Karachi: The Board of Directors of Progressive Insurance Company Ltd held their annual meeting on August 28, 2024, to discuss the financial outcomes for the year ended December 30, 2023. The financial results, as declared, reflect a continued downtrend with significant losses.
According to information available from the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), the Karachi-based insurer reported no distributions of cash dividends, bonus shares, right shares, or any other entitlements to shareholders, underscoring the financial strains. The company's financials reveal a substantial loss after tax totaling RS 8,745.26 million for December 2023, a slight improvement from RS 10,038.64 million lost in the previous year.
The detailed financial breakdown showed that the loss before tax improved slightly to RS 8,745.26 million from RS 10,038.64 million year-over-year. This change reflects in part due to a reduction in general and administrative expenses, which decreased from RS 10,251.66 million to RS 8,791.69 million.
Progressive Insurance also posted a modest profit on deposits amounting to RS 49.95 million, a sharp decline from RS 216.28 million recorded in the previous year. However, the loss was further exacerbated by unrealized losses on equity investments, which saw a minor improvement from a loss of RS 94.98 million in 2022 to a gain of RS 135.99 million in 2023.
These financial challenges have led to a reduction in loss per share from RS 0.65 in 2022 to RS 0.53 in 2023, indicating some degree of cost control measures and operational adjustments by the management.