The company has attributed its success to the growth of sales despite challenging market conditions, successful cost management, a significant reduction of borrowing and financing costs and a positive achievement in relation to Debtor management.
Chairman of Janashakthi Insurance PLC W.T. Ellawala said, “The cascading effects of the global financial downturn were compounded by the erosion of confidence set off by the collapse of several financial entities in the country. Insurance companies were directly affected by the negative sentiment, and the collective performance of the industry only grew by 3.7% and reflects the challenging times for the industry. These challenging macro economic conditions gave us the opportunity to showcase our spirit of resilience making our performance in 2009 indeed noteworthyâ€.
“We moved on with renewed vigour, meeting targets we had set out early last year. Our strength was endorsed by RAM Ratings, which reaffirmed Janashakthi’s BBB + rating as “reflective of its strong competitive position, improving underwriting results and enhanced investment portfolioâ€, he added.
A sluggish business environment and less disposable income in the hands of the consumer compounded the challenges faced by the industry. This state of affairs was evident in the marginal growth of 0.4% that our Life insurance business experienced, while our General insurance business reflected a positive growth of 8.5%. The Non-Motor business achieved Rs. 1.2Bn, a 17% growth compared to 2008 while Motor achieved Rs. 3Bn, a growth of 5%.
The Company’s Gross Written Premium (GWP) reached Rs. 5.7Bn at 6.3% growth while the revenue was Rs. 5.9Bn at 7.7% growth. The total assets of company stood at Rs. 10.7Bn while the Company life fund grew by approximately 12% to reach Rs. 3.2Bn.
The Company paid claims amounting to Rs. 2.8Bn, which was 12% higher than 2008. Its total Gross Written Premium from Life reached Rs. 1.43Bn while the Gross Written Premium for General was Rs. 4.2Bn.
“Since the end of thirty years of civil strife, there is a palpable sense of optimism which has already translated into buoyant investment on the Colombo Stock Exchange as well as in private ventures. The accelerated development taking place, particularly in the North and East, coupled with increased tourist arrivals is a boost for business confidence. Janshakthi Insurance PLC stands ready to play its part in the nation building effortâ€, the Chairman concluded.
Managing Director of Janashakthi Insurance PLC Prakash Schaffter said, “Our performance is rendered all the more significant as it was achieved against the backdrop of the global financial crisis that impacted the Sri Lankan economy, which in any event was already battling against a number of setbacks that had resulted in a loss of confidence in finance companiesâ€.
“The war that debilitated the country for three decades is now over and in time, we can expect economic growth to pick up and gather momentum. The recent lowering of interest rates by the Central Bank has created new opportunities. This is in addition to setting challenges that have to be overcome, particularly in relation to the large reservoir of Investment Funds of the Company, where a significant proportion is invested in Government Securities. We are thus operating in an environment with a fresh set of challenges. We are therefore also focusing on increasing our operational efficiency with a view to achieving further cost savings, the benefits of which can be passed on to our customersâ€.
Schaffter added that the Company would keep its sights focussed on growing the top line in the year 2010, while keeping claims under control and simultaneously increasing cost efficiencies within a platform of sustainability. “To our satisfaction, our expenses through the year 2009 were only marginally higher over 2008 despite the high inflationary environment, the credit for which I give to all our staff for realising our target of achieving cost efficiency. We succeeded in keeping the headcount of office staff static in 2009 while increasing profits, which was a formidable achievement. 2010 will also be the year of consolidation of our branches. We are now spread out across the island, even in the North and East and we look forward to maximising the current potential of our branches to a greater extentâ€.
With its inherent financial strength and stability, Janashakthi currently enjoys an enviable reputation decorated with many significant achievements and industry records created within a very short span of time. It was the first and only insurer to acquire a State-owned insurance company and swiftly went on to become
Janashakthi was also
Janashakthi Insurance has the highest stated capital among quoted insurance companies amounting to over Rs.1.49 billion, which is over 7.5 times the statutory requirement. The company is also backed by an asset base of over Rs.10 billion, of which Rs. 3.5 billion is in Government Securities. Janashakthi Insurance PLC has reached the Rs. 5 billion annual revenue mark in the quickest time among all Insurance Companies and has an extensive branch network of over 100 locations island wide.
Its win at the 18th World Brand Congress, which rewards brand excellence, underscored its performance through the year, clinching dual honours - the prestigious ‘Award for Brand Leadership - Service Industry’ and the ‘Award for Social Marketing’. The Company was singled out in these categories from among a host of regional brands, thus reflecting the brand equity of the Company beyond the shores of
Janashakthi Insurance also clinched a Silver Award in the Insurance Category for the second consecutive year at the National Business Excellence Awards 2009 which recognizes business enterprises which have demonstrated excellence in business while contributing to the economic progress of the country.
Janashakthi Insurance added yet another to its haul of awards for 2009 by winning a Bronze in the Corporate Reputation / Professional Services category at the recent Effie Awards Sri Lanka 2009, becoming the only insurance company to be honoured with an Effie. It was also listed by the LMD Magazine as being one of the Top 50 Corporates in
Janashakthi’s commitment to supporting sports continued with its unique rural athlete sponsorship program for the 3rd year and has seen the rewards of that initiative at the South Asian Games. It is also active in other areas of social responsibility such as installing signage at the
The director board of Janashakthi Insurance consists of eminent professionals, with proven track records in the business world including W.T.Ellawala (Chairman), C.T.A. Schaffter (Deputy Chairman) & Prakash Schaffter (Managing Director). The rest of the board comprises L.C.R. de Wijetunga, Deshmanya Dr. Nihal Jinasena,
Photo caption: Seated at the head table (from left) General Manager, Finance & Planning, Janashakthi Insurance PLC Bertal Pinto-Jayawardena, Deputy Chairman C.T.A. Schaffter, Chairman W.T. Ellawala, Managing Director Prakash Schaffter and General Manager Sales and Marketing Ravi Liyanage.
