Santam, South Africa’s largest general insurer, upped its final dividend thanks to strong earnings growth - even as it cut underperforming business that trimmed more than R1 billion off of its premiums.
The Bellville-based short-term insurance giant, majority-owned by Sanlam, reported a 64% rise in net profit to R3.25 billion for the year to end-December, with headline earnings per share rising 27% to 2,310 cents. Santam declared a final dividend of 905 cents per share for the period, 7% higher than in the previous year.
Santam cancelled unprofitable insurance business at Santam Re and Broker Solutions as well as its corporate property underwriter Emerald Risk Transfer, which had an impact of more than R1 billion in gross written premiums.