STI records N9.2bn balance sheet

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc  has said it has grown its balance sheet to N9.5 billion in its 2016 financial accounts from N9.2 billion in its 2015 year end.

Disclosing this to shareholders at the company’s 22nd Annual General Meeting(AGM) in Lagos, the chairman, Mr. Oluseun Ajayi, said that its investment income also grew by 32 percent from N214 million in 2015 to N281 million in 2016.

While the total comprehensive income for the year net of tax rose to N186 million in 2016 from N19 million in 2015.

The company’s  profit before tax for the year under review was greatly impacted, as it dropped from N454 million in 2015 to N44.98 million in 2016, this he attributed to company’s increase in foreign currency exposure and the drop in consumption of insurance by the insuring public.

However, company Gross Premium Written dropped slightly by 12 percent from N7.1 billion in 2015 to N6.3 billion in 2016.
   He noted that the year under review was a tough year for many business operators and the insurance industry with an attendant foreign exchange scarcity which had negative effect on the value of the Naira.

He said the recessed economic situation, that pervaded operations of most corporate organisations in the country, is beginning to show signs of recovery, believing the firm will be a beneficiary of the recovery process in the current year.