Kurnia Group
Kurnia Asia's 8th Annual General Meeting - A Strong Financial Year
24 November 2009
Petaling Jaya, 24 November 2009 – Kurnia Asia Berhad (“KAB”)
successfully concludes its Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) at its
Corporate Head Office in Menara Kurnia.
The financial year ended 30 June 2009 saw the Group achieving profit after
tax of RM57.0 million on the back of gross premium amounting to RM1.05 billion.
On 24 June 2009, KAB announced its change of financial year end to 31 December.
Accordingly, the current financial period is only 6 months – closing
on 31 December 2009. For the first 3 months of the current financial period
ending 31 December 2009, KAB had recorded a profit after tax of RM32.2 million.
KAB's Executive Chairman, Tan Sri Dato' Paduka Kua Sian Kooi commented: “I
am pleased with the strong show of support given to the Board of Directors
and Management during the just concluded AGM of KAB today. Although KAB has
recorded a strong turnaround particularly in the Malaysian general insurance
business operations, rest assured that we are continuing with the momentum
of generating sustainable profitability. Barring any unforeseen circumstances,
we are confident of closing the current financial period ending 31 December
2009 with good results.”
Kurnia Insurans Malaysia Berhad (“KIMB”) embarked on its transformation
journey in July 2007. In July 2009, KIMB launched its second wave of transformation
called “Mission 15” to further improve the operational efficiency
and service standards to better serve its customers and agents nationwide.
The targeted measures for the next 3 years are 60%-65% for claims ratio and
15% for management expenses. Besides the internal operations drivers, KIMB
has also stepped up its product differentiations and service standards on the
front end such as the re-launch of Kurnia Auto Assist (“KAA”) and
Kurnia Express (KE) via One Touch Campaign.
All the above proactive measures shall put KIMB on a very competitive platform
as Malaysian general insurance industry move into a more liberalized environment.
In his Budget 2010 speech, Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak
has signaled that the structural changes is expected to take place as early
as mid-2010 under the motor insurance scheme.
Analysts have broadly concurred that KIMB stands to benefit from these changes
given that it has the largest motor insurance market share in Malaysia and
the preparatory efforts already made by the company.
Apart from the Malaysian operations, KAB has general insurance business operations
in Indonesia and Thailand as well. Although the gross premium for Thailand
and Indonesian amounted to approximately RM85 million for the financial year
ended 30 June 2009, these markets hold tremendous prospects for the Group,
as it strives to be a leading financial services group in the ASEAN region.
Tan Sri Kua asserted: “We already have a platform in the key markets
in the ASEAN region. Our Indonesian and Thailand businesses have great potential.”
Lastly, the Board of Directors, Management and all staff of KAB are pleased
to note that KIMB has once again been recognized as one of Malaysian’s
30 Most Valuable Brand for three consecutive years, making KIMB the only recipient
of the award from the insurance sector in 2009. Tan Sri Kua remarked: “The
award came on the eve of our AGM and it is truly a pleasant endorsement that
Kurnia is a very well accepted brand in the marketplace and we continue to
make Kurnia synonymous with general insurance.”