The Ghana Reinsurance Company Limited (Ghana Re) has paid GH¢9 million to the government as dividend for the 2019 financial year.

This is in spite of a decline in the company's profit from GH¢38.63 million in 2018 to GH¢30.16 million last year, as a result of higher than expected claim payments that affected its profitability.

The Board Chairman of the company, Mr George Otoo, presented the cheque to the shareholder’s representative, Mr Andrews Kwesi Frimpong, who is also a General Manager of the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) at the annual general meeting (AGM) of Ghana Re on July 3 in Accra.

Mr Otoo said based on the company’s performance in year 2019, the board approved a dividend of GH¢0.18 per share amounting to GH¢9.00m to be paid to the shareholder for year 2019.

Financial performance

The insurance firm posted a profit of GH¢30.16 million last year as against the GH¢38.63 million in 2018.

The return on equity reduced from 16.9 per cent in 2018 to 11.7 per cent in 2019 while return on assets reduced from 10.5 per cent in 2018 to 7.4 per cent in 2019.

Its shareholder equity grew from GH¢332.51 million in 2018 to GH¢365.18 million in 2019. Total assets to total liabilities ratio was 2.7 in 2019 compared to 2.8 in 2018.

As at end of 2019, Mr Otoo said, total investment portfolio across the company represented 64 per cent of total assets of GH¢585.33 million as against 70.2 per cent in year 2018.

He noted that investment portfolio yielded an average return of eight per cent in year 2019 same as 2018.

Commitment

Mr Otoo said the board of the company was committed to its steady growth and would continue to exercise its oversight mandate to ensure profitability.

He stated that Ghana Re, as part of measures to ensure business continuity and profitability, had activated its business continuity plan and accelerated the company’s information technology infrastructure upgrade.

He added that with a good retrocession arrangement and prudent management practices, the company was well positioned to meet its claims and other financial obligations.

Mr Otoo assured the shareholder that, Ghana Re would employ and continually improve on its technical expertise and information technology systems to enhance the turnaround time for service delivery.

“The company will also seek to capitalise on its strong financial base and unblemished reputation to increase acceptance of non-traditional insurance products, forge strategic partnerships and position the company in the face of growing competition.

"Ghana Re will continue to re-align its investment portfolio to optimise yield while ensuring adequate liquidity and preservation of capital," he said.

Appreciation

Receiving the cheque, Mr Frimpong expressed the government’s gratitude to Ghana Re for the dividend paid to the state through SIGA over the years.

“I will take this opportunity to urge SIGA to continue to strive strong and be reliable as well as profitable as always to enhance the dividends paid to the government periodically,” he said.