Ping An Announces Results for the First Three Quarters of 2010
Hong Kong, Shanghai, October 27, 2010 - Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter "Ping An" or "the Group", HKEX: 2318; SSE: 601318) today announced its unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2010.
China's economy continued to grow steadily. In accordance with the stated strategic direction and operational targets for the year, the Company made positive responses to the changes in macroeconomic situation and market environment, and achieved healthy and strong growth in its core businesses - insurance, banking and investment. Meanwhile, the Company also made significant progress in the restructuring of its banking business, laying a solid foundation for the accelerated development of its integrated financial strategy.
Summary of the company's 2010 third quarterly results:
Continuous and rapid business growth:
- For the nine months ended 30 September 2010, net profit up 8.4% yoy to RMB13,197 million
- Total assets grew 17.5% from end of 2009 to RMB1,099,102 million
- Total equity up 26.6% from end of 2009 to RMB116,140 million
- For life insurance business, total written premiums for the first three quarters reached RMB128,145 million, an increase of 22.4% yoy
- Property and casualty insurance business realized written premiums of RMB45,759 million for the first three quarters, up 57.7% yoy. Combined ratio improved to 94.3%
Banking business achieves breakthrough
- Ping An Bank's net profit up 73.1% yoy to RMB1,373 million for the first three quarters
- Total assets of Ping An Bank reached RMB239,130 million
- Number of accumulated issued credited cards exceeded 5.5 million. Total transaction amount increased continuously
- Non-performing loan ratio was controlled at an industry leading level of 0.41%
- Shenzhen Development bank contributed a total profit of RMB635 million for the first three quarters
- Ping An Securities reported net profit of RMB1,176 million for the first three quarters, an increase of 111.5% yoy
- We have sponsored 30 IPOs and underwritten 7 refinancing projects as a lead underwriter, continue to be ranked top in the league table by number of deals and volume of underwriting fees received
For the first three quarters of 2010 the Company realized a net profit of RMB13,197 million, or earnings per share of RMB1.71, representing a year-on-year growth of 8.4% and 6.9% respectively. Total equity grew 26.6% to RMB116.14 billion from the end of 2009. The growth rate has slightly decreased as compared with the last two quarters. It was mainly due to certain market factors, in particular the decrease in total investment income of equity assets and the increase in insurance reserves as a result of the benchmarking yield curve for the measurement of insurance contract liabilities going down. Despite such unfavorable investment and interest rates environment, the Company continued to deliver strong growth across the business, further consolidating its foundation for sustainable and healthy and rapid growth.
During the period, insurance business maintained a healthy and fast growing momentum with a significant growth in written premiums for individual life insurance new business. Total written premiums for the first three quarters reached RMB128,145 million, representing an increase of 22.4% on a year-on-year basis. Among which, the more profitable individual life insurance new business realized written premiums of RMB33,989 million, up 40.7% compared with same period last year. Property and casualty insurance business saw a notable improvement in both scale and quality and recorded premium income of RMB45,759 million, a strong growth of 57.7%. Its combined ratio improved to 94.3%. In addition, three major performance indicators of the annuity business - annuity payments received, assets entrusted and assets under investment management - all maintained leading positions in the industry.
Banking business continued its momentum of solid growth as Ping An Bank recorded huge profit surge and Shenzhen Development Bank contributed more remarkable profit to the Company. Ping An Bank realized a net profit of RMB1,373 million for the first three quarters, representing an increase of 73.1% on a year-on-year basis, with total assets reached RMB239.13 billion. The number of accumulated issued credit cards exceeded 5.5 million and total transaction amount increased continuously. Non-performing loan ratio was comfortably controlled at an industry leading level of 0.41% when our business expanded rapidly. As a 29.99% associate company of Ping An, Shenzhen Development Bank contributed a total profit of RMB635 million for the first three quarters.
Investment banking business is among the best in the industry and we achieved smooth transformation in our trust business. For our investment business, we vigilantly responded to the capital market's volatility and optimized our asset allocation timely. Ping An Securities realized a net profit of RMB1,176 million for the first third quarters, representing an increase of 111.5% on a year-on-year basis. Our investment banking arm continued to maintain its leading position in the SMEs and the GEM underwriting markets. We have sponsored 30 IPOs and underwritten 7 refinancing projects as a lead underwriter. We ranked top in the league table by number of deals and volume of underwriting fees received. Ping An Trust strived to build an asset management platform serving high worth individuals while expanding its business scale. Driven by the product innovation and the expanded direct sales channels, the scale of high margin products increased steadily. When mentioned our investment business, we strengthened our macroeconomic research capability and timely grasped market opportunities.
Ping An also saw remarkable progress in the restructuring of Ping An Bank and Shenzhen Development Bank. The proposed restructuring of Shenzhen Development Bank and Ping An Bank has been approved by the respective board of directors of all the three participating parties and received wide support and acclaim from the community. The proposed restructuring has also been passed in the extraordinary general meeting of Shenzhen Development Bank and, subject to approval in the extraordinary general meeting of the Company, the Company will continue to pursue approval from relevant regulatory bodies and maintain a strong development momentum of our banking business to perfect our integrated financial strategy.
Looking into the fourth quarter, Ping An comments, "China's economy is expected to rebound after stabilizing. However, the fundamentals for such rebound have yet to be continuously fortified. The internal market is still full of uncertainties and instabilities. As compared with last year, We see a more cautious investment environment and investment sentiment as compared with last year and the bond yield is expected to remain at a relatively low level despite a slightly rise as a result of the PBOC raising interest rate. These market uncertainties will put pressure on our fourth quarter results. In the fourth quarter, while continuously focusing on the healthy and steady development of all businesses, we will make full preparation for the coming year in order to lay a strong foundation for the long-term sustainable growth of the Company."
