Samsung Life Insurance Reports Q2 Net Profit of 155.3 Billion KRW, Up 103%... "Strong Insurance Sales Performance"

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Samsung Life Insurance announced on the 12th that its controlling company owners' equity net profit for the second quarter of this year reached 155.3 billion KRW, a 102.8% increase compared to the same period last year (76.6 billion KRW).

During the same period, sales amounted to 9.9959 trillion KRW, up 21.5%, and operating profit increased by 706% to 270 billion KRW.

The company stated that the improvement in net profit was due to the insurance core profits, including underwriting gains and non-underwriting gains, increasing by 53.2% year-on-year to 402.5 billion KRW.

Underwriting gains refer to the profits arising from the difference between expected mortality rates and actual outcomes, while non-underwriting gains are the amounts remaining after deducting actual expenses from additional insurance premiums. The company explained that overall profits increased due to growth in new contracts and insurance operating profits.

However, the consolidated net profit for the first half of the year recorded 425 billion KRW, a 63.5% decrease compared to the same period last year.

This was attributed to non-recurring factors such as the base effect from Samsung Electronics' special dividend in the first quarter of last year and expanded losses in variable annuity guarantee reserves due to the decline in stock indices during the first half.

A company official said, "There were losses recognized in the variable annuity guarantee profit and loss section due to increased volatility in the financial markets during the first half," but added, "We expect recovery in the second half as the financial markets stabilize."

The new business value, an indicator representing the future profit flow, increased by 11.1% year-on-year to 808 billion KRW in the first half.

The asset management yield rose by 0.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year to 3.4%, supported by improvements in new investment yields and timely realization of gains from asset sales.

As of the end of June, total assets stood at 315 trillion KRW, and the RBC ratio, which gauges capital soundness, remained stable at 249%.

A Samsung Life Insurance official stated, "Despite the challenging management environment with increased volatility in domestic and international financial markets, we achieved solid performance across key management areas such as new contracts, insurance profits, and asset management, thereby firmly establishing a stable profit growth foundation after the IFRS17 transition."