Great Eastern Holdings, a member of the OCBC Group, has reported earnings of $180.2 million for the 3QFY2023 ended Sept 30, 21% higher y-o-y.
Earnings for the 9MFY2023 surged by 65% y-o-y to $617.4 million due to higher profit in the group’s Singapore life business and favourable investment performance in its shareholders’ fund. Its underlying insurance business also stood healthy though it was offset by the higher-than-expected medical claims in Singapore and Malaysia.
The group’s earnings have been based under the SFRS (I) 17 Insurance Contracts since January 2023. Its previous year’s earnings have been restated.
The group’s total weighted new sales (TWNS) for the 3QFY2023 increased by 5% y-o-y to $419.4 million lifted by sales in Singapore from new product launches.
TWNS, however, fell by 21% y-o-y to $1.15 billion for the 9MFY2023 due to lower single premium sales.
New business embedded value (NBEV) for the 3QFY2023 fell by 8% y-o-y to $183.7 million, while NBEV for the 9MFY2023 fell by 9% y-o-y to $534.9 million.
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According to the group, its capital adequacy ratios in Singapore and Malaysia stood strong and well above their minimum regulatory levels. The new SFRS (I) 17 Insurance Contracts does not affect its capital adequacy ratios.
“We are continuing our efforts to deliver sustainable value to our stakeholders and recently announced several key initiatives across our markets. In Singapore, we entered an exclusive insurance partnership with Yuu Rewards Club loyalty programme which allows us to distribute both our life and general Insurance products to their base of over a million members,” says Khor Hock Seng, group CEO of Great Eastern.
“In Malaysia, we have entered into an implementation agreement to acquire AmMetLife Insurance and AmMetLife Takaful, subject to regulatory approvals. These acquisitions include an exclusive 20-year bancassurance and bancatakaful agreements with AmBank (M) Berhad and AmBank Islamic Berhad, providing us the opportunity to offer our comprehensive life and takaful offerings to the banks’ 3 million customer base,” he adds.
“We remain positive on the long-term outlook of our business even as we navigate the present inflationary and interest rate challenges,” he continues.
Shares in Great Eastern closed 13 cents lower or 0.75% down at $17.27 on Oct 31.
