Liberty Kenya Holdings Plc holders of Liberty Life Kenya and Heritage Insurance Kenya has reported a pre-tax profit of 1.1 billion shillings for the year ended December 31, 2017.
The insurer, which owns subsidiaries venturing in both short-term and long-term insurance businesses through Liberty Life Assurance Kenya Limited and Heritage Insurance Company Kenya Limited, witnessed its total income increased from 9 billion shillings in 2016 to 9.6 billion shillings last year.
Profit after tax increased from 627.8 million shillings to 845.7 million shillings, representing a 35 percent growth, as the gross earned premium revenue also increased from 9.6 billion shillings in 2016 to 9.7 billion shillings last year.
Total assets increased from 34.9 billion shillings in 2016 to 37.1 billion shillings in 2018. Net assets also increased from 6.7 billion shillings in 2016 to 7.4 billion shillings last year.
“The Group delivered solid earnings despite the prevailing difficult operating environment occasioned by the prolonged electioneering period, continuing impact of interest capping as well as environmental factors such as drought,” said Liberty Kenya Holdings Chairman Susan Mboya.
She said the strong financial position vindicates the insurer’s assertion that the group’s fundamentals are in place to deliver sustainable earnings.
“Our long-term business had a good year driven by improvement in the quality of business, volume growth and by greater investment earnings following the recovery of the equity market,” she added.
The Group continues to be a key player in the insurance sector, both in Kenya and Tanzania. During the year, the Group sold a non- strategic subsidiary, specifically created to own a property in Naivasha.
The directors have recommended a first and final dividend of 0.5 shillings per share. There was no dividend declared in 2016.