Nigerian insurance tycoon loses nearly $2 million in three weeks

Nigerian insurance tycoon and multimillionaire businessman Wole Oshin has recorded a significant decline in his net worth, amounting to nearly $2 million, as shares in his Lagos-based investment group, Custodian Investment, slumped on the local bourse.

According to data tracked by Billionaires.Africa, Oshin, who ranks as one of the top players in the Nigerian insurance industry, has seen the market value of his stake in Custodian Investment decline by over $1.8 million in the past three weeks.

Custodian Investment, a Lagos-based investment group founded by Oshin in 1991, has active operations in the Nigerian financial services sector, particularly through its insurance subsidiaries, as well as investments in the country’s real estate sector.

The group, which is 26.81-percent owned by Oshin, manages total assets worth more than $450 million and is dedicated to continuously enhancing its operations while creating and protecting wealth for its stakeholders.

In the past three weeks, its share price on the Nigerian Exchange has declined by more than 8.5 percent, from N6.2 ($0.0135) on March 31 to N5.65 ($0.0418) on April 21, leading to millions of dollars in losses for shareholders, including Wole Oshin, and pushing its market capitalization further below the $75 million mark.

As a result of the recent decline in its share price on the Nigerian Exchange, the market value of Oshin’s stake in the group has declined by N867.16 million ($1.88 million), from N9.77 billion ($21.27 million) on March 31 to N8.91 billion ($19.38 million) on April 21.

The recent decline in the company’s valuation comes despite reporting a 9.7-percent increase in its profit at the end of its 2022 fiscal year, from N10.17 billion ($22.1 million) in 2021 to N11.16 billion ($25.2 million).

This growth was driven by cost optimization strategies, which helped curb the surge in operating costs beyond sustainable levels, as well as strong top-line performance, with revenue increasing from N85.74 billion ($186.3 million) to N103.1 billion ($224 million).

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