Sovereign Trust: Company evades NSE’s harmer for AFS filing default
.As PAT declined to N23.6m from N557.85m
Sovereign Trust Nigeria Plc may have evaded huge financial sanction and BLS tag by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), with the recent release of its 2016 audited financial results and the first quarter 29017 result for the period ended 31 March, 2017.
The NSE had in April, placed Sovereign Trust Insurance and 9 other companies on default list for violating Rule 1.1.4, for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of the Exchange (Issuers’ Rules) , which requires listed companies to file their AFS ‘with the Exchange not later than 90 calendar days after the relevant year end.’
This attracted the Compliance Status Indicator (CSI) tag to be placed on the company and other defaulters. With the release of the result and the 2017 Q1 result, Sovereign Trust Insurance has fulfilled the post listing requirements and free from sustained sanctions.
Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc audited financial statement for the period ended December 31, 2016, released by the NSE recently, showed decline in profit and loss lines, while that of the Q1 2017 recorded slight improvements.
The result showed that Profit before income tax declined to N44, 975, against N430, 486 posted in the preceding year. Profit after income tax also dropped remarkably to N23,592, from N557,849 in 2015,
Total assets increased to N9, 511,560, from N9,264,871 in the corresponding period of 2015, while earnings per share reduced to 0.3 kobo in 2016, against 7.1kobo in 2015.
The company’s 2016 result showed that total equity rose to N5, 235,428, from N5, 025,196 recorded in the preceding year. Insurance contract liabilities, however, dropped to N2, 838,600 in 2016, from N3, 046,784 in 2015, just as gross premium written also declined to N6, 399,854, against N 7,132,224 recorded in 2015 financial year.
According to the Sovereign Trust Insurance 2016 audited result, net premium income dropped marginally to N3, 917, 414, from N3, 934,235 in 2015. Net claims expense also reduced to N1, 440,861 in 2016, from 1,506,511 in 2015.
Meanwhile, the company’s unaudited financial statements for the period ended March 31, 2017, also recently released by the NSE, showed that Reinsurance assets during the period rose by 14 per cent to N1,962,670 from N1,716,444 recorded in 2016 December 31, reflecting N246,226.
Insurance contract liabilities in first quarter 2017 increased by N36, 850 to N2, 801,750 from N2, 838,600 recorded in 31st December 2016.
Total liabilities for the company during the first quarter accounting period rose by seven per cent to N4,567,696, from N4,276,133 recorded in 2016 financial year, reflecting N291,563 increase.
The Q1 result for 2017 further showed that total Assets rose to N10, 276,482 in Q1 2017 from N9, 511,560 recorded in 2016 December 31, reflecting N764, 922 increase. Trade payables rose to N705, 513 from N225, 954 posted in 2016 financial year, indicating N479, 559 increase or 212 per cent.
Retained earnings dropped by 29 per cent to N926, 843, from N1, 300,322 in December 2016, a N373, 479 increase, while Gross premiums written buoyed to N4,141,330, from N2,330,479 in 2015, reflecting N1,810,851 or 78 per cent growth,.
Sovereign Trust Insurance company Plc was incorporated as a limited liability company on February 26, 1980, but was reorganized and commenced business as a reorganized non -life insurance company on 2nd January 1995 with an authorized share capital of N30 million and a fully paid up capital of the N20 million following the acquisition and recapitalization of the then Grand Union Assurances Limited.
The Company became a Public Limited Company (Plc) on the 7th of April, 2004; and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange on 29th November, 2006.
