SUNU Assurances reports N313.41m annual profit

SUNU Assurances Nigeria Plc has said it recorded N313.41m profit before taxation for the 2020 financial year, compared with a loss before taxation of N188m in 2019.

A statement said the Chairman of the company, Kyari Bukar, disclosed this while presenting the results to shareholders at the 34th annual general meeting of the company in Lagos.

While expressing satisfaction that the group returned to profitability during the year under review, he said it recorded a growth in its gross written premium from N3.06bn in 2019 to N4.21bn in 2020, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said this represented growth of N1.149bn in value and 37.5 per cent in percentage terms, adding that the growth was due to the group’s strategic decisions on revenue generation.

The company stated that the net claims incurred for the group increased by 14 per cent from N658m in 2019 to N752m in 2020.

The underwriting profit grew by 38 per cent from N1.19bn in 2019 to N1.64bn in 2020, which was due to a 34 per cent increase in total underwriting income from N2.43bn in 2019 to N3.25bn in 2020.

The statement said the group’s operating expenses for 2020 totalled N1.85bn, which was a 3.5 per cent decrease when compared to the 2019 figure of N1.92bn.

It said the decrease was a result of the group’s deliberate strategy to improve its operational efficiency using information technology.

The investment income for the year amounted to N345.58m, a decrease of 52 per cent over the 2019 figure of N719.53m.

This was attributed to the fall in investment rate on placements held with financial institutions and FGN securities in most part of the 2020 financial year when compared to 2019.

Bukar disclosed that the company had proceeded with its plan to raise capital, noting that the board of directors, in the exercise of the mandate by shareholders, mandated SUNU Participations Holding SA and SUNU Assurances Vie Cote D’Ivoire SA on behalf of the company to pay off the holders of all the JPY1,350,000,000 Zero-Coupon Bonds 2026 issued by the company the sum of $7,800,000.00.

This represented the outstanding indebtedness owed to the bondholders by the company as of December 31, 2019, he said.