Great Eastern Q1 weighted new sales down 22% to $390.9 million
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Great Eastern said lower single-premium sales in Singapore were partially offset by better performance in regular premium sales.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Chong Xin Wei
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SINGAPORE – Great Eastern posted a 22 per cent fall in total weighted new sales to $390.9 million for its fiscal first quarter ended March 31, from $503.6 million in the same period the year before.
The decline was due to lower single-premium sales in the Singapore market and was partially offset by better performance in regular premium sales, said the insurance arm of OCBC Bank on Friday.
In Singapore, total weighted new sales fell 31 per cent to $254.1 million in the first quarter from $370 million. The company attributed this to lower single-premium sales amid strong competition among banks and money market instruments.
The group experienced an 11 per cent fall in new business embedded value (NBEV) to $169.7 million in the first quarter, from $190.5 million in the previous year.
Despite the fall in NBEV – as a result of lower sales in the Singapore market – Great Eastern noted that margins were higher in the first quarter across all markets due to a shift in product mix.
Profit attributable to shareholders stood at $244 million in the first quarter, up 10.9 per cent from $220 million in the year-ago period.
As the group adopted a new financial reporting standard on Jan 1, the comparative for first-quarter 2022 profit attributable to shareholders has not been restated and was reported based on the previous standard.
The accounting change will impact the timing of profit recognition and initial shareholders’ equity, noted Great Eastern.
The restated comparative information will be disclosed upon the insurance company’s first-half 2023 interim financial statements, it added.
Group chief executive officer Khor Hock Seng said the group achieved margin improvements for its life business across all markets compared with a year ago.
“Given our distribution capabilities, digital solutions and comprehensive suite of products, we remain confident about the long-term growth of the group,” he added.
Great Eastern shares closed 0.1 per cent down at $17.27 on Friday. THE BUSINESS TIMES
