N$68 million in profits for PPS members
The Namibian financial services company, PPS Namibia focused exclusively on graduate professionals, has announced that total profit share allocations to members for the 2015 financial year amounted to N$67.9 million.
The company, which is the largest company in Namibia operating under a mutual model – which means that all PPS Namibia’s profits are allocated to PPS Namibia members on an annual basis by way of allocations to their PPS Profit-Share Accounts confirmed a 7% increase in total assets to N$944.4 million.
Adri Vermeulen, Chief Executive of PPS Namibia, said members have benefited hugely from their ability to share in the profits of the company in recent years. “Over the last five years, PPS Namibia has allocated over N$515.8 million to its members, making it by far the largest and most successful mutual company in Namibia.”
“Our members have a unique value proposition by belonging to PPS, as they receive all the profits of the company via allocations to their PPS Profit-Share Account. Upon retirement**, they qualify for a lump sum pay-out of all the accumulated profits,” said Vermeulen.
The increased interest in the mutuality model is mirrored globally where the total market share of mutual and cooperatives insurers has increased steadily from 23.5% in 2007 to 27.1% in 2014, according to the latest statistics from the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF).
According to Shaun Tarbuck, CEO of the ICMIF, the increase
in the mutual market share highlights the strong benefits of this business model. “It can be argued that global markets have experienced a shift in consumers’ buying behaviour when it comes to financial services and the global growth of the mutual sector could be as a result of customers reacting against the perceived culture of listed companies.”
In addition to the profit allocation, Vermeulen said gross premium revenue rose 9% to N$119.7 million, while total gross benefits paid to members, including life, dread disease and disability claims amounted to N$78.6 million in 2015.
“We are extremely pleased with the performance of PPS Namibia during the last year. These results demonstrate the strength of members belonging to a mutual financial services company,” he said.
