Recapitalisation: Shareholders Ask Regency Alliance to Retain Dividend

Recapitalisation: Shareholders Ask Regency Alliance to Retain Dividend

Ebere Nwoji

Shareholders of Regency Alliance Plc, have urged the management of the company, to retain the dividend for the 2018 financial year, in order to support the company’s move to raise additional capital.

They made the recommendation during the company’s 25th Annual General Meeting in Lagos. The Chairman of the company, Amb Baba Gana Kingibe, had announced a dividend pay-out of N200 million for the financial year under review.

He explained: “But the shareholders suggested that the dividends should be ploughed back into the business in lieu of pending recapitalisation.”
The company’s gross premium rose by 1.30 per cent from N3.368 billion in 2017, to N3.408 billion in 2018.

The effect of increased premium generation, he added, was however significantly eroded by the 24.30 per cent increase in net claims, 8.93 per cent increase in underwriting expenses and 3.94 per cent increase in management expenses when comparing the 2018 figures with that of 2017.

He said there was an increase of 24.37 per cent in the investment income of the company, which was reflective of the high deposit rates and government yield rates offered during the year.
The chairman disclosed that there was an increase of 6.68 per cent in profit after tax, from N196.475 million in 2017 to N209.599 million in 2018.

“It is expected that our company, building on the gains of past financial discipline and strategic positioning, will continue to produce better results in the future,” he said.
The chairman said the total asset base of the company grew by 6.48 per cent from 7.345 billion in 2017 to N7.821 billion in 2018.

“This was due primarily to the effect of the foreign exchange translation loss arising from consolidating RegencyNem Insurance Limited Ghana’s account.
“Total assets for our group and our company as at December 31st, 2018 stood at N9.853 billion and N7.821 billion respectively,” he said.
The chairman said the company’s expansion into retail insurance was being pursued with renewed vigour.

According to him, the company intends to increase its market penetration through the deployment of an e-commerce platform on its website.

After presenting the 2018 performance of the company, Kingibe announced his departure from the board. He expressed his gratitude to the board, management, staff and shareholders for their support in the last nine years.

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