China Life sees quarterly profit drop

China Life Insurance Company (2628) saw its net profit slump by 34.4 percent from a year ago to 17.09 billion yuan (HK$18.7 billion) in the first quarter this year and has made Covid-19 related claims payment of around 23.2 million.

New business valued recorded by the insurer grew 8.3 percent year-on-year, while the surrender rate dropped by 0.34 percentage point from a year ago to 0.28 percent.

First-quarter operating income for the first quarter this year rose 8.2 percent from a year ago to 337.8 billion yuan, with premium revenue rising 13 percent year-on-year to 307.8 billion yuan.

The company voluntarily offered complimentary insurance protection against Covid-19 to medical workers and volunteers, covering over 2.5 million people, said the company. The claim payment related to the coronavirus epidemic included 10.79 million paid to the frontline medical workers.

The company recorded a gross investment income of 45.45 billion yuan and the gross investment yield dropped by 158 basis points from a year ago to 5.13 percent during the period, due to a decline in the A-share market and a significant downward trend in the interest rates.

Shares of the company remained unchanged at HK$15.82 today.