Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. has reported 63.3% growth in net profit for the first-half of the year to RMB105,738 million (USD 15 billion), which included a RMB10,453 million (USD 1.5 billion) one-off gain from a tax law change on commission expense.
The firm notes steady overall growth in the period, with operating profit increasing by almost 24% when compared with H1 2018, to RMB73,464 million (USD 10.4 billion).
By segment, and the company has reported that the total number of retail customers reached 196 million, which is growth of 6.6% from the start of 2019. The firm states that cross-selling of retail customers further increased and customer value grew steadily.
“We will always be customer-centric and continuously enhance our technological capabilities to empower product innovation and optimization as well as service improvement. We will continue to upgrade customer experiences and boost both retail customer value and corporate value,” said Peter Ma, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ping An.
Within the company’s financial businesses, and the Life and Health NBV margin improved to 44.7%, while Ping An Property & Casualty recorded 69.5% growth in operating profit and a better-than-industry combined ratio of 96.6%.
Ping An’s banking business maintained steady growth through the first-half of 2019, and the firm states that it made significant progress in its transformation towards retail banking.
Across the company’s technology businesses there was rapid growth in revenues in H1 2019, and the firm states that it continues to increase technological R&D investments as well as technology export.
“The year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China and is the beginning of Ping An’s fourth decade. Despite current global economic complexities, we firmly believe that China’s economy will grow strongly in the long run. Under the ‘finance + technology’ and ‘finance + ecosystem’ strategies, we will adhere firmly to our original aspiration, strengthen our core financial businesses, and fulfill our duties as an insurer. We will give back to society by empowering villages through the Ping An Rural Communities Support.
“We will promote data-driven smart operations, grow our technology business, and develop innovative ecosystem services including smart city services. We will continue to gain better insight into customer needs, optimize consumer experience, and improve our integrated one-stop financial services. We will continue to create value for customers and shareholders by delivering sustainable business growth and take steady steps to become a world-leading technology-powered retail financial services group,” said Ma.
