LIC Q4 net profit rises 2% to Rs 13,763 crore; declares total dividend of Rs 10 per share for FY24

New Delhi: Insurance behemoth LIC on Monday posted a marginal 2 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 13,763 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2024 as the corporation made provisions for wage hike.

The insurer had earned a profit of Rs 13,428 crore in the corresponding quarter a year earlier.

The total income of the insurer during the reporting quarter rose to Rs 2,50,923 crore from Rs 2,00,185 crore in the same period of the preceding fiscal, LIC said in a regulatory filing.

LIC's income from first-year premium also improved to Rs 13,810 crore in the latest January-March quarter against Rs 12,811 crore in the same period of preceding fiscal.

The income from renewal premiums in the reporting period rose to Rs 77,368 crore compared to Rs 76,009 crore a year ago.

During the entire financial year ended March 2024, the insurer earned a profit of Rs 40,676 crore as compared to Rs 36,397 crore in the previous fiscal.

The total premium income for year ended March 2024 was Rs 4,75,070 crore as compared to Rs 4,74,005 crore in the year ended March 2023.

A total of 2,03,92,973 policies were sold in the individual segment in FY24 as compared to 2,04,28,937 policies sold previous fiscal.

The board recommended a final dividend of Rs 6 per share for 2023-24 subject to approval of shareholders, LIC Chairman Siddhartha Mohanty said.

Earlier, during the year an interim dividend of Rs 4 was declared and paid to shareholders of the corporation.

Therefore, he said, the total of interim and recommended final dividend aggregates to Rs 10 per share.

In terms of market share measured by First Year Premium Income (FYPI) (as per IRDAI), LIC continues to be the market leader by market share in Indian life insurance business with overall market share of 58.87 per cent.

Commenting on financial numbers, Mohanty said, "We have more than doubled our share of non-par business within our individual business. Now we intend to focus our strategic interventions to maximize our market share across categories. At the same time, our sharp focus on various parameters which create superior value for all stakeholders shall continue, as demonstrated." There are key initiatives related to distribution channel and digital transformation underway, he said, adding topline growth trajectory will be back in focus during the current financial year.

Topline is expected to grow at double digit during the current financial year on the back of new product launches and agency force tranformation project.

The Value of New Business (VNB) was Rs 9,583 crore in FY24 as compared to Rs 9,156 crore in the year ended March 31st, 2023, registering a growth of 4.66 per cent.

The net VNB margin for the year ended March 2024 increased by 60 basis points to 16.80 per cent as compared to 16.20 per cent for the previous year.

The solvency ratio increased to 1.98 as against 1.87 on March 31, 2023.

The Assets Under Management (AUM) increased to Rs 51,21,887 crore as on March 31, 2024 as compared to Rs 43,97,205 crore at the end of previous fiscal, registering an increase of 16.48 per cent year on year.

The amount of bonus allocated to participating policy holders was Rs 52,955.87 crore for FY24 as against Rs 49,439.56 crore for the preceding financial year.