SINGAPORE (April 28): Insurance group Great Eastern Holdings reported 1Q17 earnings more than doubled to $217.9 million from $96.9 million a year ago.
This was mainly due to higher non-operating profit due to narrowing of credit spreads and rally in equity market, and higher profit from shareholders’ fund’s investments.
The group’s Total Weighted New Sales (TWNS) and New Business Embedded Value (NBEV) registered strong growth of 29% and 24% respectively in 1Q17.
TWNS for 1Q17 rose to $279.8 million from a year ago, driven by significant growth in sales across all channels. Growth was fuelled by strong contribution from both agency and bancassurance channels.
NBEV, a measure of long-term economic profitability, came in at $102 million with growth was driven by higher sales in its core markets and higher NBEV margins in Malaysia.
Great Eastern also says the group’s Capital Adequacy Ratios insurance subsidiaries in both Singapore and Malaysia remain strong and well above their respective minimum regulatory levels
Group CEO Khor Hock Seng said: “The group has started the year well with a good set of first quarter results. Our key operating metrics such as Group Profit Attributable to Shareholders, New Business Embedded Value and Total Weighted New Sales have registered significant growth. Our synergistic bancassurance partnership with OCBC Bank continues to yield good results. The group’s agency force also plays an important role in our multi-channel distribution capabilities and contributed significantly to the overall results.”
Great Eastern closed 8 cents higher at $21.47.
