Shareholders of AXA Mansard Plc will receive a total dividend of N3.6 billion for the financial year ended December 2023, representing a total dividend of 40 kobo per share declared by the group.
This was contained in the company’s updated corporate action announcement to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) and obtained by Nairametrics.
The Board of Directors has declared a total final dividend of N3,600,000,000 (Three Billion, Six Hundred Million Naira) to be distributed to shareholders. This equates to a dividend of 40 kobo per N2 share.
Of this amount, 6 kobo per N2 share was paid as an interim dividend in December 2023. The remaining 34 kobo per N2 share will be distributed as the final dividend, subject to withholding tax and the approval of the appropriate authorities.
This final dividend pertains to the full-year accounts for the period ending 31 December 2023.
On August 8, 2024, the reported dividends will be paid electronically to shareholders whose names appear on the Register of Members as of July 15th, 2024, and who have completed the e-dividend registration and mandated the Registrar to pay their dividends directly into their Bank accounts.
Financial performance
Nairametrics reported that the company recorded a 23% YoY growth in claims, which appears to be influenced by the 137% growth in non-life premium written, reaching N35.199 billion, which is 54.5% of the N64.640 billion of the gross premiums written.
This likely contributed to the moderation in the insurance service results to N4.703 billion in Q1 2024. However, the company recorded impressive bottom-line performance.
The linchpin of the impressive bottom-line performance in Q1 2024 and the preceding year is foreign exchange gains.
In Q1 2024 alone, an impressive FX gain of N12.805 billion buoyed the reported pre-tax profit to N15.320 billion. Without this windfall, the pre-tax profit would have amounted to a mere N2.515 billion.
Similarly, in the 2023 fiscal year, Mansard’s bottom line was primarily salvaged by a substantial FX gain, averting a potential pre-tax loss of N207 million.
While Mansard’s pre-tax profit surge is notable, the underlying volatility in non-life insurance claims highlights the need for strategic enhancements and/or diversification.
Q3’2024 projections
Mansard is targeting insurance revenue of N88.430 billion for the third quarter of 2024.
The company is also projected to rake in N20.085 billion in net investment and other income. Targets for a profit before and after tax were put at N18.502 billion and N13.506 billion, respectively.
While the projection for Insurance service expense stood at N57.986 billion, forecasted taxation for the period was put at N4.995 billion.
The company closed its last trading day on Monday, July 15, 2024, at N5.45 per share on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), recording a 1.9% gain over its previous closing price of N5.35. AXA Mansard began the year with a share price of N5.50 but has since lost 0.91% off the price valuation.