Liberty Kenya, a subsidiary of South Africa based Liberty Holdings, has posted a 2% decline in profit after tax to Kes 676 million during the financial period ended 31st December 2020 from Kes 690 million recorded in the group 2019.
The group’s assets increased by 3% to Kes 39.30 billion during the financial period ended 31st December 2020, compared to the Kes 38.2 billion recorded during the same period in 2019.
The insurance company posted a 2% growth in gross premiums to Kes11.2 billion compared to the Kes 10.96 billion recorded during the period under review in 2019. The firm’s total income from net insurance premiums, investments, interest payments, and fair value adjustments fell to Kes9.9 billion in 2020 from Kes11.5 billion in the previous year.
The decline in income was attributed to the economic hardship that was brought about by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many people lose their jobs and claim their insurance premiums to make ends meet.
The insurance company recorded a slight decline in the profits before tax to kes 1.04 billion during the financial period ended 31st December 2020 compared to the Kes 1.13 billion recorded in 2019.
Liberty Kenya Outlook
The group has expressed courage in the performance of the company in 2021 with the South African based Liberty Holdings, planning to increase its ownership in Liberty Kenya from 57% to 73% by acquiring 49.5 million ordinary shares of the listed insurer from KFAMF Sellers and 34.7 million ordinary shares from Coronation Sellers.
The move is set to improve the Kenyan subsidiary firm’s performance with new goals and growth prospects.
The board of directors did not recommend payment of dividend, saying, ” Taking into consideration the prevailing uncertain economic and market-related circumstances, the directors do not recommend any dividend.”
Read also; South Africa’s Liberty Holdings to Acquire an Additional 16% Ownership in Liberty Kenya.
