Pan-Asia insurer AIA Group yesterday announced that it had chalked up a record value of new business (VONB) for the first half of this year, which rose by 25% to $2,455m.
Sales were up by 17% in the first six months to $4,546m of annualised new premiums (ANP). New business profitability increased with VONB margin up 3.3 ppt to 53.9 %.
Embedded Value
AIA’s interim financial statements also show that embedded value (EV) operating profit totalled $5,350m in 1H2024, up by 29% per share. Operating ROEV rose to 16.5 % from 12.9 % in the full year 2023.
EV Equity stood at $70.9bn after capital returns to shareholders, up by 5% per share over the first half.
Mr Lee Yuan Siong, AIA’s Group chief executive and president, said in a statement, “AIA has delivered excellent results in the first half of 2024. We have achieved record new business profits, significant earnings growth, strong free surplus generation, and returned substantial capital to shareholders. We are also announcing an OPAT per share CAGR target of 9-11% from 2023 to 2026. Today’s headline figures, with VONB up by 25%, are a direct result of AIA’s ability to deliver successive layers of profitable new business that compound over time to sustain growth in earnings and cash generation.
“In the first six months of 2024, we returned $3.4bn to shareholders through dividend and share buy-backs. The board announced an increase to our existing share buy-back programme by $2.0bn in April, bringing the total to $12.0bn. Today, the board has declared a further 5.2 % increase in the interim dividend to 44.50 Hong Kong cents (5.71 US cents) per share, reflecting AIA’s very strong financial position and confidence in our future operational and financial delivery.
“AIA is exceptionally well positioned to leverage the long-term structural growth opportunities in Asia, the most attractive region in the world for life and health insurance.”
New Business Performance - VONB, ANP and Margin by segment
|
$ m unless otherwise stated
|
1H2024
|
1H2023
|
VONB change YoY
|
|
VONB
|
Margin
|
ANP
|
VONB
|
Margin
|
ANP
|
CER
|
AER
|
|
Mainland China
|
782
|
56.6%
|
1,382
|
601
|
%
|
1,195
|
36%
|
30%
|
|
Hong Kong
|
858
|
65.7%
|
1,272
|
681
|
%
|
1,165
|
26%
|
26%
|
|
Thailand
|
359
|
93.1%
|
386
|
327
|
%
|
357
|
16%
|
10%
|
|
Singapore
|
219
|
52.4%
|
417
|
173
|
%
|
267
|
27%
|
27%
|
|
Malaysia
|
183
|
64.2%
|
285
|
170
|
%
|
261
|
14%
|
8%
|
|
Other markets
|
224
|
27.7%
|
804
|
212
|
%
|
739
|
9%
|
6%
|
|
Sub Total
|
2,625
|
57.2%
|
4,546
|
2,164
|
53.8%
|
3,984
|
25%
|
21%
|
|
Others*
|
-170
|
|
-
|
-135
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
Total
|
2,455
|
53.9%
|
4,546
|
2,029
|
50.8%
|
3,984
|
25%
|
21%
|
|
* include consolidated capital requirements, office expenses, tax, non-controlling interests .
CER = constant exchange rate AER = actual exchange rate
|
|
Source: AIA
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