Great Eastern Q3 profit falls 72% to S$102.9 million on weaker valuations, divestment loss
The investment outlook is expected to remain challenging in the near-to-medium term, the group says
The Great Eastern insurance company reported a sharp decline in its third quarter profit, down 72% to S$102.9 million, compared to S$372 million in the same quarter last year. The significant drop was attributed to negative market movements affecting the value of their investments and a non-recurring loss from the partial sale of their Indonesian subsidiary, Great Eastern Life Indonesia (Geli), to OCBC Indonesia.
However, the company's CEO, Greg Hingston, emphasized that the weaker earnings did not diminish the strength of their core insurance business, which remained robust and continued its growth. The partial divestment of Geli resulted in a loss of S$57.1 million, which was largely offset by a gain of S$52.6 million in other comprehensive income.
For the first nine months, the company's new business embedded value increased by 14% year-on-year to S$208.2 million, outpacing the 23% growth in sales. Despite a 3% decline in total weighted new sales to S$362.4 million, the insurer attributed this to a more favorable product mix. In Malaysia, sales grew slightly, while in Singapore, they dipped slightly quarter-over-quarter.
The group predicted a challenging investment outlook due to geopolitical uncertainties and inflation. The company's shares dropped 1.2% to S$19.11 after the Q3 update.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
