Lasaco Assurance Recovers from Losses with Cost Cuts

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

As the deadline for recapitalisation in the Nigerian insurance industry approaches this month, Lasaco recorded a profit of N384.9 million in the first half of this year. This information comes from the latest corporate report published on Friday.

The company's return to profit is more about cutting costs than increasing revenue. Insurance revenue, its main source of income, 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 Assurance reduced its insurance service expenses by 17 percent. It also cut net expenses from reinsurance contracts by 11.4 percent. These moves helped improve insurance service results from N1.1 billion last year to N3.1 billion this year.

On the other hand, investment results were not as strong. They fell by 13.4 percent to N1.6 billion due to lower interest revenue from fixed deposits and bonds.

The company faced a net foreign exchange loss of N67.9 million, compared to a gain of N58.1 million in the same period last year. This loss affected the overall investment results.

Another issue was a drop in other operating income, which fell to N33.3 million from N246.1 million. Operating expenses also 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 last year. Post-tax profit stood at N384.9 million, a big improvement from a net loss of N731.5 million in the same period last year.

Nigeria's current recapitalisation process for the insurance sector ends this month. It requires life insurance companies to increase their minimum capital from N2 billion to N10 billion. Non-life insurers must raise theirs from N3 billion to N15 billion.

Composite insurance firms now need to meet a minimum capital threshold of N25 billion, up from N5 billion.

Lasaco Assurance raised N19.3 billion through a recent rights issue. This amount has passed capital verification with the National Insurance Commission and has been confirmed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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