Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the country’s largest insurer, reported a marginal 2.5% increase in standalone profit after tax for the quarter ended March 2024. The profit stood at Rs 13,762 crore, slightly up from Rs 13,427 crore in the same period last year. The impact of wage revision was a significant factor in the modest profit growth.
Despite the flat quarterly profit, LIC’s board recommended a final dividend of Rs 6 per share for FY 2023-24, in addition to the interim dividend of Rs 4 declared earlier in the year.
For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, LIC's profit after tax was Rs 40,676 crore, up from Rs 36,397 crore in FY2023. This improvement partly resulted from a change in accounting policy regarding the transfer of amounts from non-participating policyholders' accounts to shareholders' accounts, implemented in September 2022.
LIC Chairperson Siddhartha Mohanty emphasized the company's strategic focus on maximizing market share across various categories while maintaining superior value for stakeholders. LIC remains the market leader in the Indian life insurance sector with a 58.87% overall market share, including a 38.44% share in the individual business and 72.3% in the group business.
During FY2024, LIC’s total premium income was Rs 4,75,070 crore, slightly up from Rs 4,74,005 crore in FY2023. Individual business premium increased to Rs 3,03,768 crore from Rs 2,92,763 crore, while group business premium income stood at Rs 1,71,302 crore compared to Rs 1,81,242 crore the previous year.
The Value of New Business (VNB) for FY2024 was Rs 9,583 crore, a 4.66% growth from Rs 9,156 crore in FY2023. LIC’s solvency ratio improved to 1.98 as of March 31, 2024, up from 1.87 the previous year, indicating stronger capital adequacy.
LIC made significant investments in equities (Rs 1,30,000 crore) and corporate bonds (Rs 78,000 crore) during the year. The company sold 2,03,92,973 policies in the individual segment.
Chairperson Mohanty highlighted ongoing initiatives in distribution channels and digital transformation, expressing confidence in achieving top-line growth in the coming year. LIC's shares ended 0.58% higher at Rs 1,035.8 apiece on the BSE.