HDFC Life Q1 profit up 15.3% at Rs 416.72 crore

Private sector life insurer HDFC Life Insurance on Friday reported a 15.31% year-on-year growth in its net profit at Rs 416.72 crore for the first quarter this fiscal on a consolidated basis, aided by over 16% year-on-year increase in net premium income.

The insurer’s net profit had stood at Rs 361.40 crore for the first quarter last fiscal. Its net interest income rose 16.59% year-on-year at Rs 11,507.88 crore during the April-June period this year compared with Rs 9,870.06 crore in the same period last year, according to a stock exchange filing.

First year premium during the period under review grew 8.36% year-on-year at Rs 1,851.44 crore as against Rs 1,708.66 crore for the year ago period, while renewal premium during the period increased by 13.79% year-on-year at Rs 5,804.06 crore.

During the first quarter, annual premium equivalent (APE) witnessed a 13% year-on-year rise at Rs 2,328 crore. Value of new business (VNB) rose around 18% at Rs 610 crore during the period. VNB margin also grew 110 basis points year-on-year at 26.2%.

Commenting on the performance for the first quarter, Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO, said, “We are happy to report that the merger of HDFC Limited with HDFC Bank has been successfully completed and that we are now a subsidiary of HDFC Bank. HDFC Bank now holds 50.4% in HDFC Life. Our focus is on strengthening our partnership with HDFC Bank, enhancing collaboration, and maximising customer engagement within our group.”

Padalkar said the insurance company closed the quarter with a growth of 12% in individual weighted received premium (WRP), which was 1.5x of private industry, despite coming off a strong March.

“Over the last 4 years, despite facing open architecture and intense competition from unlisted insurers, our market share has steadily increased from 12.5% in FY19 to 16.5% in FY23 in the private sector and 7.2% to 10.8% at an overall industry level,” she said. The company’s overall market share in Q1FY24 was 16.9%.

The insurer’s 13th month persistency ratio fell 170 basis points at 83.3%, while that of 61st month rose 200 bps at 52.7% during the period under review.

The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 1.90 per share aggregating to a pay-out of Rs 408 crore subject to approval by the shareholders.

On Friday, HDFC Life‘s scrip ended at Rs 647.25 apiece, down 2.18% from previous close on BSE.