By Adedapo Adesanya
The Managing Director of Sovereign Trust Insurance (STI) Plc, Mr Olaotan Soyinka, has said the company will remodel its strategy to improve its performance in the years ahead.
Mr Soyinka, while speaking on the performance of the underwriter in 2020, said the adjustment to the strategy would be done in line with current realities.
He applauded the firm for its achievement last year despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the world and the #EndSARS protest in Nigeria.
Impressive Performance in 2020
The company, in its consistent manner, was able to record a 7.8 per cent growth in its Gross Premium Written (GPW) to N11.1 billion in 2020 as against N10.3 billion recorded in 2019. The net premium income grew by 10 per cent from N5.9 billion in 2019 to N6.5 billion in 2020.
The net underwriting income grew by 9.7 per cent from N6.9 billion in 2019 to N7.6 billion in 2020. This performance resulted in a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N796 million and a Profit After Tax (PAT) of N688 million in 2020, a 37 per cent increase when compared with the sum of N503 million recorded in 2019.
The size and quality of the company’s balance sheet equally improved as its total assets increased from N13.4 billion in 2019 to N14.8 billion in 2020 representing 10.5 per cent growth. Similarly, the earnings per share also improved by 33 per cent from 6 kobo in 2019 to 8 kobo in 2020.
Furthermore, the Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) of the company recorded a positive performance of 8.1 per cent in 2020 as against 5.6 per cent achieved in the corresponding year of 2019, while the Investment and other income grew by 27 per cent from N468 million in 2019 to N622 million in 2020.
“By no means, 2020 was a very tough year for many businesses, but the fundamentals of our company are strong, and this is buttressed by our capacity to remain profitable despite the harsh economic conditions prevailing in the business environment. With this result, the company remains a profitable brand,” Mr Soyinka said.
These results would be presented to shareholders at the forthcoming 26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Sovereign Trust Insurance on Thursday, May 27, 2021.
A statement from the spokesperson of the organisation, Mr Segun Bankole, disclosed that the meeting would be held at the Bay Lounge Hall, Block 12A, located on 10, Admiralty Road, Lekki, Phase 1, Lagos.
He added that not all shareholders would be permitted to physically attend in line with the federal government and Lagos State directives on the restriction on large gatherings to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, the majority of the shareholders would be participating online via a link on the company’s website, www.stiplc.com with the exception of the approved proxies of the shareholders.
The company added that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has approved the company’s application to conduct the meeting by proxy.
Dipo Olowookere