KINGSTON, Jamaica — Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited says it posted $2.91 billion in net profit attributable to shareholders, a 54 per cent improvement over the same period in 2020, which was sharply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group attributed the significant turnaround to a 38 per cent spike in revenues to $23.12 billion, which was negatively impacted in the prior year due to unrealised losses and credit loss provisions emanating from the pandemic shock experienced in March 2020.

Sagicor further reported in a statement today that its individual life insurance segment played its part in this strong recovery as net premium income grew by five per cent to $7.28 billion.

The group said against the backdrop of the pandemic, it managed to scale its portfolio to more than 630,000 policies in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands as people saw the greater need for insurance in the future. The employee benefits, commercial banking, and investment banking segments also all recorded growth in the improving business environment, it added.

According to the statement, unlike 2020, Sagicor recorded no share of losses in, nor impairment of, its tourism assets in Q1 2021 as a result of the group’s sale of Playa Hotels in January.

“Due to the disposal and derecognition of Playa as an associate, Sagicor Group Jamaica netted $13.6 billion in cash, which saw its cash close out the period at $34.8 billion.

“Though the pandemic continues to pose some risks for business lines in the group, Sagicor Group Jamaica remain optimistic about the future. Sagicor Bank and Sagicor Investments have been recovering solidly with a more open economy starting to pay dividends to their respective businesses,” the statement continued

Chris Zacca, President and CEO of Sagicor Group Jamaica said “We are pleased with the performance of the Group as a whole , as we continue to navigate a very difficult period globally.  We intend to continue on this trajectory as we adapt to and innovate in the new environment.”