Paramount Insurance's yearly profit goes down by 38% in 2022

Paramount Insurance Company Ltd has reported a 38% year-on-year decline in its profit for the year that ended on 31 December 2022 owing to a slowdown in the opening of letters of credit (LCs) and also the stock market.

At the end of 2022, the company's net profit stood at Tk7.60 crore, which was Tk12.32 crore in 2021. In 2022, earnings per share stood at Tk1.87.

At the company's board meeting on Monday, it declared a 10% cash dividend for 2022, like it did in 2021.

To secure approval of the declared dividend, an audited report, and other matters, the company will hold an annual general meeting (AGM) on 12 June 2023. The record date has been fixed on 3 May.

Paramount Insurance's Company Secretary Zharna Parul told The Business Standard that the company's collection of premiums from marine insurance dropped because of difficulties in opening LCs due to the dollar crisis.

He also said the company has incurred a significant loss from investing in the share market, which hit the company's business.

In the first half of 2022, non-life insurers did good business in the marine insurance sector, but it declined by 20% to 30% in the second half because of the dollar crisis, according to an industry insider.

Paramount Insurance was listed on the stock exchanges in 2007.

As of 28 February 2023, the sponsors and directors jointly held 48.49% of the shares, institutions 14.45%, foreign investors 0.03%, and the general public held 37.03% shares in the company.

The last trading price of each share of the company at the Dhaka Stock Exchange was Tk38.40 on Tuesday.

Currently, there are 78 insurance companies – 32 life and 46 non-life – in Bangladesh. Of them, 56 are listed on the stock exchanges.

Experts have been saying for a long time that Bangladesh is one of the most untapped insurance markets in terms of penetration rate.

They say awareness and a strong culture of insurance service behind economic activities can help the industry thrive.