Royal Exchange office

Nnamdi Duru

Royal Exchange Plc, a financial services group with its base in insurance has recorded N658.77 million profit from its operations for the year ended December 31, 2011.

The company also grew shareholders’ stake in the company from N8.37 billion to N9.32 billion within the year under review.
This information formed part of the content of the company’s 2011 Annual Report, which the company’s board laid before shareholders at the 43rd Annual General Meeting holding in Lagos recently.

Gross written premium recorded by the insurance subsidiaries of the group last year was N6.22 billion, a 57.07 per cent increase when compared to the N3.96 billion recorded in the previous year. Gross premium earned by the subsidiaries peaked at N5.73 billion in 2011, a 48.83 per cent increase over the N3.85 billion recorded in 2010.

In the same manner, net premium received by the subsidiaries peaked at N4.01 billion, a 46.89 per cent improvement on the N2.73 billion recorded in the previous year, while commission earned by them last year was N378.48 million, a 291.80 per cent increase over the N96.60 million they raked in the previous year.

Net claims incurred by the insurance subsidiaries of the group last year peaked at N995.53 million as against N630.34 million claims paid in the previous year; surpassing customers’ expectations by 57.94 per cent.

Underwriting profit reported by the group last year was N1.93 billion, a 62.19 per cent improvement on the N1.19 billion recorded in the previous year.

However, the company suffered an N239.99 million loss on its life operations last year, a 268.56 per cent shortfall from the N142.38n million loss recorded in the previous year.

Last year, investment income raked in by the group rose to N280.42 million, a 10.24 per cent improvement on the figure for the previous year, which was N254.37 million, while the net interest income it made last year rose by 26.29 per cent, going up from N76.61 million in 2010 to N96.74 million in 2011.

Other incomes earned by the group was 28.65 per cent better that the figure for the previous year, it rose from N169.46 million in 2010 to N311.41 million in 2011.

The company also puts its profit before taxation and exceptional items at N105.64 million, a 27.26 per cent shortfall from the N145.23 million recorded in the previous year, while its profit after tax and exceptional items rose by 569.14 per cent, going up from N143.69 million as at the end of 2010 operations to N961.48 million by the close of business last year.
The Royal Exchange group also puts its profit after tax at N658.77 million, a 140.95 per cent appreciation over the N273.41 million recorded in the previous year.

Within the year under consideration, the company raised its share capital and general reserve by 12.23 per cent and 119.29 per cent respectively.  Share capital of the group was increased from N2.29 billion in 2010 to N2.57 billion last year just as its general reserve was upped from N6.48 billion deficit in 2010 to N2.28 surplus last year.

Contingency reserve and investment revaluation reserves kept by the firm were depleted to the tune of N33.29 per cent and 28.08 per cent respectively.  The former was drawn down from N787.31 million in 2010 to N525.19 million last year, while the latter was reduced from N3.17 billion in the previous year to N2.69 billion last year.

In the same manner, capital reserve kept by the group went down from N2.98 billion in 2010 to N2.69 billion last year, a 9.73 per cent decline, even as it grew shareholders’ fund in the group to the tune of 11.35 per cent, from N8.37 billion in 2010 to N9.32 billion last year.
The group also increased the balance in its insurance fund by 32.91 per cent, having raised it from N3.16 billion in 2010 to N4.20 billion in 2011.

The Royal Exchange group last year increased its short term investments and investment in properties by 21.31 per cent and 23.21 per cent respectively and reduced its long term investments by 6.86 per cent.
The group’s short term investments was grown from N714.57 million the previous year to N866.84 million last year, its investment in property was also raised from N4.61 billion in 2010 to N5.68 billion respectively last year while its long term investments was reduced from N2.96 billion in 2010 to N2.77 billion last year.

The group’s fixed assets was increased marginally to the tune of 33.33 per cent, having been raised from N1.11 billion in 2010 to N1.48 billion last year.  Its total assets went down by 22,78 per cent, from N13.08 billion as at the end of 2010 accounting period to N16.06 billion by the end of last year.

The basic earnings per share by the insurance group rose by 116.67 per cent from 0.06 kobo per share in the previous year to 0.13 kobo per share last year.