Economy

Royal Exchange Eyes 60% Contribution of Retain Market to Revenue

Published

6 years ago

14/10/2019

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Chairman of Royal Exchange Plc, Mr Kenny Odogwu, has expressed the desire of the company to boost its revenues in the future through expansion of its presence in the retail segment of the insurance sector.

Speaking at the firm’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) recently in Lagos, Mr Odogwu described the retail market as the future of insurance in Nigeria, considering the population of the country.

He said with this in mind, the organisation would be looking into designing more insurance products tailored to meet demands in the retain market and should expect the segment to contribute about 50 to 60 percent to the total revenue generated by the insurer in the coming years.

“Royal Exchange Plc envisions a situation where the retail insurance market should be able to contribute between 50-60 percent of our revenues in the future, as the retail market is the future of insurance in Nigeria, considering the population of the country,” the Chairman told shareholders at the gathering.

Speaking further, he said, “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 getting thinner, yearly.”

He said one of the ways the company would look to expand its presence in the market segment is the agricultural sector, noting that in the couple of months, revenues would start coming in from there.

He lauded the approval given to the firm by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to undertake agricultural insurance, revealing that Royal Exchange has entered into strategic alliances with various stakeholders in the agricultural space to drive insurance with that sector of the economy

Commenting on the company’s performance in the 2018 financial year, he said it was better that the previous years despite the harsh operating environment in the country.

According to him, the insurance company performed well as a result of the cost optimisation initiatives, innovation in key categories and extensive retail market expansion as well as by participating in large-ticket financial transactions.

He said this led to the 15 percent rise in the gross written premium achieved by the firm, which left the GWP at N14.7 billion against N12.8 billion in 2017.

He said the net premium income for the period amounted to N9.1 billion which was a 29.7 percent growth over the 2018 figure; while net underwriting profit amounted to N9.73 billion in the financial year under review.

Net claims paid for the period under review amounted to N3.1 billion, an eight percent marginal reduction from the 2017 figure of N3.42 billion, while the underwriting profit improved to N3.67 billion in 2018 from N1.05 billion in 2017, with the net income closing at N4.35 billion from N2.4 billion in 2017.

Also, the total assets of the group witnessed a growth of 6.74 percent from N33.2 billion in 2017 to N35.53 billion as at December 31, 2018.

Economy

FrieslandCampina, Okitipupa Trigger 0.64% Loss at NASD OTC Bourse

Published

5 hours ago

03/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Five securities caused the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange to experience a setback of 0.64 per cent on Monday, February 2.

During the first trading session of February 2026, FrieslandCampinaWamco Nigeria Plc shrank by N4.46 to end at N63.54 per unit versus the previous session’s N68.00 per unit, as Okitipupa Plc depreciated by N3.83 to close at N230.77 per share versus last Friday’s N234.60 per share.

Further, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) dropped 50 Kobo to sell at N40.00 per unit compared with the previous closing price of N40.50 per unit, UBN Property Plc dipped by 21 Kobo to N1.99 per share from N2.20 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc lost 3 Kobo to end at N1.35 per unit versus N1.38 per unit.

As a result, the market capitalisation went down by N13.98 billion to settle at N2.158 trillion, in contrast to the previous value of N2.171 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) contracted by 23.35 points to settle at 3,606.76 points compared with last Friday’s closing value of 3,630.11 points.

Amid the loss, Geo-Fluids Plc managed to finish green after it chalked up 9 Kobo to sell at N6.84 per share versus the N5.75 per share it ended in the last trading day.

Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 1,238.5 per cent to 3.9 million units from 287,618 units, the value of securities increased by 1,075.2 per cent to N36.0 million from N3.1 million, and the number of deals soared by 90.5 per cent to 40 deals from 21 deals.

At the close of trades, CSCS Plc remained the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units valued at N623.9 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.7 million units worth N110.2 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 10.6 million units sold for N69.9 million.

CSCS Plc was also the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 15.4 million units traded for N623.9 million, trailed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 10.6 million units worth N69.9 million, and Mass Telecom Innovation Plc with 10.1 million units transacted for N4.1 million.

Economy

Renewed FX Pressure Weakens Naira to N1,390/$1 at Official Market

Published

5 hours ago

03/02/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira dropped against the United States Dollar in the the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, February 2 by N3.81 or 0.27 per cent to N1,390.36/$1 from the N1,386.55/$1 it traded last Friday.

