Life insurer Metropolitan’s dividend for 2008 remained flat at 95 cents, the company said on Wednesday, as it reported its annual results.
”For shareholders, the fact that the total dividend for the year remained flat at 95 cents is indicative of Metropolitan’s resilience in the midst of one of the worst crises on financial markets worldwide,” the company said.
It was also confirmation that the board remained confident about Metropolitan’s medium-term earnings prospects and capital position while at the same time acknowledging the ongoing uncertainty that the group was expecting in 2009, the group added.
Looking ahead, Metropolitan — a company that conducts business at the lower end of the retail market — said food, fuel and transport inflation, together with unemployment levels, remained the biggest challenge to the group’s core target market.
”Any further increases are likely to curtail new business prospects,” it said.
Diluted core headline earnings per share rose to 151 cents from 142 cents for the year, the group said.
The value of new business written by all the businesses in the group grew from R336-million in 2007 to R371-million, ”an increase of 10% and, a noteworthy feat under current conditions”, Metropolitan said. — Sapa