Ping An hit by enduring impact of pandemic but profits beat expectations
Citywide Covid-19 lockdowns and nervous consumers continue to disrupt sales at Ping An, China’s largest insurer, hamstringing its agents and reducing demand for long-term protection products.
Ping An, which boasts a $100bn market cap, is navigating the economic effects of the pandemic in its home market at the same time as fighting a battle with HSBC, using its position as the largest shareholder to call for a break-up of the banking group.
The insurer delivered net profit of Rmb60.3bn ($8.8bn) in the first half of the year, up 4 per cent on the same period last year and more than a tenth ahead of analyst expectations, according to Bloomberg data.
Operating profit in the life and health segment rose because of improved customer retention. Agent numbers continued to fall, at a slower pace, as the company removes underperformers and is more selective about those it takes on.
In the property and casualty insurance division, a weaker combined ratio — claims and expenses as a proportion of premiums — was attributed to greater delinquencies in credit insurance.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Ian Smith
