Argus Insurance is seeking the attention of institutional investors in a move to enlarge the company’s size.

The position was underscored in the just released annual report.

Even after recent moves to diversify the company’s holdings, including into the business of providing healthcare services, the domestic insurer’s business leaders foresee more capital clout as a path to another quantum leap.

Alison Hill, the Argus CEO for 11 years, noted the need for a wider capital base from which to work towards substantive capital acquisitions.

She said: “We’ve been pleased to see our share price triple over the past 18 months. We still trade at a discount to our intrinsic value but are heartened that the market has started to take note of the value we’re building.

“We want to close the valuation gap, obtain access to a broader capital base for future growth and increase liquidity of Argus shares. We want our shares to be a viable currency for future merger and acquisitions as we continue on our journey to diversify and build scale.”

David A. Brown, Argus chairman, conceded that while the company has had much success of late, it has not been fully reflected in its share price.

He said: “We know that Argus continues to trade at a discount to intrinsic value – well below the level warranted by a company with our consistent performance. We will continue to work on remedying this over the coming year.”

In an accompanying statement to the report, Ms Hill said Argus has reimagined its entire business. She said: “We have quietly gone about rethinking our place, our products, and our very purpose.

“A closer look at our balance sheet, reveals the work done to prepare for accelerated growth, building scale, and diversification.”

The company ran a successful share repurchase programme during the year, in fact returning $2.5 million through share repurchases since March 2018.

During the same period, shareholders recouped $19.6 million in dividends and shareholders’ equity increased from $105.9 million to $143.0 million.

The CEO’s annual report also noted: “Over the past year we have had the opportunity to share our Argus story with a broader audience of sophisticated global investors to see if it resonates with them. Would they understand what makes our business special?

“We wanted to see if more institutional investors would recognise how our story and approach translates into sustainable shareholder value. It was gratifying to get support for, and validation of, our approach from investment analysts and brokers.

“They reacted positively to our story, felt that we were offering something unique, distinct and different and recognised that we are no longer just an insurer or financial service business. We are in fact a customer-led business that seeks to put the human experience at our very core.

“Our challenge now? To rapidly grow our scale and reach and to export what we do to other connected communities with larger addressable markets.”

As previously reported, underwriting profitability was strong for the third consecutive year. The group’s combined ratio for the insurance businesses was 77.8 per cent (2020: 80.8 per cent; 2021: 70.4 per cent).

Peter J. Dunkerley, group chief financial officer, said: "Over the last five years we have acquired insurance brokers, a medical care management company, and primary healthcare practices.

“Not only have these acquisitions generated significant additional sources of revenue, but they have also brought complementary capabilities and services to our group.”

He said: “Health related fees have become the largest component of our fee income and are expected to grow as we build out our medical administration and healthcare delivery businesses.

“Over one quarter of our commission and fee income is generated by our pension and wealth management products, and a further one quarter is commission received from reinsurers.

“Income from our European insurance brokerage operations have remained robust. During the year we merged our two insurance brokerage businesses in Malta and united them under the Antes brand, creating Malta’s largest domestic insurance broker.”