Rawalpindi: The Board of Directors of The Universal Insurance Company Limited announced financial results for the year ending December 31, 2024, revealing a challenging fiscal year with no dividends or bonuses for shareholders. The board meeting, held in Rawalpindi on March 27, 2025, outlined the financial outcomes and future directives.
The company declared a cash dividend of Rs. NIL per share for the period ended December 31, 2024. Additionally, there were no interim dividends paid during the year. The Board did not recommend any bonus shares or right shares for the period, indicating a strategic hold on shareholder incentives.
The Annual General Meeting is scheduled for April 28, 2025, at the company's registered office in Lahore. The share transfer books are set to close from April 22 to April 28, 2025, inclusively.
According to the statement of profit or loss, the company recorded a net insurance premium of 20,018 thousand rupees, a decrease from the previous year's 45,051 thousand rupees. Net insurance claims were reduced from 24,648 thousand rupees in 2023 to 4,451 thousand rupees in 2024. Despite this, the underwriting results showed a loss of 64,732 thousand rupees, slightly improved from the prior year's loss of 75,505 thousand rupees.
Investment income showed a significant downturn, posting a loss of 22,084 thousand rupees compared to a gain of 6,089 thousand rupees in 2023. Other income, however, increased substantially to 72,005 thousand rupees from 27,708 thousand rupees. Despite these gains, the results of operating activities remained negative at 20,020 thousand rupees, though improved from the previous year's 48,878 thousand rupees.
According to information available from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the company reported a loss before income taxation of 12,972 thousand rupees, an improvement over the 51,863 thousand rupees loss in 2023. After accounting for taxation, the loss after taxation was 4,845 thousand rupees, a significant reduction from the 154,911 thousand rupees loss recorded in the previous year.
The statement of cash flows shows operating cash flows in deficit at 73,325 thousand rupees, an improvement from 131,190 thousand rupees in 2023. Other adjustments, including a net loss on investments and gains on fixed asset disposal, contributed to the overall financial picture.
The company operates within the insurance sector, a designated market category that has faced various economic challenges. Despite a reduction in losses, the financial results underscore the hurdles faced by The Universal Insurance Company Limited during the 2024 fiscal year.