LIC Q1 Profit Rises 23% to Rs 13,492 Cr; Govt Unlikely To Further Dilute Its Stake in Next 18 Months

New Delhi: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Thursday posted a 23 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 13,492 crore in the first quarter of the ongoing financial year, helped by an increase in new business.

The country’s biggest insurer had earned a profit of Rs 10,987 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

The total income of the insurer during the reporting quarter improved to Rs 2,37,848 crore from Rs 2,22,864 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal year, LIC said in a regulatory filing.

Commenting on quarterly numbers, CEO & MD R Doraiswamy said the total premium income in the June quarter was Rs 1,27,250 crore as compared to Rs 1,19,200 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, registering a growth of 6.75 per cent.

“What gives us even more happiness is that our Value of New Business (VNB) has grown by 61 per cent plus and our VNB margin has expanded by 7.5 per cent to 22.90 per cent this year. This is a direct outcome of our product diversification and distribution strategy,” he said.

Just very recently, the Government of India sold an additional 6.5 per cent of shares through an offer for sale (OFS), which has been well received by the markets, he said.

“I want to welcome the new shareholders through the OFS into the LIC shareholder family and also thank the existing shareholders who have participated in the OFS for their continued faith in LIC,” he said.

Asked about further stake dilution by the government to meet 25 per cent public float, Doraiswamy said, “What we are hearing, the government is unlikely to go in for a public offer in the next 18-24 months as LIC has time till 2032 for meeting the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norm of Sebi.” LIC has already met 10 per cent public float much ahead of schedule, he said, adding, as per the special dispensation, LIC had to meet 10 per cent public float by May 2027.

He exuded confidence that the increase in public holding would lead to improvement in share prices of LIC.

Earlier this year, LIC issued a 1:1 bonus share to increase the number of shares.

When asked about the plan for improving returns from its real estate assets, he said the company is currently in the process of classifying its properties.

It is an important exercise that the LIC has taken up, and it would be the Corporation’s endeavour that such assets also generate higher income for the company and policyholders.

LIC’s income from first-year premium also improved to Rs 9,217 crore in the latest June quarter against Rs 7,525 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal year.

Income from renewal premiums in the reporting period increased to Rs 61,833 crore compared to Rs 59,885 crore a year ago.

As regards single premium, the Corporation collected Rs 56,369 crore as compared to Rs 51,923 crore in the first quarter of the previous financial year.

Thus, net premium income rose to Rs 1,27,250 crore from Rs 1,19,200 crore in the corresponding quarter of FY26.

Total expenses rose to Rs 2,25,573 crore as compared to Rs 2,11,928 crore in the June quarter a year ago.

At the same time, solvency ratio improved to 2.42 times from 2.17 times in the first quarter of the previous financial year.

A total of 31,02,281 policies were sold in the individual segment during the quarter ended June 30, 2026, as compared to 30,39,709 policies sold during the year-ago quarter, registering an increase of 2.06 per cent.

Doraiswamy further said that the LIC is taking all efforts to meet Risk Based Capital (RBC) Framework and other regulatory norms that may kick in next year or in the future.

Asked about its Fintech foray plan, he said LIC is open to this, and it may pick a strategic stake in a suitable firm which may add value.

On the impact of the West Asia conflict on its business, Doraiswamy said there is some impact as APE is not that high.

On an Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE) basis, the total premium was Rs 13,692 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026. Of this, 55.01 per cent (Rs 7,532 crore) was accounted for by the Individual Business and 44.99 per cent (Rs 6,160 crore) by the Group Business.

Assets Under Management (AUM) increased to Rs 59,39,384 crore as compared to Rs 57,05,341 crore on June 30, 2025, registering an increase of 4.10 per cent year-on-year.

The overall expense ratio for the quarter was 10.63 per cent as compared to 10.47 per cent for the quarter ended June 30 2025, registering an increase of 16 basis points.

Yield on Investments on policyholders’ fund, excluding unrealized gains, was 8.28 per cent for the quarter ended June 30, 2026 as against 8.45 per cent a year ago.

(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by HDFC Sky editorial team and is auto-generated from PTI feed.)