Prime Business Africa
Cornerstone Insurance revenue increased to N14 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2026, up from N11 billion generated between January and March 2025, representing a 25.20 percent growth.
According to Prime Business Africa’s (PBA) analysis of the company’s financial statement for the period ended Q1 2026, while turnover surged, insurance service expense declined by 18.48 year-on-year, from N7.44 billion to N6.07 billion.
However, net expenses from reinsurance contracts held grew threefold to N4.66 billion during the period under review, compared to the N472.66 million expended in the first quarter of last year.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe 887.16 percent increase in net expenses from reinsurance contracts held affected the service result or gross profit, which grew marginally by 0.06 percent year-on-year, from N3.265 billion to N3.267 billion.
Another source of earnings for the insurer, investment return, declined to N2.48 billion in the first quarter of this year, up by 0.67 percent after slightly surpassing the N2.49 billion recorded in Q1 2025.
The earnings were further impacted by a 571.77 percent decline in net finance expenses from insurance contracts issued, as the segment was increased from N251.55 million in Q1 2025 to N1.68 billion in Q1 2026.
However, this was offset by a N93.05 million net finance income from reinsurance contracts held between January and March 2026, recovering from the N806.87 million net finance loss from reinsurance contracts held in the same period the year before.
But the recovery was not enough to prevent Cornerstone from recording a 50.86 percent year-on-year jump in net insurance finance expenses, as it grew to N1.59 billion, from N1.05 billion.
Also, net financial results declined significantly to N884.14 million in the first quarter of this year, which is 38.57 percent below the N1.43 billion reported in the corresponding period in 2025.
Cornerstone, however, was able to grind out a whopping 6,783.38 percent increase in other operating income, after reporting N66.28 million in Q1 2026, compared to the N963,000 posted in the first quarter of the previous year.
Also, the company reduced management expenses by 12.23 percent to N2.49 billion during the period under review, below the N2.84 billion expended on management between January and March 2025.
Still, Cornerstone’s profit before tax (PBT) fell by 7.52 percent from N2.84 billion in the first quarter of last year to N2.49 billion in the same period in 2026, according to the statement.
Tax expense on Cornerstone’s earnings rose to N243.16 million in Q1 2026, surpassing the N219.36 million incurred in the corresponding period in 2025, indicating a 10.85 percent increase.
This led to profit after tax (PAT) rising by 9.96 percent to N1.48 billion in the first three months of this year, compared to the N1.64 billion recorded between January and March 2025.
In 2025, Cornerstone Insurance’s profit also dropped by 67 percent following a N3.57 billion foreign exchange (FX) loss and a decline in trading gain.
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Prime Business Africa is a business, economy and policy news platform founded in 2021 by veteran journalist and media scholar, Dr Marcel Mbamalu, after he left The Guardian as Editor.
Dr Mbamalu, who serves as Founder and Publisher, set up Prime Business Africa to deliver sharp, data-driven reporting on Nigeria’s markets, trade, investment, and governance trends for decision-makers, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders.
He also writes The Bottom Line, a backpage column for Punch Newspaper every Thursday.
Under his leadership, Prime Business Africa combines deep newsroom experience with a focus on accountability journalism, aiming to bridge information gaps between Africa’s private sector and the global economy.
