Richard Byles the former group CEO of Sagicor led the meeting through the company’s performance for the 2016 financial year.
According to Mr Byles, the company had a good year in 2016 as revenue grew by 9%. He further noted that revenues have grown five folds over 11 years. The success of the company was attributed to the over 1,500 outstanding staff members as per Mr. Byles. Moving to shareholders equity, Mr Byles commented, “this year it has grown quite strongly; last year we had some impairment to securities and investment assets which result in flat equity.”
The group’s efficiency rate in 2014 was 22% and increased to 29% in 2016, due to the growth in the company. Mr Byles gave his word to continue working on improving the group’s efficiency. He also highlighted other growth areas, namely profit, earning per share, return on equity and dividend payment. The Sagicor Group has outpaced the capital gain of the Jamaica Stock Exchange posting 198% gain since 2012 Mr. Byles noted.
Business Areas
Sagicor Investments
Sagicor Investments did well in 2016 as the company posted 21% increase revenues and profits. Sagicor Sigma, the top performing unit trust is managed out of Sagicor Investments and Sagicor life. The company is the largest stock broker in Jamaica according to Mr. Byles. Individual life insurance was down from 2016 due to the changes in the tax structure in 2015.
In the employee benefits division revenues climbed 6%, while profits were up 42%. Mr Byles noted that, “Sagicor was the leading provider of Insurance and Management Services in Jamaica
Sagicor Bank
The bank posted a lost in due to large write offs from the acquisition of the Jamaican operations of the Royal Bank of Canada. “Profits for the bank grew handsomely for the 2016 financial year,” as per Mr Byles. The bank’s infrastructure was also improved through the implementation of a new IT system that significantly enhanced security in the online banking platform. Furthermore, the credit portfolio of the bank was the driving force behind the banks growth.
Off Balance Sheet Activities
Sagicor has over $150 billion in pension fund management, being the largest single pension fund manager with 34% of market share.
Hotel and Real Estate
Mr. Byles indicated that, “Sagicor is the single largest hotel room owner in Jamaica with over 2000 rooms and over US$100 million in revenues. The group is also the largest holder and operator of commercial real estate.”
Customer Service
Sagicor conducts a customer satisfaction survey annually and for 2016, customer satisfaction was down relative to 2015, due in party to the integration of RBC within the Sagicor group. Mr Byles stressed, “that the company is committed to returning to pre-2016 levels.”
At the latter part of the meet, the recently appointed CEO, Christopher Zacca addressed the meeting expressing his dedication and commitment to the continued growth of the group through acquisition, exploiting opportunities and focusing on the northern Caribbean.
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