AIICO Insurance Plc says it will pay N415.81m dividend to its shareholders for 2018 financial period.

During its 49th annual general meeting in Lagos, the company’s Chairman, Bukola Oluwadiya, said the dividend payment was 20 per cent higher than the corresponding period of 2017.

He said that the board had decided to move to a progressive dividend policy to deliver superior returns to its shareholders.

“Our plan is to maintain or grow the ordinary dividend per share over time, depending on business performance, growth projections and regulatory solvency requirement,” he said.

According to the chairman, the company during the period under review recorded growth in major business lines.

He said that its net asset value increased by 39.4 per cent to N15.2bn from N10.9bn in the corresponding period of 2017.

The chairman disclosed that total assets rose by 19 per cent to N109bn against N92bn in 2017.

“We will continue to strengthen our balance sheet and build a strong financial base needed to propel our company to the next phase of growth,” he added.

The Managing Director, AIICO Insurance, Edwin Igbiti, said that the strategic intent of the company over the next five years was to regain market leadership through rapid and profitable growth.

Igbiti added that the company had redesigned its go-to-market strategy and realigned organisational structure to reflect customer-centric strategy.

He said that the company would streamline and leverage capabilities across the group to grow market share, increase shareholder value and build customer-centric capabilities for superior service delivery.

The Founder, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Sunny Nwosu, who commended the company for the performance and dividend declared during the period under review, urged it to improve on the dividend payout in the years ahead.

He said that the company should strengthen strategies to sustain growth to ensure enhanced return.