Around 100 shareholders from across the country filed into the Corinthia San Gorg on Friday June 28 to hear encouraging news from the company at GlobalCapital plc's annual general meeting (AGM). Deputy Chairman Mr. Nicholas Ashford Hodges, standing in for Chairman Mr. Dawood Rawat who was indisposed, told the shareholders that the company has enjoyed its best operational results in five years, including a healthy operating profit with the prospect of more sustainable success going forward. Mr. Ashford Hodges said that like other companies in many other industries GlobalCapital had continued in 2012 to face tough challenges with legacy issues and from a variety of external forces, including low interest rates, currency fluctuations, financial and property markets volatility and regulatory and political uncertainty. Despite these challenges, however, GlobalCapital continued on its path towards significantly strengthening its core businesses by improving operating revenue and managing expenses downwards. Mr. Ashford Hodges told delegates at the AGM that Life Insurance is the key pillar of the Group’s strategy and that the core life insurance yardstick value of in-force business has increased by 14% since 2011 to €3.3 million. “We are particularly relying on the core life insurance operations to achieve our value generation objectives,” he concluded. GlobalCapital Group CEO Bashar Khatib informed the shareholders that on the operational side significant progress had been made in improving efficiency and effectiveness, although financial and property assets did not perform well and impacted negatively on overall results. Legacy issues, he emphasised, continued to offset the substantial improvements made in operations. He described the last twelve months as “pivotal” in the continued operational evolution of GlobalCapital as a rejuvenated, agile and diversified niche life and health insurance and investments company. Mr. Khatib explained to the AGM that the life company embedded value was steadily growing through high quality long-term business and that evidence of this improved performance trend was the growth in value of in-force by more than €600,000 in 2012, illustrating that the new products now being embraced by the market were yielding substantial value both for policyholders and the company, a classic “win: win situation”. The result, he stated, is a life insurance operation with greater scale, broadened product offerings and expanded distribution capabilities. GlobalCapital Life Insurance now holds a competitive advantage he said, through the introduction of key new policies such as the variable universal life product (Real Life), in addition to the re-engineering of several of the company’s products which were proving to be attractive to the market. Embedded Value of life business rose to its highest level at €12.6 million, a most relevant measure of sustainable worth. Mr. Khatib also informed the AGM that health insurance income grew by 10% over the prior year despite a heavily competitive market, and with alterations to the business model GlobalCapital Health Insurance Agency Limited, which is the exclusive representative of Bupa in Malta, reported an increased net profit after tax of €859,798 in 2012 compared to €438,605 in 2011.  The published financial results for the year ended 31 December 2012 showed an improved financial performance on an after-tax basis, with the loss of the group reducing from €4,193,670 in 2011 to €2,406,685 in 2012. Cost containment and work efficiencies contributed to over €1 million worth of savings in 2012. The results were however also impacted by losses from financial assets, notably the negative shift of 31% in a local equity shareholding which resulted in unrealised losses of €2 million offsetting GlobalCapital's positive operating performance. In addition, certain other non-recurring items, particularly provisions of €446,000 and property impairments of €352,680 further reversed a positive operational performance.  Summing up the 2012 operational report Mr. Khatib said, “Despite the unsettled market environment of the past few years, core earnings improved for most of our businesses during 2012 and our underlying operating performance was solid. Our business fundamentals remain sound, as shown by our improved and consistent sales in all lines of business. We continue to move towards sustainability through the resolute execution of a proven restructuring strategy and our ability to leverage our reductions in the cost-base. We have stronger positions in each of our 3 key business units, life insurance, health insurance and investment services. Our continuing improvements stem from the hard work of our approximately one hundred dedicated and professional employees, agents and intermediaries, coupled with a deep understanding of the financial and protection needs of our Maltese clients.”