Jubilee profit up 146 per cent on unit’s sale

Jubilee Holdings Chairman Nizar Juma. [File, Standard]

Jubilee Insurance has reported a 146 per cent profit increase for the first half of the year, helped by part payment on the sale of its general insurance business. 

The firm made Sh4.5 billion in the period to June 2021 compared to Sh1.8 billion that the listed insurer made in the first six months of last year.

The company’s insurance business increased by slightly over a third to 3.13 billion in the period under review from Sh2.39 billion last year. 

“I am happy to report that we have also got a conservative figure for the sale of our general insurance business, two-thirds of that company, to Allianz which has resulted in us so far getting a further Sh2.07 billion,” said Jubilee Insurance chairman Nizar Juma during a press briefing yesterday.

In May, German insurer Allianz completed the acquisition of a 66 per cent stake in Jubilee’s Kenyan general insurance business as part of a broader $100 million (Sh10 billion) deal to acquire the company’s general insurance businesses in Mauritius, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda.

Jubilee expects to get another Sh3 billion on the Kenyan sale in due course. 

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of next year subject to regulatory approvals. Next to be completed will be Uganda, followed by Tanzania, Burundi and Mauritius. 

Jubilee Insurance Regional Chief Executive Julius Kipng’etich said with the rollout of Covid-19 vaccination programmes across the country, the company expects normal economic patterns. 

“We have also accelerated our digital innovation journey and the quality of our distribution network within key customer touchpoints,” he said. 

Jubilee also became the first company to announce an interim dividend, with shareholders set to get Sh1 per share to be paid on or about October 11, 2021. 

This will see the insurer pay a total dividend of Sh72.5 million.