Yahoo Finance Ping An Profit Falls as Market Rout Hurt Investment Returns
(Bloomberg) -- Ping An Insurance (Group) Co.’s profit dropped 4.3% in the first quarter as stock-market declines and falling bond yields eroded investment returns.
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Net income fell to 36.7 billion yuan ($5 billion) in the three months ended March 31, from 38.4 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Tuesday.
Operating profit, which strips out one-time items and short-term investment volatility, fell 3%.
China’s stock market rout at the start of the year and lower bond yields have weighed on insurers’ investment returns. They hurt profit even as more customers seek to buy savings products. Co-Chief Executive Officer Michael Guo said last month that profitability will recover after a 23% drop in net income last year.
“China’s macroeconomy gradually recovered in the first three months of 2024, but there were still challenges,” the company said in a statement, citing weak domestic demand. “In response to volatile capital markets and declining treasury yields, Ping An continued to pursue long-term returns through cycles via value investing.”
Read More: Ping An Trust Wins First Court Ruling Over Delayed Trust Product
Net investment yield of insurance funds dropped to 3%, the statement said, down from 3.1% a year earlier. Real estate investments fell to 4.2% of the 4.9 trillion yuan portfolio, from 4.6% the year earlier.
The CSI 300 Index slumped as much 7.3% this year through the start of February, before government intervention fueled a rally.
New business value, which gauges the profitability of new life policies sold, rose 21% in the first quarter. That followed a 36% jump last year as the company’s efforts to improve the productivity of life agents started to bear fruit. NBV per agent jumped 56% from a year earlier, the statement said.
Ping An shares rose 3% to HK$33.00 in Hong Kong trading on Tuesday, trimming the year’s loss to 6.7%.
(Updates with company comment in fifth paragraph, more details afterwards)
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