International Energy Insurance(IEI) Plc, has said that it was set to embark on strategic alliances with organisations that would add value to the company’s operations as well as increase sales outlets at strategic positions.

The company also said it would explore new market opportunities in its core area of business, having successfully divested controlling share interest in its subsidiaries.

 The Chairman, Board of Directors, IEI, Mr Patrick Ugboma, disclosed this at the fortieth Annual General Meeting of the company, held in Calabar.

He said, the restructuring and reengineering effort, which started about two years ago, enabled the company to focus on its competence area and to re-launch it among top three insurance firms in the country, in the next three to five years.

According to him, IEI is a general business specialist insurer with core competence in energy and infrastructure insurance, oil and gas business, special risk and other general insurances.

Ugboma said: “The board is optimistic about the future, and would embark on strategic alliances with organisations that will add value to the company’s operations, as well as increase sales outlets at strategic positions.”

Despite the harsh operating environment in 2010, he said that the company recorded a gross premium income of N4.57bn as against N4.7bn in 2009, while the underwriting profit grew by 0.15 per cent to N2.9bn from N2.5bn in the previous year.

The chairman said the company had successfully written off its premium receivables to a reasonable level where it can be able to declare profit and pay dividend to shareholders in the coming years.

The company’s total asset, according to the statement, stood at N16.1bn at the end of 2010, a growth of 0.1 per cent from N15.9bn in the previous year, while the shareholders fund also moved up by 0.28 per cent, from N6.9bn in 2009 to N8.9bn in the year under review.

Managing Director, IEI, Mrs Roseline Ekeng, said the business environment in the year under review was challenging as the result of shrinking disposable income, high propensity to default payment of premiums, low perception of insurance, credit crunch and intensity of rivalry among industry players, have all constrained insurance business expansion.

 Ekeng expressed optimism that, “Our customer focus, robust information technology infrastructure, business process reengineering and operational excellence, will improve our value creation capacity to the delight of all our stakeholders.”