The audited net profit of Dubai-listed Islamic Arab Insurance Company (SALAMA) stood at AED157.04m ($42.76m) in 2020, more than 2.5 times the AED59.82m posted for 2019, according to a company statement.
The 2020 audited net profit was AED21m higher than the AED136.13m shown in the company’s preliminary financial results released in February.
SALAMA said that at the operational level, it successfully focused on the local UAE market in 2020, that is seen as having the greatest growth potential. This is reflected in GWP, which increased by 5.5% to AED1.17bn for the full year 2020 (2019: AED1.11bn), despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Excluding the one-off net profit of AED67m from the partial sale of SALAMA’s stake in SALAMA Cooperative Insurance in Saudi Arabia, the underlying net profit increased by more than 50% to AED90m in 2020 compared to AED59.82m in 2019.
SALAMA said the results reflect the benefits of the company’s prudent investment strategy adopted last year to allocate funds to high-quality assets, recent product launches and continued focus on technology-driven solutions.
Management remains focused on these key growth drivers in 2021, which will underpin SALAMA’s continued progress in realising value for its policyholders and shareholders.
With the growth in profits, the takaful operator also significantly reduced its accumulated losses to AED308.05m at 31 December 2020, from AED376.82m at 31 December 2019.
Commenting on the company’s performance, SALAMA chairman Jassim Alseddiqi said, “Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, SALAMA has made strong headway in executing its new achievement in the current climate. We are excited about the future prospects of the company, especially considering that we have taken all the right and necessary steps, starting with the change in leadership with the appointment of Fahim Al Shehhi as the new CEO, to steer the company in the right direction in line with our strategy and to increase SALAMA’s profitability and investment returns. Our goal for 2021 is to keep the ball rolling and create long-term sustainable value for our policyholders and shareholders while serving our customers effectively and efficiently.” M