Ping An Insurance Group Sees 22.8% Decline in 2023 Net Profit

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Ping An Insurance (Group) of China reported a significant 22.8 percent year-on-year decrease in net profit for 2023, the company announced on Thursday. The decline is attributed to a slowdown in its core insurance business amid a sluggish economy.

The insurance giant recorded a net profit of 85.67 billion yuan (approximately S$15.9 billion) for the past year, compared to 111.01 billion yuan in 2022. The revision in results for 2022 was due to changes in long-term investment return assumptions and accounting rules. Ping An highlighted challenges in China’s economy and consumption growth amidst significant fluctuations in capital markets.

Operating profits from Ping An’s life and health insurance segment experienced a 3.2 percent decline to 105.07 billion yuan, while operating profits from property and casualty insurance dropped by 11.4 percent. Despite this, the company saw a 2.18 percent increase in the number of retail customers, totaling 231.57 million.

The turbulence in China’s stock market, coupled with decreasing interest rates, has impacted the investment returns of insurance firms. However, Ping An’s insurance funds investment portfolio managed to achieve a 3.6 percent investment yield in 2023, marking a 0.9 percentage point increase from the previous year.