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Chuks Udo Okonta
At a time where most insurance firms could not pay dividends to their shareholders, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, has once again put its investors first by paying them N216.8 million as dividend, which translated to two kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo.
The Chairman of the company, Obinna Ekezie, who disclosed this at the firm’s 26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, noted that despite the limitations on the economy during the financial year 2020, the company reported a positive result, adding that the summary of key figures showed that it generated an all-time high Gross Premium Written (GPW) of N9.77 billion which represents a 12 per cent growth when compared with the N8.69 billion reported in the same period of 2019.
He posited that the net underwriting income grew from N5.46 billion in 2019 to N6.5 billion in 2020, submitting that claims expenses jumped by 21 per cent from N3.45 billion in 2019 to N 4.17 billion in 2020, an affirmation of the firm’s commitment to continually maintain its sterling reputation of ensuring that customers get value through prompt payment of all valid claims.
“We also recorded a modest growth of 8.6% in Profit Before Tax (PBT) which moved from N711million during the preceding year to N772 million in 2020, while Prot After Tax increased to N677.98 million from N600.31 million in 2019,” he added.
The Chairman maintained that the total assets increased by 22 per cent, growing from N11.74 billion to N14.31 billion in the year under review.
“In line with our desire to continually ensure appreciable returns to our shareholders, the Board of Directors wishes to recommend an interim dividend of N216.8 million for your consideration and approval. This translates to two kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo subject to appropriate withholding tax. We remain committed towards regular dividend payments to our shareholders in appreciationoftheirfaithinthecompany,” he submitted.
He said the dividend is payable to members whose names appear in the register by close of business on the date earlier published in the notice of annual general meeting.
Ekezie said with business operations now getting back fully to normal and the effects of the global pandemic gradually waning, especially in its local operating environment, the company is quite hopeful of further improvement in performance.
The dividend presented to the shareholders was unanimously approved by the investors, who were delighted by the performance of the company.
