Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) plc had costs swallow up the windfall from the top-line level, leaving the company that provides various insurance service including life, pension, and special risks, with low profit margins.
For the year ended December 2013, the Great Nigeria Insurance’s net income fell by 98.60 percent to N12.70 million, from N903.09 million the same period of the corresponding year 2012.
Earnings per share slid by 39.80 percent to 33k in 2013, as against 23.60k the previous year.
The company’s underwriting profit margin (UPM) stood at 0.60 percent, which is less than 1 percent and means out of underwriting profit of N2.08 billion, Great Insurance was able to muster only N12.70 million in profit. The low UPM was due to huge underwriting expenses of N1.42 billion that overwhelmed underwriting profit.
Great Insurance’s underwriting capacity was inefficient as gross premium income reduced by 12.60 percent to N2.43 billion in 2013, from N2.78 billion the previous year.
Net premium income reduced by 16.80 percent to N2.03 billion as the insurer continues to grapple with rising underwriting and operating expenses.
Great Insurance flagging growth tells the story of how copious underwriting and operating expenses hinder insurers from making inroads into Nigeria’s large market.
This mushroom in costs may prevent insurance companies from meeting the premium income target of N1 trillion by 2018 set by NAICOM, the body that regulates insurance business in the country.
In the last rebased GDP exercise, the sector contributed 0.56 percent, less than 1 percent to the economy of N80.22 trillion. This compares with South Africa’s insurance contribution of 15 percent to its GDP and insurance’s 3.40 percent contribution to Kenya’s $53 billion GDP.
South African’s insurance penetration is the fastest in the whole world.
Great Insurance operating expenses were up by 3 percent to N910.78 million in 2013, while underwriting expenses increased by 12.70 percent to N1.42 percent.
Profit before tax (PBT) reduced by 64.72 percent to N449.70 million compared with N1.27 billion last year.
Total asset increased by 19.21 percent to N10.05 billion in 2013, from N8.43 billion in 2012.
Analysts also identified challenges befalling insurance companies operating in Africa largest economy as culture, general mind-set of people to insurance and lack of human capital, poor corporate governance issue, poor business infrastructure facilities and lack of awareness on the part of consumers on the uses and/sustainability of insurance products.
Insurance firms in Nigeria are low caps as over 80 percent quoted on the NSE have share price below N1, which highlights the need for these firms to go into mergers and acquisitions.
This strategic plan, when if pursued rigorously, will see insurers have robust capital base that will invariably put them to compete with their peers like Kenya and South Africa whose insurance penetration is spiking.
Great Insurance share price closed at N0.50 on the floor of the exchange, while market capitalisation was N1.91 billion.
BALA AUGIE
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