SBI Life Insurance Q4 net profit rises 16% to Rs 531 cr for March quarter; premium income marginally up

New Delhi: SBI Life on Tuesday reported a nearly 16 percent rise in its net profit at Rs 530.67 crore for the quarter to March 2020. The private sector insurer had a net profit of Rs 457.68 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. Its net premium income during the March quarter of FY'20 increased to Rs 11,862.98 crore from Rs 11,333.02 crore a year earlier, SBI Life said in a regulatory filing. However, its total income during the quarter under review slipped to Rs 5,674.91 crore from Rs 15,600.97 crore in the same quarter of 2018-19, mainly because of loss in investment income. [caption id=“attachment_4083071” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters[/caption] The insurer witnessed a loss of Rs 6,677.19 crore in its investment income during January-March, as against a gain of Rs 4,150.73 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal. For the entire fiscal year (2019-20), SBI Life’s net profit grew by 7 percent to Rs 1,420 crore from Rs 1,330 crore in 2018-19, it said in a release. The gross written premium for the year moved up by 23 percent to Rs 40,630 crore from Rs 32,990 crore. It total income fell to Rs 43,842.84 crore in FY20 from Rs 44,261.15 crore a year ago, mainly attributable to a fall in investment income. Whereas, investment income reduced to Rs 2,996.79 crore in 2019-20, the same was at Rs 11,208.05 crore in the year-ago period. “During the year ended 31 March, 2020, the company has classified its investment in Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) bonds as NPA on account of default in interest and principal repayment of non-convertible debenture (NCDs). The company has made 100 percent NPA provision of Rs 0.53 billion on the said bonds in unit-linked portfolio,” it said. SBI Life said its new business premium (NBP) has shown steady growth of 20 percent on the year to Rs 16,590 crore during the fiscal ended March 2020. The company has increased its private market share based on NBP from 19 percent in FY 2019 to 20.5 percent in FY2020. The company has registered a growth in savings and protection business reflecting a balanced product mix. Total protection new business premium has increased by 27 percent from Rs 1,640 crore in FY 2019 to Rs 2,080 crore in FY 2020, it said. Its net worth increased by 15 percent to Rs 8,740 crore as on 31 March, 2020, from Rs 7,580 crore by March 2019. The solvency ratio as on 31 March, 2020 was at 1.95 as against the regulatory requirement of 1.50, SBI Life said. Solvency ratio is an indicator of surplus capital an insurer is required to hold at any point of time. It is the ratio of the amount of available solvency margin to the amount of required solvency margin. On COVID-19 resulting in a significant impact on global and India’s economic environment including volatility in the capital markets, it said the company has assessed the overall impact of this pandemic on its business and financials, including valuation of assets, policy liabilities and solvency for the year ended 31 March, 2020. The company will continue to closely monitor any future developments relating to COVID-19 which may have any impact on its business and financial position, SBI Life said. Stock of SBI Life closed nearly 4 percent up at Rs 715.65 apiece on the BSE.