MD LASACO Assurance Reveals Why Dividends Weren’t Paid to Shareholders In 2021
The management of Lasaco Assurance has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to responding to the needs of its shareholders and clients.
The managing director and chief executive officer, Lasaco Assurance, Razzaq Abiodun reassured of the commitment to the shareholders while speaking at the unveiling of the 2021 annual reports and financial statements.
Abiodun also revealed the reason why dividends weren’t paid to shareholders in the 2021 business year, adding that the company invested the funds to create better investment opportunities for its stakeholders and to improve the brand of the organisation.
The MD Lasaco Assurance, however, said that based on the envisaged profitability in 2022, the company will be able to pay dividends as and when due.
Abiodun said “Over the last four years, we have been paid over N1.4 billion in terms of dividends but the reason for not paying dividends this year is a strategic move because we had to improve the brand, invest internally to create better investment opportunities so that going forward better dividends will be paid.
“So, it is with the assurance that even though we don’t pay dividends this year, traditionally we have paid over the years. Based on what we have put in place for the current year, we will pay dividends in the next year.
“If you look at the claim’s payments, particularly from 2020 to 2021, the company paid claims in the excess of N8 billion, which is something that is quite impressive, even though it had a negative impact but we are an insurance company and that had an impact on our profitability. We could not have done better because we had to respond to the needs of shareholders who had put trust in us.
“Going forward, we are not expecting the kind of issue that happened in 2021, particularly from the #EndSars and the issue of pandemic. We believe that 2022 is going to be a better year and the profitability of the company will be better and the dividends will be paid.”
Teju Phillips, Chairman of Lasaco Assurance, lamented that the pandemic and the #EndSars protest had a negative effect on the profitability of the company.
She revealed that the company had to pay lots of claims in 2021, noting that it was a “gloomy year” for the company.
According to her “With the pandemic year, it was even very serious in 2021 because that was when all the claims came in to be paid. The #EndSars disaster all over. The 2021 pandemic was serious for every company globally, it was a gloomy year for companies and for us 2021 the claims came heavily.
“We are in Lagos state and we have our tentacles in terms of insurance all over, so the claims were quite biting but we were able to meet up our obligations because that’s the essence of retaining your potentiality in the insurance industry and you’re for sustainability for people to do businesses with you.”
The event witnessed Sani Ndanusa, the Independent director, and Akin Doherty, the non-executive director of the company, being voted in for a second term of two years as member of the board.
Commenting on his return to the board, Ndanusa posited that it shows that the management and shareholders of the company believes in him and pledged to continue putting in his best to ensure the profitability and sustainability of the insurance company.
Other personalities present at the event include: Jamiu Saka, non-executive director; Roland Oshinusi, deputy managing director; and Ademoye Shobo, technical executive director, amongst other shareholders.
