Insurance group Great Eastern Holdings reported on Wednesday that its net profit for the second quarter ended June 30 plummeted 77 per cent over the previous year to $18.6 million.

Earnings for the first six months dropped 34 per cent from a year ago to $226.1 million.

The group said this was because towards the end of the three months to June 30, financial markets reacted adversely to the potential tapering of the United States quantitative easing programme. This caused a fall in the mark-to-market value of the Singapore non-participating fund.

The group recorded a 34 per cent rise in total weighted new sales in the second quarter to $263.9 million on better performance across all geographic markets.

Sales were driven by a robust quarterly performance in Singapore, which saw growth across all distribution channels, the group said.