By Patrick Atuanya

AXA Mansard Plc has benefitted from fair value gains on bond portfolios that impetus profit as the insurer overcomes an unfavorable underwriting environment.

For the first six months through June 2023, AXA Mansard’s net income surged by 582.26 percent to N13.12 billion from N1.92 billion as at June 2022.

The growth at the bottom line (profit) was largely driven by N11.13 billion net gain or loss on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss.

Of course, the improvement in earnings is good tidings for shareholders who awaits bumper dividend at the end of the year, but that depends if the company maintains the growth momentum

AXA Mansard has a year-to-date (YTD) of 87 percent, outperforming the NGXASI index of 25.53 percent as it is enjoying the recent stock rally propelled by the market friendly policies of president Bola Tinubu.

The company posted N54.77 billion in gross premium written (GPW) as at June 2023, which is 21.81 percent higher than 2022’s N44.96 billion.

A breakdown of premium income shows revenue from the Life segment increased by 19.97 percent to N10.69 billion in June 2023 while sales from Non-Life business was up 19 percent to N22.80 billion.

It generated N21.27 billion from AXA Mansard Health (HMO) as at June 2023, which is 25.93 percent higher than 2022’s N16.89 billion as at June 2022.

Claims expenses were up 35.68 percent to N19.77 billion in the period under review from N14.57 billion the previous year.

While most insurers have recorded growth in earnings as investors continue to pile into stocks, industry contribution to the economy is discouragingly disappointing.

The reasons for the low penetration are: Lack of confidence for the claims process, cultural and religious beliefs, and weak macroeconomic conditions.

Taking up a cover in a country where over 50 percent of a population of 200 million live on less than 1.98 percent a day is off the table of most Nigerians who are struggling to survive.

Insurance sector’s growth fell by 7.25 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

The NBS in its ‘Nigeria Gross Domestic Product Q1, 2023’ said the finance and insurance sector consists of two sub sectors which are financial institutions and insurance.

https://moneycentral.com.ng/markets/article/axa-mansard-profit-surges-582-26-on-foreign-exchange-gains/