GTA records N8.2bn gross premium in Q3

Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc has said that its gross premium income rose by 39 per cent to N8.2bn in the first nine months of 2011, from N5.9bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2010.In a statement on Tuesday, the company also said that the claims paid rose by 23 per cent, from N856m in 2010 to N1.05bn in 2011.According to the statement, its profit after tax rose by 20 per cent to N809.8m from N676.9m in the period under review.The Chief Client Officer, GTA, Mr. Tosin Runsewe, noted that the company recorded improved performance over the preceding years figures.He said, "The companys financial performance for the period can be linked to the conscious effort towards growing income and containing cost without compromising excellent service delivery to our esteemed customers."Despite challenges in the economic environment, he noted that the company had shown resilience and innovation in achieving these goals, while it was expected to continue to increase its market share in the industry.The Chief Financial Officer, Rashidat Adebisi, said that the improved indices during the period affirmed the companys strategy of building a robust and diversified sales force. Focusing on the retail market, she said, the firm would smooth out the tough experience and ultimately contribute to earnings.She said, "For the nine months period, the company has achieved 87 per cent of its full year gross premium income forecast of N9.47bn and 61 per cent of full year profit before tax forecast of N1.5bn. This performance is a 39 per cent improvement in GPI and 22 per cent improvement in PBT, when compared with results from the same period in 2010."The Divisional Director of Institutional Business, Kunle Ahmed, added, "At the end of the third quarter, IBD had contributed 78 per cent of the companys gross premium income and 70 per cent of net premium income, in comparison to 80 per cent and 65 per cent, respectively for the same period in the preceding year.According to him, this indicates that institutional clients have continued to have confidence in its ability to indemnify them, given its financial strength and risk rating.
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