Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1463927
5 NEWS 7.4.2022 WITH an annualised net dividend yield averaging 7% over the past 5 years, GO remains one of the best performing pub- licly listed companies in Malta. It has consistently delivered shareholder re- turns above the market average. During 2021, the Group generated rev- enue of €193.7 million (2020: €185.2 mil- lion), an increase of €8.5 million (4.6% increase) over the comparative year. Revenue from GO's local telecommuni- cations segment increased by 0.7% com- pared to 2020. is growth was mainly impacted by the significant drop in inter- national roaming traffic due to the travel restrictions. GO's investments however continued to deliver additional value, in fact during 2021 GO invested €50.5 mil- lion, €7.2 million lower than the previous year. Based on this performance, the Board of Directors has resolved to recommend a final dividend of €0.09 per share in ad- dition to the interim dividend of €0.07 per share paid on 31 August 2021. Bring- ing the total dividends distribution for fi- nancial year 2021 to €0.16 per share. e payment of this Net Dividend amounts to the total sum of €9.12 million. Commenting on these results, GO CEO Nikhil Patil commented "2021 was undoubtedly a remarkable year. e sec- ond year of a global pandemic that sig- nificantly impacted our economic and social fabric, a year where market pres- sures continued mounting with inflation increasing cost of raw materials, energy and transportation. is notwithstand- ing, demand for robust and resilient communications services continued." "2021 was another year where GO demonstrated resiliency in the face of challenges. Staying focused on living our purpose, which is to drive a digital Malta where no one is left behind, and staying true to our values, has enabled us to de- liver a strong financial performance and returns for our esteemed shareholders," he continued. "Going forward, we shall remain fo- cused on supporting our people inter- nally, nurturing a culture that is fully supportive of us becoming a purpose led organisation; we shall continue invest- ing in innovative products and services through the best technology available in order enable and enrich our customers lives and businesses, and shall increase our efforts to reduce our environmental impact,' concluded Nikhil Patil. e final dividend for the year ending 31 December 2021 will be paid on Friday, 27 May 2022 to all shareholders who are on the shareholders' register as at Mon- day, 25 April 2022. e Annual General Meeting will be held remotely on Wednesday, 25 May 2022. GO p.l.c. gives €0.16c dividend for financial year 2021 GO CEO Nikhil Patil MAPFRE Malta has reported €20.39 million in total Group pr ofit before tax 2021, as compared to €21.19 million during the previous year, while after tax profits dropped from €14.29 million in 2020 to €12.92 million last year. MAPFRE Middlesea p.l.c., as a stan- dalone Company, registered a turno- ver of €80.11 million in gross premium written, a 6.6% increase over FY 2020 registering a marginal increase in its market leadership share. As the econo- my rebounded back from the retraction in 2020, premium likewise returned to a satisfactory level of growth, though still lower than pre-pandemic levels par- ticularly in Travel and Motor. Technical results deteriorated com- pared to FY 2020 as claim frequency in Motor and Health returned to pre-pan- demic levels as mobility returned to normality. Large losses also had a more significant impact on results following a year with few high severity claims. Dividends from Group companies were limited to those received from the associate company Middlesea Assist Ltd. MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. did not distribute any dividend to strengthen further its solvency ratio. is is reflect- ed on the profit of the company and the dividend that can be paid by the com- pany. e company registered a profit be- fore tax for FY 2021 amounting to €4.06 million, compared to a profit of €6.39 million in FY 2020. Profit after tax dropped from €4.12 million in FY 2020 to €2.61 million in FY 2021. e Company maintained a strong balance sheet, with its Shareholders' equity amounting to €76.41 million still maintaining a strong regulatory solven- cy position as at 31 December 2021 un- der the Solvency II regime. e Group's results include the con- solidated MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. ("MMSV") profit before tax of €16.69 million (2020: €15.04 million). MMSV reported gross written premiums of €325.14 million compared to €269.58 million in 2020 driven by the economic recovery, the high levels of liquidity in the local economy and the low interest rates characterizing the market with single premium and regular premium business benefitting from such envi- ronment. MAPFRE MSV's With Profit Fund returned a gross return of 4.20% compared to the 2.75% generated in 2020 on favourable economic, financial market and policy conditions. Investment income closed with a re- turn of €97.58 million compared to €62.71 million in 2020. e MMSV profit after tax consolidated for FY 2021 amounted to €10.56 million (2020: €10.33 million). Total Group capital and reserves at- tributable to shareholders (excluding non-controlling interests) as at 31 De- cember 2021 was €111.04 million, as a result of the profit for the year and the increase in the value of-in-force busi- ness with no dividend being paid by MAPFRE MSV Life p.l.c. A final gross dividend in respect of year ended 31 December 2021 of €0.030401 per share amounting to a total divi- dend of €2,796,910 (2020: €4,823,996) is to be proposed by the directors at the forthcoming annual general meeting. is is equivalent to a net dividend of €0.0260870 per share amounting to a total net dividend of €2,400,000 (2020: €3,200,000). e outlook of the Board of Direc- tors for 2022 remains one of cautious optimism. e global economic recov- ery experienced in 2021 should be sus- tained into 2022 though the growth rate will not benefit from the low base effect of 2020. High liquidity and a still sup- portive fiscal and easy monetary policy should continue to underpin growth. However, down side risks persist in the form of structural inflationary pres- sures, supply side bottlenecks, new COVID-19 variants and geopolitical risk particularly the Ukraine conflict. e insurance market has not been ef- fected as negatively as other sectors of the economy although the pinch felt by the rest of the economy is having its side effects on our sector both in the sale of certain products and through inflation- ary pressures on claims. Within this context, demand for general business is expected to grow at a lower rate than that experienced in the last pre-pan- demic years and in the context of Mal- ta's high savings ratio, the demand for the protection, savings and investments products in life is expected to remain strong. MAPFRE Malta registers €12.92m in total Group profit after tax for 2020, down from €14.29m