LASACO Assurance Secures Shareholders’ Approval to Raise N11bn
Ebere Nwoji
LASACO Assurance Plc has secured the approval of its shareholders to shop for N11.1 billion through special or private placement.
The firm is planning to raise additional capital through the issuance of up to 9,250,000,000 ordinary shares of N0.50k each at N1.20k per share by way of special/private placement.
The company’s Chairman, Mr Aderinola Disu, said this at the 39th Annual General Meeting of the Company held in Lagos recently.
He also disclosed that the shareholders have given the board approval to reconstruct its existing ordinary shares of 7,334,344 on the basis of one new share for every four shares previously held.
She said the board also secured other approvals from the shareholder during the meeting in the area of approval of the sum of N2, 749,279,000, representing the surplus nominal value of the reconstructed shares be transferred into the share reserve account and form part of the shareholders’ funds of the company and that the reconstructed 1,833,586,000 ordinary shares of 50k each, be revalued in accordance with the ratio of reconstruction, subject to appropriate regulatory consent and be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
Disu, further said the move was part of the board’s strategy to ensure that the company meets the new minimum capital requirement set by the regulator for insurance companies in the industry. She told the shareholders that their interest would be well protected. According to her, it would be better to have a strong company that would create value for all stakeholders at the end of the day.
Meanwhile, for the financial year ended December 31, 2018, Disu, said the company paid out five kobo dividend which was appreciated by shareholders, particularly at this time when many companies were not able to make profit due to the tough economic environment.
LASACO, during the period under review, recorded a gross premium written of N9.014 billion, a growth of 35 percent from N6.673 billion in 2017, while net underwriting income also appreciated by 31 percent to close at N5.221 billion.