Great Eastern posts 79% jump in Q4 profit to S$241.4 million, boosts HNW focus
The board proposes final dividend of S$0.30 per share for the financial year ended December
Add BT as a preferred source
[SINGAPORE] Great Eastern posted a net profit of S$241.4 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2025, up 79 per cent from S$134.8 million in the year-ago period.
This brought its full-year earnings to S$1.2 billion for FY2025, an increase of 21 per cent from S$995.3 million in FY2024.
The OCBC-owned insurer attributed the increase to a favourable investment performance, which was further supported by continued earnings emergence from the existing in-force portfolio.
“A solid and strong set of results for the year 2025, in what was a pretty volatile operating environment, reflects the resilience and strength that we have in our underlying insurance business and the conviction in our investment management approach,” Greg Hingston, Great Eastern’s group CEO, said at the results briefing on Tuesday (Feb 24).
The insurer is also sharpening its strategic focus on the high-net-worth (HNW) client segment while growing its bancassurance channel. Hingston said that it will introduce a HNW proposition in Singapore on Mar 3 in collaboration with the wider OCBC Group and its private banking arm, Bank of Singapore (BOS).
The initiative is part of efforts to improve new business embedded value (NBEV) and total weighted new sales (TWNS). “It will be a bilateral relationship (and) we will be offering BOS solutions to our clients,” added Hingston.
Navigate Asia in
a new global order
Get the insights delivered to your inbox.
Hingston had previously told The Business Times that there is a meaningful opportunity in the fast-growing HNW segment, where Great Eastern is currently relatively underweight.
On expanding its synergies with the broader OCBC group after a failed privatisation deal last year, Hingston highlighted that recent efforts have already led to noticeable improvements in its bancassurance performance in Singapore.
“We are going to be making further changes to our operating model, and we believe there is a significant upside potential there,” he added.
Group chief financial officer Ronnie Tan at the briefing described the 21 per cent profit growth as a “record year” for the group.
For FY2025, profit from the shareholders’ fund surged 48 per cent on the year to S$390.9 million, from S$264.6 million, buoyed by favourable market conditions and higher investment gains from both the equity and fixed income portfolio.
Profit from the insurance business climbed 12 per cent to S$816.2 million, from S$730.7 million, driven by steady growth in the business and improved experience variance.
Earnings per share were up 20 per cent at S$1.26.
For the fourth quarter, new business embedded value (NBEV), a measure of long-term profitability of new sales, rose 25 per cent on the year to S$241 million, from S$193.4 million. NBEV for FY2025 climbed 19 per cent to S$739.7 million, from S$621.5 million.
The insurer noted that NBEV growth remained “robust”, despite a decline in total weighted new sales (TWNS). It was supported by an improved sales mix and strong sales performance in Singapore amid new product innovations introduced during the year, and channel growth from financial advisers and bancassurance.
Last August, Hingston told BT that Great Eastern aimed to double its NBEV over the medium to long term. While growth in Malaysia was muted due to market conditions, Singapore delivered significant progress, which has continued into early 2026.
Profitability was also affected by medical inflation in the previous financial year. In response, Hingston told BT that Great Eastern launched new products providing consumers with more affordable healthcare solutions, supported by medical concierge services.
In Singapore, Great Eastern reshaped its product mix, broadening its suite of solutions and deepening customer engagement. This included the launch of 18 products, including several market-first offerings.
The board declared a final dividend of S$0.30 per share for the financial year ended December, versus a final dividend of S$0.45 for the year prior. Together with the interim dividend of S$0.25 per share, paid in September, total dividends for FY2025 amounted to S$0.55 per share – subject to approval at Great Eastern’s annual general meeting on Apr 14.
The counter ended Tuesday 0.4 per cent or S$0.06 higher at S$16.02, following the results announcement.
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
