By Nkiruka Nnorom

The on-going restructuring in Goldlink Insurance Plc will position the company for   a reversal of fortunes, that is if it is successfully executed.

Charles Fakrogha,  Chief Executive Officer, Foresight Securities & Investment Ltd,  said the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, in conjunction with the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, have commenced efforts towards restructuring the company with the appointment of an interim management team.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, has placed Goldlink on suspension for quite sometime now. Fakrogha noted that the company came for the first time in the history of the stock exchange to do a Fact Behind Restructuring. “For me, it was novel and I must congratulate the NSE,” he said. “The primary regulator of Goldlink, NAICOM in conjunction with SEC are already doing the restructuring. An interim board is working with a clear mandate. So, the funds they want to raise need to be by way of Rights”, Fakrogha added .

As part of the restructuring agenda, the acting Managing Director, Olufunke Moore, said the company would be raising N8 billion from the capital market through a Rights Issue to strengthen its operation. She was of the opinion that the company would become solvent once the planned capital raising exercise is done.

In February 2016, NAICOM reconstituted the Interim management Board, IMB, with the mandates to assume oversight responsibilities and perform normal duties of Board of Directors for sound management and growth of the company, ascertain the financial state of the company, implement the AGM decisions on increase in authorized share capital and take steps to facilitate its recapitalization.

The IMB was also charged with the responsibility of exercising all powers to allot relevant shares in connection with the increase in authorized share capital resulting from capital raising and ensure that all necessary filings and statutory returns and other requirements of the law are complied with in the course of recapitalization, as well as cash injection and allotment of the shares.

They will also restructure the company, align its staffing requirements with the realities on ground, streamline its expenditure pattern and take all other strategic actions to put the company on competitive edge and profitability, as well as carry out all other tasks that may be necessary to bring the company to sound management and operational stability.

Meanwhile, Gold link released its 2015 Q3 results showing pre-tax loss was N1 billion for the period compared to a pre-tax profit of N126.6 million same period last year. The company reported underwriting loss of N207.8 million compared to an underwriting profit of about N1 billion a year earlier.