Great Eastern Q3 net profit up 30%
Ry-Anne Lim
GREAT Eastern on Wednesday (Nov 2) posted a 30 per cent increase in net profit to S$278 million for the third quarter ended Sep 30, from S$213.3 million a year ago.
The insurance arm of OCBC said this increase was mainly driven by higher profit from its insurance business, which reflects the net mark-to-market gain on asset liability mismatch from increasing interest rates.
Non-operating profit for the segment picked up a profit of S$83.9 million in Q3 2022, from a loss of S$3.5 million in the previous year. Year to date, non-operating profit also rose 25 per cent to S$311.2 million, from S$248.2 million previously.
Meanwhile, operating profit for the segment declined 38 per cent year on year to S$208.1 million. On a year-to-date basis, however, operational profit slipped marginally to S$573.6 million, from S$575.8 million last year.
The insurer swung to a loss from its shareholders’ fund at S$103.9 million year to date – a S$14.1 million loss in Q3 – from a profit of S$73.8 million previously.
This was due to lower mark-to-market losses in equities and bonds, compared to a relatively flatter performance in 2021, said Great Eastern.
Total weighted new sales sank 27 per cent in Q3 to S$403.4 million, from S$554.3 million in 2021, mainly due to lower single premium sales from the Singapore market, which was offset by stronger sales momentum from Malaysia and Indonesia markets, noted Great Eastern.
In the future, Great Eastern chief executive Khor Hock Seng expects the business climate to remain challenging in the near to medium term, “reflecting geopolitical uncertainty, a difficult investment climate and inflationary pressures”.
“Our focus remains on strengthening our business and distribution model, supported by data driven targeted propositions to meet the needs of our customers,” he said.
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Shares of Great Eastern closed 0.8 per cent or S$0.14 higher at S$18.04 on Tuesday.
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