Lasaco Assurance Recovers from Loss, Thanks to Cost Control

Composite insurance company Lasaco Assurance has bounced back from a half-year loss of N731.5 million recorded in the first half of last year. This loss marked its first annual loss in thirteen years during the financial year 2025.

The company, facing a recapitalisation deadline in the Nigerian insurance sector this month, reported a profit of N384.9 million for the six months ending in June. This is a significant improvement from the same period last year, according to its latest corporate report released on Friday.

Lasaco's return to profit did not come from increased revenue but from cutting costs. Insurance revenue, which is its main income source, fell by 3.2 percent from last year to N16.3 billion.

This drop followed a decline in cash from its general business insurance contracts.

Lasaco Insurance managed to cut its insurance service expenses by 17 percent. It also lowered net expenses from reinsurance contracts by 11.4 percent. These moves helped boost insurance service results to N3.1 billion, up from N1.1 billion a year earlier.

Investment results were not as strong, falling by 13.4 percent to N1.6 billion. This was due to a drop in interest revenue calculated through the effective interest method.

The financial services company earned less from fixed deposits and even less from bonds during this period.

Additionally, it faced a net foreign exchange loss of N67.9 million, compared to a gain of N58.1 million during the same time last year. This loss affected net investment results.

Another issue was a drop in other operating income, which fell to N33.3 million from N246.1 million. Operating expenses rose by 9.2 percent, increasing to N4.2 billion from N3.8 billion.

Profit before tax was N436.2 million, down from a pre-tax profit of N518.1 million one year earlier. Post-tax profit reached N384.9 million, a significant recovery from a net loss of N731.5 million in the same period last year.

Nigeria’s ongoing insurance industry recapitalisation, which ends this month, requires life insurance firms to increase their minimum paid-up capital from N2 billion to N10 billion. Non-life insurers must raise theirs from N3 billion to N15 billion.

Composite insurance companies now have a minimum capital requirement of N25 billion, up from N5 billion.

Through its recent rights issue, Lasaco raised N19.3 billion. It confirmed that this amount has passed capital verification with the National Insurance Commission and received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The NGX Insurance Index, which tracks Nigeria’s leading insurance stocks, has risen by 23.8 percent since President Bola Tinubu signed the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act on 4th August 2025.