively.

Its contingency reserve was increased by 13.83 per cent from N496.44 million in 2010 to N565.08 million in 2011 while its general reserve was raised from N1.20 billion deficits in 2010 to N1.10 billion deficits last year.

Also shareholders’ interest in the company was grown to the tune of 7.08 per cent from N4.80 billion in 2010 to N5.14 billion last year. The company however increased the balance in its insurance fund by 37.30 per cent, raising it from N681.62 million in 2010 to N565.08 million in 2011.

Linkage Assurance last year reduced its long term investments to the tune of 7.08 per cent from N1.13 billion in 2010 to N1.05 billion last year while increasing its short term investments by 4.80 per cent from N1.25 billion in the previous year to

The firm also reduced its fixed assets by 3.70 per cent from N707.49 million as at the end of 2010 accounting period to N681.33 million last year while its total assets were grown by 7.08 per cent from N4.80 billion in 2010 to N5.14 billion last year.

The non-life insurer’s basic earnings per share rose by 13.33 per cent from 3 kobo per share in the previous year to 3.4 kobo per share last year.