Ping An profits up 12.5% to $4.57b in Q1

Strong performance from the life and health segment boosted quarterly earnings.

Ping An Insurance profits rose 12.5% YoY to $4.57b (RMB28,951m) in Q1, according to a media release. 

Written premiums on life and health insurance segment rose 24.9% YoY to $36.38b (RMB230,585m). In the first quarter of 2018, the first-year premium of the life and health insurance business declined by 16.6% year on year as interest rates rose and savings products became less attractive.

Meanwhile, the Company proactively adjusted the business mix and promoted long-term protection products to increase business value, boosting the NBEV margin of life and health insurance business by 3.0 pps year on year to 30.2%.

The property and casualty (P&C) insurance premium also rose 17.8% YoY to $9.97b (RMB63,217m) which achieved an industry combined ratio of 95.9%.

As of end-March, Ping-An’s investment portfolio of insurance funds rose 4.4%. In the first quarter, under new accounting standards for financial instruments, the portfolio's annualised net investment yield and annualized total investment yield were 3.7% and 3.7% respectively.