Ping An net surges 49pc to 38b yuan

Ping An Insurance (2318) saw its first quarter net profit surge by 49 percent year-on-year to 38.35 billion yuan (HK$43.48 billion), as its total revenue jumped by 27.9 percent to 281.6 billion yuan.

The company's insurance revenue for the period was 133.106 billion yuan, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 2.12 percent. The value of new business for life and health insurance grew by 8.8 percent year-on-year to reach 13.7 billion yuan.

As of the end of March, Ping An's retail customer base had grown to nearly 229 million, marking a 0.9 percent increase from the beginning of the year. Additionally, the contracts per customer had increased by 0.3 percent year to date, reaching 2.98.

In the first quarter of 2023, Ping An's insurance funds investment portfolio achieved an annualized net investment yield of 3.1 percent and an annualized total investment yield of 3.3 percent.

Ping An's insurance fund investment portfolio size reached over 4.49 trillion yuan as of the end of March, indicating a 3.1 percent increase from the beginning of the year.

Besides, the insurer increased its technology patent applications, which totaled 47,229 as of March 31, 2023.

Sales realized by AI service representatives accounted for 49 percent of the total sales volume of all service representatives, and customer services provided by AI service representatives represented 81 percent of its total customer service volume in the first quarter.

Ping An noted that while market confidence and expectations improved in the first quarter, geopolitical tensions and downward pressure on the economy continued to weigh on overseas asset markets, resulting in increased volatility in domestic markets.