The operational profit of Sanlam Group (JSE:SLM, NSX:SLA), a South Africa based provider of life and general insurance and financial services with focus on emerging markets, rose by 11% to R4b in H1 2016.
The Group has attributed its strong performances to the sustained focus on its strategy, as well as good growth in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania.
“We expect the economic and operating environment to remain challenging for the remainder of 2016. However, we expect that our continued focus on strategy implementation will see us through,” Ian Kirk, CEO of Sanlam Group said.
Sanlam’s strategic focus is sustainable value creation for shareholders and growth through driving geographic, product and services presence.
The Sanlam Group (JSE:SLM, NSX:SLA) was established in 1918 to provide financial solutions to individual and institutional clients.
The Group’s areas of expertise include insurance, financial planning, retirement, trusts, wills, short-term insurance, asset management, risk management and capital market activities, investment and wealth.
The Sanlam Group operates in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Mozambique, India, Malaysia and the UK.
Sanlam General Tanzania
Sanlam General Tanzania was formerly trading under NIKO Insurance, which was launched in 2005 as a general insurer operating in Tanzania.
Since 2014, Sanlam directly participates with a 47% stake in NIKO Tanzania and indirectly with an 3% stake via NICO Holdings.
The Tanzanian rapid economic growth seen in the recent years, has been the determinant for Sanlam Group to expand in Tanzania, where the insurance penetration is less than 1.0% of total GDP, explains the CEO of Sanlam Group, Ian Kirk.
In 2015 NIKO Insurance Tanzania rebranded to Sanlam General Insurance to strengthen the Group’s identity and expand its visibility.
“With NIKO’s rebranding, Sanlam will be able to offer a wider and more innovative range of insurance products to cover different classes of risks for either personal or institutional clients, thanks to a group’s larger financial strength, technical expertise and brand equity”, explains Sanlam General Insurance CEO Manasseh Kawoloka.
