[ad_1]
The improved performance was primarily due to an increase in net investment income and growth in net premium income. India’s largest insurer’s net premium income grew 4.6% to $1.17 billion compared to $1.11 billion in Q3FY24.
The company’s board of directors proposed an interim dividend $4 per share for FY24, with the record date set for February 21, 2024. Additionally, LIC’s net investment income during the December quarter rose 12% year-on-year to $95,266.8 million rupees $84,869 crore in Q3FY2023, while management expenses increased 32% year-on-year for $18,193.8 million rupees.
“Our consistent and focused approach on diversifying and changing our product mix is now yielding results at a faster pace,” said LIC Chairman Siddhartha Mohanty.
“We want to ensure that every action we take adds value to all stakeholders. We will relentlessly pursue our target product and channel mix with the support of all our employees, agency strength and channel partners. We are committed to developing new products designed to meet the changing needs of our customers. With our digital transformation project underway, we are confident of achieving significant improvements in our business processes,” he added.
The company reported a decrease in other income., that fell to $163.83 crores $209.75 crores compared to the same quarter last year. Despite this, LIC managed to reduce its gross non-performing assets (NPA) to 2.15% in Q3FY2024 from 2.43% in the previous quarter.
LIC share soared to all-time high of $1,145 following the Prime Minister’s positive comments on the company’s performance. Furthermore, the insurer’s market capitalization exceeded $7 billion for the first time. LIC has generated a healthy return of 26.3% to its investors since its listing on May 17, 2022, surpassing its issue price of $949 per share.
“LIC’s recent rally is driven by a confluence of factors such as LIC Chairman’s confidence in achieving double-digit growth in startup premiums by FY2024, boosting investor sentiment. Reducing embedded value losses in the last quarter indicates better financial health, implying potential for higher profitability in the coming years,” said Pravesh Gour, senior technical analyst at Swastika Investmart Ltd.
During the nine-month period ending December, LIC’s net profit rose 17.2% to $26,913 crore, including a significant amount attributed to increases in the available solvency margin transferred from the non-nominal fund to the shareholders’ account.
In terms of market share, LIC maintained 38.74% in individual business and 72.24% in group business during the nine months ending December 2023. However, total premium income for the same period declined 5.7% to $3.42 billion compared to the previous year.
Despite the decline in premium income, LIC maintained strong sales volume, with 12.55 million sold in the individual segment during the nine-month period, although slightly lower than the previous year’s figure.
The company’s assets under management (AUM) saw a significant increase, reaching $49.66 billion as of December 31, 2023, representing a year-on-year growth of 11.98%. In addition, the return on investments in policyholders’ funds improved, reaching 9.14% compared to 8.58% the previous year.
LIC’s current ratio as on December 31, 2023 improved to 1.93 from 1.85 on December 31, 2022. On Thursday, LIC stock closed up 5.82% at $1,105.25 each in the BSE.
Here is your complete three-minute summary of everything Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her Budget speech: Click to download!
See all corporate news and updates on Live Mint. Check out the latest action on Budget 2024 here. Download the Mint News app for daily market updates and live business news.
More less
Posted: Feb 8, 2024, 06:19 pm IST