Avbob Group continues to grow despite harsh economy

Despite the weak performance of financial markets, the Avbob Group boasts a strong set of results to the benefit of customers and shareholders.
The announcement was made during the company’s Annual General Meeting recently, where the financial results for the 2016/17 financial year were presented, according to a media release.
Chief Executive Officer, Frik Rademan, announced an income of R1,1 billion before tax. “During such tough economic times, having a profitable organisation is an achievement in itself and we are proud of what we have achieved,” he said.
The society performed exceptionally well and grew its net new business by 14,8%. Over the past six years, Avbob grew its new business by a remarkable 156,3% and Rademan reportedly said the resilience of their product offering, their one-stop service model and the expansion of the Group’s footprint supported this growth. He emphasised that Avbob’s mutual status is the key that sets it apart from competitors and that being a mutual allows the society to allocate surplus profits to policyholders.
Rademan announced that Abob has been certified as a Top Employer by the Top Employers  Institute and said “the spirit of an organisation is in its workforce: they are the ambassadors, the drivers that steer the ship to ultimate success. I consider it a privilege to be at the helm of an organisation that has been in existence for 99 years.”
The Society is less than a year away from celebrating its 100th anniversary on 15 August 2018, according to the media release. Rademan said that Avbob has great plans to celebrate this historical moment. Over and above what they intend to do to reward their policyholders, the society intends to publish a book that will cover the growth and development of this iconic South African brand since 1918.
Earlier this year the group announced its Schools Infrastructure and Poetry projects; two exciting initiatives that will coincide with the centenary celebrations.
As part of the Schools Infrastructure project, the Group will invest R150 million to renovate nine schools across the country. This is in support of the Department of Basic Education’s initiatives to provide quality education to all South African learners.
The Poetry project provides established and aspiring poets from every walk-of-life with an opportunity to submit their poems in all 11 official languages. Winners of the competition stand to win significant cash prizes and an anthology of the 100 best poems will be selected and published. Members of the public will also have access to thousands of poems which are continuously published on a website that was specifically created for this purpose.

Story: MARKI FRANKEN
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