This was driven by stronger demand for forex at the official market, which outweighed to what was available to meet customers’ needs. But the local currency remained within the expected trading range.

In the same market window, the domestic currency further appreciated against the Pound Sterling during the session by N6.72 to close at N1,899.51/£1 compared with the preceding session’s rate of N1,906.23/£1 and improved against the Euro by N7.70 to trade at N1,644.52/€1 versus the previous trading day’s value of N1,652.22/€1.

In the parallel market, the exchange rate of the Nigerian Naira to its American counterpart remained unchanged yesterday at N1,465/$1 and at the GTBank FX counter, it also maintained stability at N1,419/$1.

The Naira is expected to remain relatively stable in the coming days, boosted by stronger FX liquidity, enhanced price discovery, and a gradual restoration of offshore investor confidence while Nigeria’s external reserves, which provide the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the capacity to defend the Naira and stabilise the foreign exchange market, have continued to grow steadily.

Updated data showed that Nigeria’s gross external reserves printed at $46.18 billion as of January 29, 2026, reflecting an addition of $62.40 million.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was bullish after a sharp weekend sell-off while a resurgent US Dollar index, which has logged its strongest two-day gain in nine months, threatened to keep gains in check.

Expectations that US Federal Reserve chair nominee, Mr Kevin Warsh, will be cautious on interest-rate cuts, along with upcoming US jobs data, are seen as potential drivers of further Dollar strength.

The biggest gainer for the session was Cardano (ADA), which rose by 6.2 per cent to trade at $0.2976, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 5.5 per cent to $2,319.80, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 5.3 per cent to $0.1066, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 4.8 per cent to sell for $776.00, and Solana (SOL) added 4.6 per cent to sell at $103.75.

In addition, Litecoin (LTC) improved by 4.5 per cent to trade at $59.95, Bitcoin (BTC) appreciated by 3.6 per cent to $78,445.62, and Ripple (XRP) expanded by 3.4 per cent to $1.60, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

NGX Index Records Marginal 0.01% Rise Amid Weak Investor Sentiment

Published

9 hours ago

03/02/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited managed to finish in the green territory on Monday after it marginally closed higher by 0.01 per cent.

The last minute escape from the bears was triggered by the gains posted by large-cap equities like Zenith Bank, Aradel Holdings and others, offsetting the losses recorded by GTCO, Oando, First Holdco and others.

According to data obtained by Business Post, only 29 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 44 equities landed on the losers’ table, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.

Universal Insurance rose by 10.00 per cent to sell for N1.32, Premier Paints appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N11.00, DAAR Communications improved by 9.93 per cent to N1.55, RT Briscoe increased by 9.92 per cent to N8.64, and Morison Industries advanced by 9.91 per cent to N10.98.

On the flip side, Omatek declined by 10.00 per cent to N2.70, Union Homes REIT declined by 9.96 per cent to N85.40, AXA Mansard shrank by 9.94 per cent to N14.31, Deap Capital decreased by 9.90 per cent to N8.46, and C&I Leasing moderated by 9.80 per cent to N6.90.

On the first trading session of this week, market participants bought and sold 762.8 million shares valued at N18.4 billion in 55,374 deals compared with the 687.4 million shares worth N15.0 billion traded in 41,553 deals last Friday, a spike in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 10.97 per cent, 22.67 per cent, and 33.26 per cent, respectively.

Tantalizers ended the day as the most active stock with 88.5 million units sold for N329.4 million, Zenith Bank traded 40.2 million units worth N2.9 billion, Veritas Kapital transacted 39.2 million units valued at N92.1 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 29.3 million units for N38.1 million, and First Holdco transacted 27.6 million units worth N1.1 billion.

The sectorial performance yesterday showed that the mood of investors was in the sell region despite the slight growth recorded by Customs Street, as only the energy index closed in green, rising by 2.00 per cent.

The insurance counter was down by 1.99 per cent, the banking industry depleted by 0.64 per cent, the consumer goods shrank by 0.37 per cent, and the industrial goods retreated by 0.08 per cent.

When the first trading day of February 2026 ended on Monday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 14.23 points to 165,384.63 points from 165,370.40 points, while the market capitalization chalked up N9 billion to finish at N106.162 trillion compared with the previous session’s N106.153 trillion.