Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, one of the three insurance firms which received nominations from the Nigerian Stock Exchange for its prestigious President's award for 2008 held recently in Lagos, has recorded N1.18billion as profit before tax from its operations in the third quarter of this year. This amount represents 241 per cent change from the N302.25 million it recorded during the same quarter last year.

The company, in its published unaudited results for the quarter ended September, 2008, put its profit after tax at N1.07 billion as against the N257.04 million it posted for the corresponding period in 2007. This represents a whopping 263 per cent growth over the figure raked in at the same period last year.

The company, which has the record of successfully floating the biggest public offer so far in the history of the nation's insurance sector, further recorded a gross premium of N3.15billion, a 34 per cent performance above the N1.77 billion of the same period in 2007.

While its earned premium for the period under review stood at N2.06 billion as against the N1.58 billion in the corresponding period of 2007, signifying a 31 per cent improvement, its shareholders' fund within the period stood at N24.16 billion, indicating a record growth of 269 per cent over the N6.51 billion in 2007.

Also, the company's tax provision during the period in question was N109.66 million, a 119 per cent change from the N45.21 million of the same period last year.

According to the Group Managing Director, Mr. Bode Akinboye, "we are thankful to God that despite the prevailing financial crisis, the company was able to perform above board, noting that barring any further unforeseen development, the company's management looks forward to a more rewarding business in the rest quarter of the year."

He disclosed that with the strategic financial deployments which have been made to the other strategic investments in the subsidiaries which consist of life assurance, PFA, mortgage banking, asset management and properties as well as in the working capital of the company, there shall be geometric increase in all its performance indices.