LUR rallies market with dividend payout as profit exceeds N1 billion

DESPITE the economic headwinds that characterised the business en vironment in the past year , an underwriting firm, Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc (LUR), at the end of 2017 financial year, recorded a Profit Before Tax of N1.1 billion.

This is a 66.8 per cent increase from the 2016 fig- ure of N658.64 million, while Profit After Tax also appreciated by 62.1 per cent, moving from N561.85 million in 2016 to N910.71 million at the end of the review period, underscoring the capability of the board and management to enhance shareholders value.

With the profit, shareholders of the company will smile to the bank for a dividend payout after a long period of reinvestment and ploughing back of earnings for growth and expansion.

Its earnings per share stood at 21 kobo, as against 16 kobo in the previous year, indicating increase in shareholders’ value.

The company, a major player in the nation’s insur- ance industry, providing risk management services to different sectors of the economy, during the period under review, also recorded a gross premium income of N4.25 billion, as against N3.9 billion in 2016, showing an eight per cent increase.

In the firm’s full year audited result, investment and other income also appreciated remarkably to N912.5 million from N687.3 million in 2016. A further insight into the financials show a quantum growth in total assets of the company in 2017, which grew by 16.9 percent, from N8.58 billion in 2016 to N10.03 billion in the review year.

The company also kept its own side of the contract with its teaming customers, paying claims and claims expenses of N1.4 billion, as against N967.8 million in the past year. The positive growth in all the indices in the review year has been attributed to management’s efforts to increase market share and deepen penetration, with the launch of several new products.