Staff Writer
ZIMRE Holdings says group insurance revenue amounted to US$61.86 million in 2024 compared to US$50 million in the prior year, and the bulk of it came from reinsurance business, which accounted for 78 percent.
This was followed by life and pensions business at 18 per cent and short-term insurance at 4 percent.
Net investment income was US$12.62 million, while non-insurance income amounted to US$13.54 million. The group’s profit after tax for the year grew 471 per cent to US$10.33 million.
ZHL Chief Finance Officer (CFO) Zvenyika Zvenyika said Mozambique’s RE grew 54 per cent following the recapitalisation of the business to the tune of US$2 million.
The Botswana business achieved a double-digit jump in premium income of 38 per cent after the conclusion of the amalgamation of the two entities.
“We used to have two entities operating in Botswana, so we amalgamated those into one operating unit.
“Zambia has a growth of 30 per cent, and it’s really driven by external business and increased shares, and also the new business line that they have introduced there,” he said.
Zvenyika said Malawi’s situation followed in the footsteps of Zimbabwe in terms of what is happening in the economy, and there was no growth because of currency issues.
“However, we are really excited about that business in terms of its contribution to the group revenue,” he said.
Zvenyika said the reinsurance segment is now making strides into North and Central Africa, and this will solidify its contribution to the revenue of the group.
Group chief executive Stanley Kudenga outlined the group’s key focus areas for 2025, emphasizing topline growth, consolidation, and strategic acquisitions.
He said the company’s growth strategy is anchored on expanding its presence in Africa, leveraging data-driven decision-making, and investing in IT and data management.
ZHL said the group will in the second quarter, 2025 will embark on a capital raise programme to solidify Emeritus Re, which will anchor the group’s expansion plans.
The company’s growth strategy is anchored on expanding presence in Africa, leveraging data-driven decision-making and investing in IT and data management.
“We are going for momentum in terms of what we are planning for top line growth and consolidation, and we are going to have a high appetite for acquisitions, and you will see us looking around for new acquisitions that will drive our growth.
“But the big one is Africa and we have done the housekeeping issues in terms of amalgamating and setting the trajectory from the regional operations,” he said.
Kudenga said the group will start to engage the investors to bankroll the expansion project, and during the second quarter, is going to embark on a capital raise initiative to support the Africa Trek out of Botswana and the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX).
“We are already doing something in Ivory Coast, and we are looking to expand our services in Mozambique in terms of insurance broking and microfinance.
“Apart from reinsurance, we also have other ancillary services that we provide within the group, such as asset management, and we have already set up in Malawi,” he said.
He said the life and pension business segment also recorded strong insurance growth of 45 per cent, and this was really underpinned by the innovative product development that the business has been implementing.
