(Reuters) – India’s HDFC Life Insurance reported a 16% year-on-year rise in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, on high demand for its group insurance offerings.
The insurer said that its profit rose to 4.77 billion rupees ($56 million) for the three months to March end.
Its quarterly net premium income grew 16% to 237.66 billion rupees, driven by a 19% jump in single premiums.
Growth in its market- or unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs) slowed due to volatility in India’s equity markets.
ULIPs accounted for 39% of the company’s overall product mix, up from 37% a quarter ago and 35% a year earlier.
A rise in demand for group insurance plans in the January-to-March quarter boosted premium income for insurers, analysts said.
Group insurance policies cover a group of people under one contract and are generally utilised by firms for their employees.
HDFC Life Insurance’s value of new business (VNB), or expected profit from new policies, rose 11.5% to 13.76 billion rupees, according to a Reuters calculation.
The company’s VNB margin inched lower to 25.6% for the fiscal year that ended March 31 compared with 26.3% in the previous one. The VNB margin stood at 25.1% at December-end.
Annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, which is the annualised total value of all single- and recurring-premium policies, rose 9.7% to 51.86 billion rupees during the three-month period, according to a Reuters calculation.
Peer ICICI Prudential Life Insurance’s standalone profit more than doubled in the fourth quarter while SBI Life Insurance is scheduled to post its earnings next week.
($1 = 85.3530 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
