Shareholders have applauded the performance recorded by Eterna Plc despite the harsh business terrain in the country.
At an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in Lagos, the stakeholders expressed confidence in the company’s transformational journey, saying there is no doubt the company would excel in 2023.
A shareholder with the company, Mr. Matthew Akinlade (President of Noble Shareholders Solidarity Association) stated the shareholders understood the necessity for the meeting and noted that the company has a cut-off date of 31st December 2022 to comply with the directives of the Corporate Affairs Commission with respect to unissued shares pursuant to the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 and the Companies Regulations 2021.
He noted that since the company might have paid stamp duty on the shares sought to be cancelled, the amount so expended would be lost once the said shares are cancelled.
He stated that some companies dealt with the unissued shares through a bonus issue, adding that the Board must have deliberated and decided on what is best for the interest of the company and thus pledged the support of the shareholders for the cancellation of the unissued shares.
Further, he congratulated the company on the outstanding performance going by the published results thus far, urging the company to continue the trajectory of performance and expressed optimism that the company will close the year on a positive note and possibly declare dividends.
Another shareholder, Sir Sunny Nwosu noted that cancellation will put a lot of pressure on companies to pay better dividends.
Mr. Nornah Awoh, a shareholder, urged the management of Eterna to be shareholder-friendly, saying that shareholders are the owners of the business.
On her part, the National Coordinator, Pragmatic Shareholders Association, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, said the decision taken by the management to cancel the unissued share capital is a welcome development.
She also mentioned that the cancellation of the shares will consolidate the share price and ensure the dividends paid are not eroded, just as she commended the management and board of Eterna for the performance recorded in the year.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of Eterna Plc, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie, represented by Barr. Okey Omezi, an Independent Non-Executive Director, assured that the prospects are getting brighter for the company.
In 2022, the company reported a profit before tax of N1.9billion against N566.9 million reported in Q3 2021, while profit after tax grew significantly by 246 per cent to N1.44billion in Q3 2022 from N416 million in Q3 2021.
In the company’s unaudited financial statement for the third quarter (Q3) ended September 30, 2022, the growth in profit was driven by a significant increase in revenue to N91.9 billion in Q3 2022 from N61.37 billion reported in Q3 2021.
Experts urge African insurance players to adopt ESG for market growth
By Bankole Orimisan
Before the African insurance industry can attain sustainable growth across the continent, there is a need for regulators and underwriting companies to adopt environmental, social, governance (ESG) framework to drive viable market expansion.
ESG is a strategic framework for identifying, assessing, and addressing organizational objectives and activities ranging from the company’s carbon footprint and commitment to sustainability, to its workplace culture and commitment to diversity and inclusion.
The call was made by the Chief Executive Officer of the ICEA LION Holdings, Philip Lopokoiyit, at the 2022 Insurance Directors’ Conference held at the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) in Lagos, with the theme: Transforming the Insurance Industry through ESG Principles: Directors’ Roles.
Lopokoiyit said the key substance of the Nairobi Declaration on Sustainable Insurance was a declaration of commitment by African insurance industry leaders to support the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He stressed that the declaration is “an Africa-focused initiative designed to encourage and support African insurance market players.”
He added that “It is a convening tool that signals their willingness to develop ESG principles and solutions within their businesses as insurance players become change agents in light of the biggest challenge facing humanity.”
The ICEA LION Group executive said the declaration is important because while the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are gaining momentum, progress to meet these SDGs from a financial services perspective was not yet at the speed or scale required.
According to the ICEA LION Holdings CEO, the signatories made a commitment to insure cumulatively more than 1.4billion people by 2030 as well as provide $14 billion insurance capacity for flood, drought & cyclones in Africa.
He described the $900 million multi-donor-trust fund facility, which when fully set up and resources mobilized, will be available for NDSI signatories.
The facility will drive premium subsidies, product development and capacity building. According to the executive, other significant milestones for the continent at COP 27 included the launch of the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative as well as the decision by developed countries to establish a loss and damage fund.
In terms of challenges of enthroning the ESG model in Africa, Philip identified six major roadblocks as heavy carbon-driven economies, few African voices on the issue, considerable lack of knowledge & awareness, uneven playing field for early-adopters of ESG, short-term planning models and lack of green finance instruments to quickly facilitate adoption of ESG principles.
FastCash unveils N200,000 in loans for school fees payment
Without hassles, Nigerians can now meet emergency financial obligations, pay children’s school fees and rent by accessing FastCash loans of up to N200,000 (two hundred thousand Naira) in minutes.
FastCash is a collateral-free, convenient, easy-to-access instant loan solution powered by First City Monument Bank (FCMB).
According to the bank, getting a FastCash loan requires no collateral or paperwork as it is available and accessible to salaried and non-salaried customers of FCMB through its mobile app and USSD platform. It takes less than five minutes to complete the application process, and the loan is disbursed instantly. Beneficiaries can spread the loan repayment for up to three months.
So far, over 2.7 million loans have been disbursed via the FastCash platform since it was launched in 2018.
Divisional Head of Personal Banking at FCMB, Shamsideen Fashola, said, “we introduced FastCash as a collateral-free loan to give Nigerians with urgent and unexpected needs access to funds within minutes when it matters most. FastCash loans close the access to finance gap for many Nigerians, ensuring the well-being of their household”.
In addition to FastCash, FCMB offers Salary-Plus-Loan to salary account holders. It allows qualified customers to access short or medium-term funding before salary payment if they have to meet urgent needs.
