ICICI Prudential Life Q3 profit jumps 20% on strong investment income
ICICI Prudential Life reports a 20% YoY rise in Q3 profit on strong investment income and higher VNB; shares jump 3.8% despite weak markets.
ICICI Prudential Life Q3 profit jumps 20%
India’s ICICI Prudential Life Insurance reported a 20% year-on-year rise in profit for the December quarter (9M-FY2026), supported by a sharp improvement in investment income, the insurer said on Tuesday.
Net profit for the third quarter ended December 31 stood at ₹3.9 billion, compared with ₹3.25 billion in the same period last year. Investment income turned positive at ₹110.24 billion during the quarter, reversing a loss of ₹77.22 billion recorded a year ago.
Industry analysts noted that demand for life insurance products picked up during the quarter after the government reduced the tax rate on certain life insurance products to zero from 18%. While the move has supported sales growth, it also removed input tax credits previously available to insurers, putting some pressure on margins in the short term. The policy change is, however, expected to benefit the sector over the longer run.
ICICI Prudential’s annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales rose 3.6% to ₹25.25 billion in the reported quarter. The value of new business (VNB), which reflects the expected profit from newly issued policies, increased 19% to ₹6.15 billion.
For the nine months ended December 31, the company’s VNB margin improved to 24.4%, up from 22.8% a year earlier, aided by a better product mix and tighter cost control.
Net premium income for the quarter declined 3.7% year-on-year to ₹118.09 billion. Market-linked insurance plans accounted for 49% of the insurer’s overall product mix during the nine-month period, slightly lower than 51% in the corresponding period last year.
Shares of ICICI Prudential Life rose 3.8% following the earnings announcement, outperforming the broader market, even as the benchmark Nifty 50 index ended the session down 0.6%.
