ICICI Life Insurance reported a 25% rise in second-quarter profit to ₹374 crore as premium income, protection and annuity sales strengthened its new-business profitability.
ICICI Life Insurance reported a sharp rise in quarterly earnings as higher premium income and a richer product mix supported growth in new business profitability. The insurer, formerly ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, said standalone net profit climbed 25% year on year to ₹374 crore in the July-to-September quarter, while revenue from premiums also advanced at a double-digit pace.
The company’s value of new business, a closely watched measure of profitability on fresh policies, increased to ₹712 crore from about ₹592 crore a year earlier, according to the results. That lifted the VNB margin to 25.4%, up from 24% in the same quarter last year, although the figure came in slightly below market expectations. Annualised premium equivalent, a standard measure that blends regular and single premium sales, rose 16.6% to ₹2,799 crore, while net premium income increased to ₹13,804 crore from ₹11,843 crore.
For the first half of the financial year, profit after tax rose 26.5% to ₹760 crore. VNB for the six months reached ₹1,283 crore, up 22.3%, with the margin widening to 26% from 24.5% a year earlier. New business premium climbed 25% to ₹11,821 crore, and total premium income increased 15.3% to ₹24,505 crore. The company also reported a stronger product mix, with protection APE up 39.5% to ₹1,155 crore and annuity APE rising 50% to ₹324 crore, while savings products grew more slowly.
ICICI Life’s balance sheet metrics remained solid. Assets under management stood at ₹3.29 lakh crore, embedded value rose 12.2% to ₹56,669 crore and the solvency ratio was 229.9% as of September 30, comfortably above the regulatory minimum of 150%. The 13th-month persistency ratio on a premium basis improved to 83% from 79.9% a year earlier, while the claim settlement ratio for the half year was 99.3%.
The numbers arrived alongside a leadership change at the insurer. Sidharatha Mishra took charge as managing director and chief executive on October 14, succeeding Anup Bagchi, after the board announced the transition earlier this month. The company has also received regulatory approval to change its name to ICICI Life Insurance Limited, dropping the Prudential brand from its corporate identity. Investors will be watching whether the new leadership can sustain growth in protection and annuity sales while keeping margins close to the first-half level.
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