LIC Q1 Results | New business premium up 5%, tops estimates; policy count falls; AUM crosses ₹57 lakh cr – CNBC TV18

State-owned life insurance behemoth Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Thursday, August 7, reported a new business premium of ₹60,262 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, marginally above the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹59,411 crore. The total annualised premium equivalent (APE) stood at ₹12,652 crore, slightly lower than the expected ₹12,706 crore. Retail APE came in at ₹7,061 crore, higher than the projected ₹6,919 crore.

The value of new business (VNB) stood at ₹1,944 crore, beating the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹1,891 crore. The VNB margin for the quarter came in at 15.4%, ahead of the poll estimate of 14.88%. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, new business premium rose 4.9% to ₹60,262 crore from ₹57,441 crore.

The company reported a 5.02% YoY increase in net profit at ₹10,986 crore for the first quarter that ended June 30, 2025. In the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal, LIC posted a net profit of ₹10,461 crore.

Total APE increased 9.45% from ₹11,560 crore to ₹12,652 crore. Retail APE grew 4.6% to ₹7,061 crore from ₹6,747 crore in the same quarter last year. VNB rose 20.75% YoY from ₹1,610 crore to ₹1,944 crore. The VNB margin improved to 15.4% from 13.9% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

The total premium income for the quarter stood at ₹1,19,200 crore, reflecting a 4.77% increase from ₹1,13,770 crore in the year-ago period. Total individual business premium was up 6.37% at ₹71,474 crore compared to ₹67,192 crore in the same quarter last year.  Group business premium income saw a growth of 2.46%, rising to ₹47,726 crore from ₹46,578 crore a year earlier.

During the quarter, LIC sold 30,39,709 policies in the individual segment, down 14.75% from 35,65,519 policies sold in the corresponding period of the previous year.

On an APE basis, the total premium for the quarter was ₹12,652 crore, with individual business contributing 55.81% (₹7,061 crore) and group business 44.18% (₹5,590 crore). Within the individual business, par products accounted for 69.66% (₹4,919 crore) of APE, while non-par products contributed 30.34% (₹2,142 crore).

Non-par APE rose 32.63% from ₹1,615 crore in the same quarter last year. Consequently, the non-par share of individual business on APE basis increased from 23.94% to 30.34% YoY.

LIC’s solvency ratio rose to 2.17 as on June 30, 2025, up from 1.99 a year earlier. The 13th-month and 61st-month persistency ratios on a premium basis were 75.63% and 63.85%, respectively, compared to 78.23% and 61.62% in the same period last year. On a policy count basis, the 13th-month and 61st-month persistency ratios stood at 64.35% and 51.12%, respectively, versus 67.81% and 49.39% in the previous year.

Assets under management (AUM) as of June 30, 2025, rose 6.47% to ₹57,05,341 crore from ₹53,58,781 crore a year earlier. The overall expense ratio improved to 10.47% from 11.87%, down by 140 basis points. The yield on investments on policyholders’ funds, excluding unrealised gains, was 8.45%, compared to 8.54% in the year-ago quarter.

The company has an overall market share of 63.51% in terms of first year premium income (FYPI) as per IRDAI data. For the quarter ended June 30, 2025, LIC commanded a market share of 38.76% in the individual business and 76.54% in the group business.

The results came after the close of the market hours. Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India ended at ₹885.45, down by ₹7.25 or 0.81% on the BSE today (August 7).