Great Eastern Q3 net profit up 36% at S$372 million amid higher new business embedded value
Growth is driven by robust results from shareholders’ fund segment, which is up 45% on the year for the nine months ended Sep 30
[SINGAPORE] Insurer Great Eastern on Thursday (Oct 30) posted a net profit of S$372 million for its third quarter ended September, 36 per cent up from S$273.4 million in the year-ago period.
The improvement was driven mainly by “robust investment results” from shareholders’ fund segment amid “modest growth” in underlying insurance business, it said in a Q3 business update.
For the three months, its new business embedded value rose 17 per cent on the year to S$182.2 million from S$156.1 million. This was driven by an improved product mix in the Singapore market, where new business embedded value climbed on the year to S$102 million, from S$61.6 million.
However, total weighted new sales for Q3 fell by 5 per cent to S$373.1 million, from S$390.8 million previously, mainly due to the challenging business environment in Malaysia, where demand for insurance products was subdued.
Total weighted new sales for the Malaysia market declined to S$113.3 million in Q3 2025, from S$129.4 million in Q3 2024. It was largely unchanged for the Singapore market at 251.9 million in Q3 2025.
For the nine months ended Sep 30, net profit rose 12 per cent to S$965.7 million from S$860.5 million in the previous corresponding period.
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The higher bottom line was driven by profit from the shareholders’ fund segment, which rose 45 per cent to S$321.7 million for the period, from S$222.4 million in the equivalent nine-month period for 2024. This reflects “favourable market conditions and (was) supported by effective portfolio management”, the group said.
Meanwhile, profit from the insurance business inched up 1 per cent to S$644 million, from S$638.1 million.
New business embedded value rose 16 per cent year on year (yoy) to S$498.7 million, from S$428.1 million in the nine-month period of 2024.
Total weighted new sales declined 21 per cent to S$1.1 billion, from S$1.4 billion previously.
Great Eastern attributed this to lower single premium sales in Singapore, following a shift in product mix to align with emerging customer needs for longer-term financial planning priorities.
“This led to a more favourable product mix and an improvement in overall margins, reflecting a year-on-year growth in the group’s new business embedded value,” the insurer added.
Commenting on the results, Great Eastern group chief executive officer Greg Hingston said that the yoy gains in new business embedded value reflects the insurer’s ability to adapt to changing market demand, while maintaining growth that supports its long-term profitability.
“Looking ahead, while we expect the broader market to continue to experience elevated volatility and uncertainty stemming from the global geopolitical environment, we remain steadfast in executing our growth strategy,” he said.
Shares of Great Eastern closed at S$15.15 on Thursday, up 0.7 per cent or S$0.11.
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