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FY2019: Prestige Assurance posts 18% profit growth as underwriting expenses bite harder

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FY2019: Prestige Assurance posts 18% profit growth as underwriting expenses bite harder

Prestige Assurance PLC has reported an 18% growth in profit translating to N76.169 million for Full Year 2019, compared to the figure it recorded in the relative period of 2018.

Basically, the slight improvement in its bottom-line derived from reasonable increase in its Reinsurance Expenses and Total Underwriting Expenses year on year.

According to the underwriter’s Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31st December 2019, posted on the website of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Friday, Gross Premium Written grew from N4.792 billion at FY2018 to N6.134 billion at FY2019.

Put differently, it appreciated by 28% in between the periods.

Profit Before Taxation (PBT) inched up by 6.1%, moving from N645.430 million at FY2018 to N684.883 million as of 31st December 2019.

Profit After Tax (PAT), which rose by 18%, climbed from N423.795 million at FY2018 to N499.964 million in the relative period of 2019.

A 17.7% growth in Earnings Per Share (EPS) saw it leap from 7.89k at FY2018 to 9.29k at FY2019.

The rise in Prestige Assurance’s Cost of Doing Business was driven largely by Reinsurance Expenses, which went up from N2.381 billion to N2.981 at FY2018 and FY2019 respectively.

Read also: NSE ROUND UP: Market remains largely bearish as companies turn in weak earnings

Also contributing to its high expenditure was its Total Underwriting Expenses, which grew from N2.469 billion at FY2018 to N2.910 billion in the year under review.

At the moment, Prestige Assurance has total outstanding shares of around 5.383 billion with a market capitalisation in the region of N3.176 billion. Its dividend yield is 5.08%.

It currently trades on the floor of the NSE at N0.59 per share.

Earnings Per Share is the profit that each unit of a company’s ordinary shares  yields  during a particular period. It is simply calculated by dividing the Profit After Tax by the company’s total outstanding shares.  Increase in a company’s EPS often reflects an improvement in its bottom-line while a fall, on the other hand, indicates a declining profit.

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