Ceylinco Life posts income of Rs 29.21 bn., PBT of Rs 7.16 bn. in 2018

• Remains No 1 in life insurance for 15^th successive year with premium income of Rs 17.8 bn.
•  Assets up Rs 11.96 bn. to Rs 118 bn., investments grow to Rs 103.74 bn.

Ceylinco Life has reported total income of Rs 29.21 billion for the year ending 31^st December 2018, outperforming industry averages in its core business to record premium income of Rs 17.8 billion, an improvement of 13 per cent over the previous year.

Announcing its 15^th consecutive year of market leadership in Sri Lanka’s life insurance industry, Ceylinco Life said investment income had grown 10.83 per cent to Rs 11.39 billion for the year reviewed, an anticipated result in the context of the conditions that impacted on investment returns in 2018.

The Company posted profit before tax of Rs 7.16 billion, reflecting an increase of 12.69 per cent after discounting a one-off surplus of Rs 3.4 billion that boosted the profits of 2017, following a regulatory change in the basis of the valuation of life funds.

Profit after tax for the year totalled Rs 5.79 billion, a material reduction consequent to the Company’s tax provision increasing four fold in the year under review, from Rs 340 million in 2017 to Rs 1.363 billion in 2018, under the new life insurance tax regime introduced by the government.

“Extending the protection of life insurance to as many people as possible remains our core business, but the success of a life insurance business is also dependent on how it invests and manages policyholders’ funds,” Ceylinco Life Chairman Mr R. Renganathan said. “In that respect, it has been a good year for the Company, even though the investment market softened and incomes of our prospective customers continued to be under pressure. Considering these factors, our success in increasing our share of the life insurance market is particularly noteworthy.”

Ceylinco Life’s investment portfolio grew by a robust 12.44 per cent over the 12 months to Rs 103.74 billion as at 31^st December 2018, while total assets increased by 11.28 per cent to Rs 118 billion.

The Company’s Life Fund grew to Rs 88.05 billion following a transfer of Rs 6.46 billion during the year. Shareholders’ funds increased by Rs 5.78 billion or 27.99 per cent to Rs 26.43 billion.

Ceylinco Life’s net assets value per share, discounting the impact of the one-off surplus of 2017, stood at Rs 528.51 as at 31^st December, from Rs 343.81 at the end of the previous year, reflecting an improvement of Rs 184.70 or 53.72 per cent. Earnings per share for the review period totalled Rs 115.89, while return on equity was 21.93 per cent.

Adjudged Sri Lanka’s Best Life Insurer in 2018 for the fifth consecutive year by World Finance, Ceylinco Life first achieved market leadership in 2004 and has now been the market leader in Sri Lanka’s life insurance industry for 15 of the 31 years it has been in operation. The Company has close to a million lives covered by active policies and is acknowledged as a benchmark in the local insurance industry for innovation, product research and development, customer service, professional development and corporate social responsibility.