Markets

WAPIC Insurance Records Profit of N1.5bn in Nine Months

Published

8 years ago

November 2, 2016

WAPIC Insurance Records Profit of N1.5bn in Nine Months

Shareholders of Wapic Insurance Plc should expect improved returns in the current year, going by the performance of the company for the nine months ended September 30, 2016. The insurance firm announced gross written premiums of N6.406 billion, up by 13 per cent from N5.673 billion in the corresponding period of 2015.

Net underwriting income improved by 12 per cent to N3.676 billion, from N3.268 billion, while total underwriting expenses rose by 56 per cent to N1.953 billion to N3.050 billion.

Net investment and other income soared by 121 per cent from N1.488 billion to N3.282 billion, while profit before tax jumped by 1,293 per cent from N108 million to N1.508 billion in 2016.

Commenting on the results Managing Director of Wapic Insurance Plc, Yinka Adekoya, said: “Despite the macro-economic headwinds constraining growth in Nigeria and the policy challenges within both Nigeria and Ghana, we recorded N6.4 billion in Q3 2016 group gross premiums, a 13 per cent growth from Q3 2015. Our pre-tax profits also soared by 1293 per cent over the corresponding period of 2015.

We remain focused on deepening our retail distribution, improving operational efficiencies and projecting the Wapic brand in order to achieve our stated goal of regional leadership in the insurance sector.”

Giving more highlights of the company’s performance during the review period, he said the N2.1 billion paid out in claims, a 111 per cent increase in payout experience as against Q3 2015.

He added that the company got AM Best financial strength rating (FSR) of B- and issuer credit rating (ICR) of bb-, while it established a global depositary receipts(GDR) programme with Bank of New York Mellon as depositary bank, offering enhanced access to global capital markets and a measure of currency stability for shareholders.

Meanwhile, the equities market rebounded yesterday with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) gaining 0.12 per cent to close at 27,252.48. Similarly, market capitalisation added N11.1 billion to close at N9.4 trillion.

Performance in the market was mainly driven by bargain hunting in Tier-1 banks – Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (+1.3 per cent) and Zenith Bank Plc (+0.8 per cent). The performance was also bolstered by strong buy sentiment in Okomu Oil Palm Plc following investors’ reactions to its impressive nine months results.

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Samed Olukoya

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Crude Oil

Oil Prices Rebound on OPEC+ Output Delay Talks and U.S. Inventory Drop

Published

2 days ago

September 5, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Oil prices made a modest recovery on Thursday on the expectations that OPEC+ may delay planned production increases and the drop in U.S. crude inventories.

Brent crude oil, against which Nigerian oil is priced, rose by 66 cents, or 0.9% to $73.36 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude appreciated by 64 cents or 0.9% to $69.84 per barrel.

The rebound in oil prices was a result of the American Petroleum Institute (API) report that revealed that the U.S. crude oil inventories had fallen by a surprising 7.431 million barrels last week, against analysts 1 million barrel decline projection.

The decline signals better than projected demand for the commodity in the United States of America and offers some relief for traders on global demand.

John Evans, an analyst at PVM Oil Associates, attributed the rebound in crude oil prices to the API report.

He said, “There is a pause of breath and light reprieve for oil prices.”

Also, discussions within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, collectively known as OPEC+, are fueling speculation about a potential delay in planned output increases.

The group was initially expected to increase production by 180,000 a day in October 2024.

However, concerns over softening demand in China and potential developments in Libya’s oil production have prompted the group to reconsider its strategy.

Despite the recent rebound, analysts caution that lingering uncertainties around global oil demand may continue to weigh on prices in the near term.

Energy

Power Generation Surges to 5,313 MW, But Distribution Issues Persist

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Samed Olukoya

Nigeria’s power generation continues to get better under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

According to the latest statement released by Bolaji Tunji, the media aide to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, power generation surged to a three-year high of 5,313 megawatts (MW).

“The national grid on Monday hit a record high of 5,313MW, a record high in the last three years,” the statement disclosed.

Reacting to this, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, called on power distribution companies to take more energy to prevent grid collapse as the grid’s frequency drops when power is produced and not picked by the Discos.

He added that efforts would be made to encourage industries to purchase bulk energy.

However, a top official of one of the Discos was quoted as saying that the power companies were finding it difficult to pick the extra energy produced by generation companies because they were not happy with the tariff on other bands apart from Band A.

“As it is now, we are operating at a loss. Yes, they supply more power but this problem could be solved with improved tariff for the other bands and more meter penetration to recover the cost,” the Disco official, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, said.

On Saturday, the ministry said power generation that peaked at 5,170MW was ramped down by 1,400MW due to Discos’ energy rejection.

Crude Oil

Again NNPC Raises Petrol Price to N897/litre

Published

3 days ago

September 4, 2024

Investors King

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has once again increased the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N855 per litre on Tuesday to N897 on Wednesday.

The increase was after Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of Dangote Refinery, announced the commencement of petrol production at its refinery.

The continuous increase in pump prices has raised concerns among Nigerians despite the initial excitement from the refinery announcement.

According to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), the 650,000 barrels per day refinery will supply 25 million litres of petrol to the Nigerian market daily this September.

This, NMDPRA said will increase to 30 million litres per day in October.

However, the promise of increased fuel supply has not yet eased the situation on the ground.

Tunde Ayeni, a commercial bus driver at an NNPC station in Ikoyi, said “I have been in the queue since 6 a.m. waiting for them to start selling, but we just realised that the pump price has been changed to N897. This is terrible, and yet they still haven’t started selling the product.”

The price hike comes as NNPC continues to struggle with sustaining regular fuel supply.

On Sunday, the company warned that its ability to maintain steady distribution across the country was under threat due to financial strain.

NNPC cited rising supply costs as the cause of its difficulties in keeping up with demand.