By Favour Nnabugwu
The Enterprise Group PLC recorded a profit after tax of GHS146.7 million in its 2020 financial year despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Group’s net income over the period reached GHS847.7 million, indicating a growth rate of 18 percent over the prior year.
This was made known at the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Enterprise Group PLC held in Ghana,
Speaking at the AGM, Chairman of the Enterprise Group PLC, Trevor Trefgarne, said the gains made are a result of systems carefully put in place to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the business.
“As it became evident in 2020 that COVID-19 was likely to become a major pandemic, our management took steps to safeguard staff and customers, while continuing to operate by introducing remote working to ensure we could properly serve customers and in particular, settle claims promptly.
The Enterprise Advantage Mobile Application and other online tools and systems are examples of how we continue to serve our customers remotely. This recent experience has given us the impetus to ramp up our investments in technology”, Mr. Trefgarne said.
He further noted that “Our existing businesses managed to post decent results for 2020, despite the challenges of the pandemic. Net income reached GHS847.7 million, a growth of 18.7 percent over the prior year, with profit after tax of GHS146.7 million.
The pandemic impacted our business in different ways. Whilst the insurance side which thrives on person-to-person contact for sales, was affected in new business generation, the pensions business was impacted as employers experienced difficulties in sustaining their pension contributions. The change from office to remote working adversely affected lettings by our property business as companies reconsidered their office space requirements.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Group PLC, Keli Gadzekpo, in his remarks noted that the company’s performance in 2020 demonstrates its resilience.
According to him, “Like every other company, we have faced substantial challenges, as business operations were disrupted and normal work routines and social structures were interrupted due to the global pandemic. Everyone felt the strain and stress, but we have demonstrated conclusively that Enterprise Group remains strong, stable and capable of delivering for our stakeholders, employees, shareholders, clients, and the communities in which we operate.”
Keli Gadzepko added that “By March, we knew that the pandemic would bring an entirely new set of challenges, requiring an extremely urgent and agile response. We wasted no time adjusting our mission, with our new articulated purpose in mind. We committed to protect our people, to be there for our clients, to give back to our communities and keep our Group strong”.
Keli Gadzekpo concluded by expressing optimism for the coming year: “With solid foundations based on our vision, mission and shared values, Enterprise Group has adapted quickly to the new reality brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the limitations, we managed to maintain the high performance needed to propel our growth in the coming years. The future holds much promise for the Group, and we are confident that we will continue to deliver ever more value for our shareholders.” he said.
The Enterprise Group PLC is looking to expand into the Health Insurance sector with the signing of an agreement to acquire Acacia Health Insurance. Late last year, the Company was licensed by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) of Nigeria to start operating its Life Insurance Business, thus making Nigeria the third country with the Enterprise footprint after Ghana and The Gambia.
Enterprise Group PLC is the holding company of Enterprise Insurance, Enterprise Life, Enterprise Trustees, Enterprise Properties, Enterprise Funeral Services (Transitions), Enterprise Life Gambia and Enterprise Life Nigeria.
