Coronation Insurance Plc told shareholders at its virtual annual general meeting on 24 September that its stronger capital base will allow it to take on larger insurance risks and grow premium income, according to a report by Nairametrics.
The report said that Managing Director Olamide Olajolo told the AGM both the life and non-life businesses had met their recapitalisation requirements, and that only about N1.3 billion of additional capital was needed to complete the life business recapitalisation.
“Both companies are fully recapitalised, and we are geared to move from capital to capacity going forward,” Olajolo said, according to Nairametrics.
Shareholders used the meeting to press management on how the capital raise will translate into returns. At the AGM, shareholders including Bisi Bakari, Eric Akinduro and Tunji Bamidele questioned the company about falling profit despite higher revenue, the timing for resumption of dividends and the possibility of bonus shares if dividends were not restored, the report said.
Nairametrics reported that Coronation management said the company plans to invest in technology, develop new products and deepen its reach among small businesses and underserved customers. The company also told shareholders its Abuja property was still under construction and had not yet started generating revenue.
The meeting came after a year in which the insurer reported growth in premium income but a decline in profit. In 2025, Nairametrics said insurance revenue rose 51.4% to N74.83 billion, while profit after tax fell to N7.52 billion from N11.91 billion the prior year.
The report said management attributed much of the 2025 profit decline to factors outside the core insurance business. Coronation recorded an exchange gain of about N8.5 billion in 2024, which moved to an estimated exchange loss of N1.3 billion in 2025. Nairametrics reported the company also paid two substantial oil and gas claims connected to events in 2024, and management described them as one-off claims.
The firm showed improvement in the first half of 2026. In H1 2026, according to Nairametrics, insurance revenue rose 14.8% to N37.81 billion, and the insurance service result increased 29.3% to N6.06 billion. Investment and other income improved, finance expenses eased, and profit before tax rose 18.9% to N4.05 billion. Profit after tax nearly doubled to N3.13 billion, aided by a lower tax charge.
However, the company cautioned that the capital raise has increased the number of shares outstanding. The group had about 23.99 billion shares at the end of June, Nairametrics reported, and it subsequently listed 4.53 billion placement shares, taking the total to about 28.53 billion.
On that enlarged share base, the outlet calculated Coronation would need full-year profit of roughly N8.84 billion to match 2025 earnings per share of 31 kobo. Nairametrics said that, given N3.13 billion earned in H1 2026, Coronation would therefore need about N5.71 billion in H2, roughly 83% more than its first-half profit.
The report also noted rising costs. Non-attributable operating expenses increased 87% to N6.33 billion in H1 2026 from N3.38 billion a year earlier. Group retained earnings rose to N17.22 billion from N15.50 billion at end-2025, while the share price has fallen about 32% year-to-date, the report added.
All figures and shareholder remarks in this article are drawn from Nairametrics’ coverage of Coronation Insurance’s AGM and interim results.
Source: Nairametrics.
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