SINGAPORE: Member of the OCBC Group, Great Eastern Holdings reports S$774.6 million in earnings for the fiscal year 2023, a 27% increase compared to the previous year, The Edge Singapore reports.
The notable growth in earnings can be attributed to the favourable performance of investments within its Singapore life business and shareholders fund. Despite facing higher medical claims, the profitability of its insurance arm remains robust.
However, the group experienced a 12% decline in total weighted new sales (TWNS) for FY2023 compared to the prior year. This decrease primarily stems from reduced sales of single premium products in Singapore.
The phenomenon of an inverted Singapore dollar yield curve has influenced customers towards shorter-term interest-yielding investments, diverting their preference away from single premium products.
Nevertheless, there has been an offset due to an uptick in regular premium sales, particularly in protection and whole-life plans, facilitated through the group’s primary distribution channels.
Consequently, Great Eastern’s new business embedded value (NBEV) for FY2023 witnessed an 11% year-on-year decline.
The board has proposed a final one-tier tax-exempt dividend of 40 cents per ordinary share, slated to be disbursed on May 17.
Combined with the interim one-tier tax-exempt dividend of 35 cents per ordinary share paid in Aug 2023, the total dividend for FY2023 amounts to 75 cents per ordinary share.
Despite the persistently challenging operating environment throughout 2023, Great Eastern remained steadfast in its commitment to core strategies, enhancing customer experience and innovating new products to cater to evolving wealth and protection needs across the region, as group CEO Khor Hock Seng expressed.
He added, “Moving ahead, we will continue to look at innovative ways to enhance our service level and enrich customer experience through digitalisation and analytics.
We have built a strong foundation which positions us well to continue to serve our customers and deliver profitable growth and long-term sustainable value to our shareholders.” /TISG
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