SBI Life Insurance on January 17 reported its Q3 FY25 net profit jumped an impressive 71 percent to Rs 550.82 crore from Rs 321.75 crore reported in the corresponding quarter of previous fiscal, beating most brokerage estimates. According to a Moneycontrol poll, brokerages had expected SBI Life to report a net profit in the range of Rs 400-500 crore for the October-December quarter.
The life insurer's net premium income for Q3 FY 25 stood at Rs 24,828 crore, registering an 11 percent year-on-year growth compared to Rs 22,326 crore reported in Q3 FY 24. This was driven by a 14 percent surge in first-year premiums, which amounted to Rs 1,446.76 crore during the quarter. SBI Life's solvency ratio remained strong at 2.04, well above the regulatory requirement of 1.50.
In terms of profitability metrics, the company's annualized premium equivalent (APE) for the quarter was Rs 6,940 crore, reflecting a year-on-year growth of 13.2 percent. This exceeded the 6.5 percent growth estimated by brokerages polled by Moneycontrol. The insurer's Value of New Business (VNB) for Q3 FY25 stood at Rs 1,870 crore, up 11 percent from the year-ago period, with the VNB margin at 27.4 percent.
For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2024 (April–December), SBI Life reported an APE of Rs 15,970 crore, an 11 percent increase from Rs 14,390 crore recorded in the same period last year. The VoNB during this period rose by 6 percent year-on-year to Rs 4,290 crore, with a VoNB margin of 26.9 percent, slightly lower than the 28.1 percent recorded in the corresponding period of FY 24.
The company also reported strong growth in persistency ratios, particularly at the 13th month and 61st month levels, which improved by 83 basis points (bps) and 521 bps, respectively, year-on-year. SBI Life said it shows the firm's focus on customer retention and the quality of its business.
Assets under management (AUM) rose 19 percent year-on-year to Rs 4.42 lakh crore as of December 31, 2024, with a debt-to-equity mix of 61:39. Notably, 94 percent of its debt investments are in AAA and sovereign instruments.
Read more about Q3 results LIVE
In the distribution segment, the bancassurance channel remained a key contributor, accounting for 63 percent of the APE in the first nine months of FY 25. The agency channel recorded a strong 28 percent share, and other channels, including brokers and direct business, contributed 9 percent. The company has a wide network of over 309,590 insurance professionals and 1,086 offices across India.
SBI Life share price rose after the results announcement, ending at Rs 1,539 on NSE, up 1.7 percent from the previous close.
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