- Premium income improves by 13.8% to Rs 15.5 billion
- Investment & other income grows by 14.3% to Rs 10.8 billion
- Net claims & benefits to policyholders up by 12.8% to Rs 9.1 billion
Sri Lanka’s life insurance market leader Ceylinco Life has posted consolidated income of Rs 26 billion for the nine months ending 30th September 2020, achieving noteworthy top line growth of 14 per cent in a period dominated by adverse conditions for business.
Gross Written Premium income for the period grew by 13.8 per cent to Rs 15.5 billion, while investment and other income increased by 14.3 per cent to Rs 10.8 billion, the Company reports.
Ceylinco Life transferred Rs 6.7 billion to its life fund for the period under review, enlarging the life fund to Rs 103.6 billion as at 30th September 2020 and transferred Rs 2.9 billion to the shareholders’ fund in respect of the nine months, increasing the shareholder fund to Rs 35.8 billion at the end of the third quarter.
The Company said it paid Rs 9.1 billion in net claims and benefits to policyholders for the period, an increase of 12.8 per cent over the corresponding nine months of the previous year.
Ceylinco Life reported profit of Rs 5.29 billion before tax and Rs 4.18 billion after tax for the nine months, recording declines of 8.4 per cent and 6.7 per cent respectively, on account of a lower transfer of Rs 2.9 billion to shareholder profits as against Rs 3.3 billion for the first nine months of 2019.
“Our results reflect Ceylinco Life’s ability to maintain its momentum in terms of volumes even in difficult times, as well as the resilience of the Company’s investment strategies,” Ceylinco Life Managing Director/CEO Mr Thushara Ranasinghe commented. “A decline in profits was anticipated and factored in, as a consequence of the need to make provisions for the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the business. We remain confident that our business model will generate equitable returns for policyholders and shareholders alike, while expanding the footprint of life insurance in the market.”
Total assets of Ceylinco Life grew by Rs 27.5 billion or 20.7 per cent since 31st December 2019 to Rs 160.7 billion as at 30th September 2020, while the Company’s investment portfolio increased by Rs 27.4 billion or 23.5 per cent over the nine months to Rs 144.3 billion at the end of the third quarter of the year. The Company’s net assets value per share stood at Rs 716.08 as at 30th September 2020, up by Rs 86.23 or 13.6 per cent YoY.
Sri Lanka’s leading life insurer for more than half of the 32 years it has been in existence, and certified as a ‘Great Workplace’ in Sri Lanka by Great Place to Work®, Ceylinco Life was ranked the Most Valuable Life Insurance Brand in Sri Lanka by Brand Finance this year and declared the ‘Peoples Life Insurance Service Provider of the Year’ for the 14th consecutive year at the 2020 SLIM-Nielsen Peoples Awards. The Company was ranked among the 10 ‘Most Admired Companies’ in the country by the International Chamber of Commerce, Sri Lanka (ICCSL) in 2019 and in the same year was named the ‘Best Life Insurer in Sri Lanka’ for the sixth consecutive year by World Finance, and ranked sixth overall in the Business Today ranking of the country’s top 30 companies.
Ceylinco Life has close to a million lives covered by active policies and is acknowledged as a benchmark in the local insurance sector for innovation, product research and development, customer service, professional development and corporate social responsibility.