(Jamaica Gleaner) Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited took a $5-billion hit on its investment securities, which led to lower profit in the March quarter.
If you take those out, then our revenues increased by 15 per cent or $3.05 billion,” said Sagicor Group President and CEO Christopher Zacca.
Two of Sagicor’s four business segments posted lower profit: the employee insurance benefits line, down from $1.26 billion to $1 billion; and commercial banking, down from $364 million to $131 million due to loan loss provisions.
Outside the group’s core insurance and financial activities, Sagicor absorbed an $800-million impairment on its tourism assets due to the closure of hotels brought on by the pandemic, said Zacca.
Sagicor Group plans to proceed with the payment of a dividend at 40 cents per share to shareholders owning one per cent less of the company, but Zacca says the distributions await the approval of large owners.
