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SANTAM LIMITED - Operational Update to Shareholders Following The Annual General Meeting Held on 1 June 2015

Release Date: 01/06/2015 10:29
Code(s): SNT     PDF:  
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Operational Update to Shareholders Following The Annual General Meeting Held on 1 June 2015

SANTAM LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number: 1918/001680/06)
(Share Code: SNT ISIN: ZAE000093779)
NSX share code: SNM
("Santam")


OPERATIONAL UPDATE TO SHAREHOLDERS FOLLOWING THE ANNUAL GENERAL
MEETING HELD ON 1 JUNE 2015

This serves as a general communication to Santam shareholders with regards to the business
environment for the four month period ended 30 April 2015.

The Group achieved acceptable underwriting results and premium growth in a tough general
economic climate. Underwriting conditions remain challenging in South Africa with continued
pressure on claims costs.

The Santam Commercial and Personal business delivered satisfactory underwriting results
despite significant hail claims in Pietermaritzburg in February 2015. The Santam Specialist
business showed good resilience in competitive market conditions, with a few large corporate
property claims reducing the underwriting performance. Following the drought in the central
parts of the country, the results of the crop insurance business were significantly lower
compared to the same period in 2014. MiWay continued to report strong growth and acceptable
loss ratios.

Gross written premium growth slowed down compared to the prior period, reflecting the impact
of competitive market conditions and the continued focus on underwriting profitability.

The Group’s investment performance was in line with the market, showing a significant increase
compared to the same period in 2014. The return on insurance funds was in line with the prior
period.

Headline earnings continue to be susceptible to the inherent volatility of underwriting and
investment activities.

At 30 April 2015 the group’s solvency margin was at the upper end of the target range of 35% to
45%. Santam recently announced a proposed specific repurchase of 4,2 million Santam shares
for R800 million as part of the unwinding of the Santam broad-based black economic
empowerment scheme (BBBEE scheme) (refer SENS announcement dated 13 May 2015
“Proposed specific repurchase and placement of Santam shares as part of the BBBEE scheme
unwind”). It is anticipated that the group solvency margin will be around the middle of the target
range following the repurchase. The unwinding of the BBBEE scheme will result in only a
marginal dilution of Santam’s black ownership, which remains a key priority for the Group.

The next set of results will be the interim results for the six month period ending 30 June 2015 to
be published on SENS on 26 August 2015.

CAPE TOWN
1 JUNE 2015

Sponsor:
Investec Bank Limited

Date: 01/06/2015 10:29:00 Produced by the JSE SENS Department. The SENS service is an information dissemination service administered by the JSE Limited ('JSE'). 
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