Goddy Egene
The Chairman, Board of Directors of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc, Mr. Obinna Ekezie, has said the years ahead are indeed bright for the company and its stakeholders because the company would leverage on its continued expansion as a one -stop insurance and other financial services provider through its subsidiaries.
Okezie, who spoke at the annual general meeting (AGM) held Lagos, recently, said CHI Plc would not relent in boosting working capital while awaiting developments in the recapitalisation journey of the insurance industry.
Ekezie said that the local insurance operating environment was characterised by activities of operators geared towards meeting the recapitalisation thresholds set by the industry regulator The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) the previous year.
According to him, He said that the first phase of the recapitalisation exercise required that operators meet a minimum of 50 per cent of the new requirement by December, 2020 and the balance to be met in September, 2021.
Although the recapitalization exercise is put on hold due to court action, Ekezie said CHI Plc proactively continued with the raising of additional capital, with a successful Rights Issue where 2,032,500,000 shares were offered and fully subscribed notwithstanding the limitations imposed by the pandemic.
“We thank you for your immense support which culminated in the success of the capital raise and shall not relent in taking further steps to boost our working capital as we await further developments on recapitalisation from the industry regulator.
“The next phase of our fund drive shall be conveyed to you, distinguished shareholders, as we take definite steps towards meeting the N10 billion threshold, subject to further developments in the industry,” he said.
Speaking on the performance of the company for the 2020 financial year ended December 30, 2020, Ekezie said that amid challenges in the global and local economy owing to the COVID-19 pandemic among others, the company recorded significant growth in key performance indices.
“With the benefit of hindsight, we are quite optimistic that future operating results would be significantly improved upon as the Macro Economic Environment and Global Outlook presents brighter pictures in the years ahead.
“With business operations now getting back fully to normal and the effects of the global pandemic gradually waning, especially in our local operating environment, we are quite hopeful of further improvement in performance,” he stated.
The chairman said that CHI Plc posted an all-time high gross premium written of N9.77 billion, showing a 12 per cent growth when compared with the N8.69 billion in 2019. Profit after tax increased to N677.98 million from N600.31 million in 2019. Total assets increased by 22 per cent, growing to N14.31 billion from N11.74 billion ached in 2019.
Based on the performance, the directors recommended a dividend of N216.8 million, which translated into two kobo per share.
On his part, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, CHI Plc, Mr. Eddie Efekoha, said that the company had achieved 50.7 per cent of the mandated N10 billion thresholds by raising capital to N5.06 billion in November 2020.
“Our successful Rights Issue thus sent a signal of our commitment towards meeting the new requirement, as we achieved 50.7 per cent of the mandated N10 billion thresholds by raising our capital to N5.065billion in November 2020.
“Ahead of the earlier deadline of December 31, 2020 for 50 per cent as a general business insurer.
“Your Company shareholders fund stood at N8.03billion as at end of December, 2020.
“Although the industry recapitalisation programme is currently on hold, NAICOM has continued to adopt other measures and initiatives for the effective regulation of the industry.
“Some of which include the automation of the Annual Returns filing and licensing of more insurance companies to stimulate competition in the market.
“They have also allowed existing operators to establish micro-insurance business as a department: a development that is intended to drive up financial inclusion and increase insurance penetration in Nigeria,” he added.
Looking ahead, Efekoha foresaw an increasing positive contribution of the subsidiaries – Grand Treasurers Limited, Hallmark HMO, and recently CHI Micro-Insurance to the overall results of the group.
