Feature of the week:
CIC Group Posts an After Tax Profit of KES 259.5 million for 1H2021
- CIC Group rebounded to profitability in the period. The group registered an after tax profit of KES 259.5 million from an after tax loss of KES of 335.5 million in 1H2020. The improvement in profitability was primarily driven by higher gross written premium and investment income
- Gross written premium grew by 15.9% y/y to KES 10.8 billion (1H2020: KES 9.3 billion) supported by strong performance in all the subsidiaries excluding South Sudan. General insurance contribution was the highest, increasing by 29.0% y/y to KES 4.9 billion. The contribution of the Group Life business grew by 21.0% y/y to KES 2.6 billion dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Net earned premiums rose by 0.5% y/y to KES 7.1 billion
- Investment and other income surged by 119.1% y/y to KES 2.6 billion driven by: i) unwinding of the previous year’s foreign exchange losses in South Sudan ii) recovery in the Kenyan equities market. The asset management business registered a five year CAGR of 29.0% as the pool of funds grew to KES 89.0 billion (1H2017: KES 32.0 billion). This resulted in higher fees and commissions income of KES 1.1 billion (KES 673.0 million).
- Operating and other expenses increased by 18.5% y/y to KES 3.4 billion. This was attributed to additional provisions driven by IFRS 9 provisions.
- Net claims and policy benefits grew by 7.0% y/y to KES 5.8 billion as payouts under life insurance grew due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the group’s loss ratio grew to 81.3% (1H2020: 76.4%).
- Total expenditure increased by 11.0% y/y to KES 9.2 billion. The combined ratio increased to 128.9% (1H2020: 116.7%).
- Finance costs fell by 23.3% y/y to KES 231.8 million.
- Share of result of associate was nil from 2.2 million in 1H2020.
Commentary
We expect continued growth trajectory in the topline mainly from general insurance business across all regional subsidiaries with gradual economic recovery.
As part of balance sheet reorganization, the group is expecting to reduce its borrowings with funds from disposal of non-core assets (mainly land bank). This should lower interest expenses
We also expect the implementation of the group’s digital strategy to enhance access to products as well as result in operational efficiencies in the medium term.
Equities Market Summary:
Nairobi Securities Exchange Performance
The All Share Index (NASI) rose by 1.5% w/w while the NSE 20 fell by 0.7% w/w to close the week at 181.18 and 1,961.07 respectively. Market turnover edged up by 64.6% to KES 2.5 billion and number of shares traded grew by 143.7% to 110.4 million shares.
Safaricom rose by 2.1% w/w to KES 43.00 as investors continued to react positively to the reports that the Ethiopia license maybe upgraded to include mobile money services. CIC edged up by 1.6% w/w to KES 3.15 as the Group rebounded to a profit of KES 259.5 million in 1H2021 from an after tax loss of KES of 335.5 million in 1H2020. The improvement in profitability was primarily driven by higher gross written premiums and investment income.
There were other notable price gains on Sanlam (6.9% w/w to KES 11.55), Britam (5.1% w/w to KES 8.30), Equity (2.0% w/w to KES 51.00) and Co-op (1.1% w/w to KES 13.80). Stanbic registered a price decline of 7.0% w/w to KES 86.00. Most of the decline was in the first three days of trading but was relatively stable in the last two trading days. The bank reported a 37.2% y/y increase in after tax profits to KES 3.5 billion in 1H2021 and announced an interim dividend of KES 1.70.
We expect activity to remain high on banking stocks as more 1H2021 results releases are expected in the coming week.
*We are currently updating our recommendations