Sovereign Trust Insurance to raise N1.734 billion through right issue

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, STI, is seeking to beef up its shareholders fund by N1.734 billion, through the conduct of a rights issue.

The company is offering its shareholders ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at 50 kobo per share on the basis of one new ordinary share for every three held.

The management has enjoined all shareholders of the company to take advantage of the opportunity which commenced on Monday, July 25, 2011, and will run through August 22, 2011 by fully exercising their rights with a view to increasing their stake in the company as well grow their wealth in the very near future as the company is poised to moving on to the next phase of its growth stage.

Managing Director of STI, Mr. Wale Onaolapo, said the management of the company has set a growth agenda which is aimed at positioning the underwriting firm as one of the top five in the insurance industry in Nigeria, stating

“In achieving this aspiration, we have identified that a very robust capital base is critical to the success of the set agenda; hence the need to call on our shareholders to fully exercise their rights by fully subscribing to the rights issue and ultimately grow their investments in the company”.

He said Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc is working assiduously towards being one of the most preferred insurance companies in the country for people to do business with, invest in as well as be the choice employer of labour.

The company noted that it is quite interesting to note that the company recorded a marked positive shift from what was recorded in the financial year of 2009 when compared to the 2010 financial year performance as gross premium written in 2010 stood at N4.7billion as against N4.4billion written in 2009, representing a 7.23 per cent increase.

Another outstanding highlight of the 2010 accounts is the meteoric rise in profit after tax from N4.1million in 2009 to N308million in 2010, representing 7,256.97 per cent increase change while profit before tax in 2009 stood at N13million and grew to N415million in 2010.

In the same vein, the upward march to profitability continued in year 2011 going by the operating results for the first quarter which ended on March 31, 2011. The result showed that gross premium written stood at N2.44 billion, over the N1.67 billion that was written in the corresponding period of 2010, representing a 47 per cent increase change.

Net premium earned for the period also stood at N1.66 billion which represents a 41 per cent growth rate over the sum of N1.17 billion recorded in the same period of the last financial year.

Profit before tax in the first quarter of 2010 stood at N208.2M but rose to N597.3M in the first quarter of 2011, representing 186.9 per cent leap from the previous period under review.