Saudi Enaya eyes cost optimization to turn a profit, says CEO

Saudi Enaya Cooperative Insurance Co. is seeking to optimize and reduce costs as it looks to boost its financial performance and turn to profitability, CEO Sultan Abdul Raouf told Argaam in a telephone interview.

“Enaya’s financial performance demonstrated positive improvement in the second and third quarters,” Abdul Raouf said, expecting that continuous improvement will contribute to trimming losses.

Moreover, Enaya had appointed an external auditor to drive cost optimization.

Replying to a question about a possible merger with Amana Cooperative Insurance, Abdul Raouf said, “Talks are moving seriously between the two parties, but they are still in a preliminary stage.”

In case the merger is finalized, the move will affect the capital increase of the merged entity, enhancing its competitiveness in the healthcare sector.

Last month, Enaya and Amana Insurance boards of directors agreed to start talks about a potential merger, Argaam reported.

Abdul Raouf added that the renewal of Fakeeh Care contract reflects Enaya’s ability to win more contracts from major entities.

Elsewhere, Rami Al-Madhoun, the company’s chief financial officer, said Enaya is not in the right place, and there is still a long way to improvement, noting that a strategic plan was developed to achieve better results.

Enaya narrowed net loss before Zakat by 71% year-on-year (YoY) to SAR 22.1 million in the first nine months of 2020.