One of the younger insurance firms, Lucy Insurance Company, has reported a 26 million Br net profit in the last fiscal year, which makes for a 60pc increase.

Named after Lucy, the 3.2 million-year-old hominid, the insurance company has been reporting profit growth for the past three years.

Increase in interest income and underwriting surplus are the major sources of profit growth, according to Abdulmenan Mohammed, a financial professional at Portobello Group in London.

The six-year-old insurer underwrote 43 million Br in the fiscal year, a 40.8pc increase from 2016/17. Interest from time deposits soared to 16.5 million Br, a 37pc increase.

The CEO of the insurance company agrees with Abdulmenan's view.

“We have increased our premium production efforts and managed the claims,” said Tefera Wondimu, the CEO of Lucy.

The dividend paid to shareholders reached 244 Br/share, a 33pc increase from the previous year's performance report.

The dividend has risen as net profit surges are coupled with a modest increase in paid-up capital, according to Abdulmenan.

The positive outcome was recorded after challenges, according to vice chairperson of the insurance firm, Abayneh Kebede.

“Lucy finds itself amidst a stiff and cutthroat competition,” the vice chairperson stated in his message to shareholders in the annual report. “However, the company is managing to withstand the competition.”

The total assets of the company also jumped by 34pc and reached 330.2 million Br. Half of it was held in interest-earning deposit accounts while 34.7 million Br held in shares at different companies. Its investment in interest-earning takes 59pc of the total assets.

Last year the firm underwrote 128 million Br in premiums and covered 29.7 billion Br in risk. From its total coverage, motor insurance contributes 57.8pc of the portfolio followed by liability and financial insurance.

The surge in premiums was paralleled with an increase in claims. The company paid out 60.7 million Br in claims, posting a 23.4pc increase.

“Compared with its previous year’s growth, the current increase is reasonable,” Abdulmenan pointed out.