The insurance arm of OCBC Bank was hit by non-operating losses of S$222.8 million ($157.27 million) during the quarter, compared to a non-operating profit of S$75.9 million for the same period last year.
Great Eastern's quarterly net earnings of S$33.9 million for the first quarter of the year is 90 percent down on-year from Q1 2019's S$342.7 million, according to quarterly financial results released on Wednesday. The firm attributed this to unfavorable market conditions, which was partially offset by a reduction in insurance contract liabilities in Singapore.
Its operating profit doubled from the same quarter last year to S$298.6 million on the back of improved contribution from core markets and reduction in insurance contract liabilities in both Singapore and Malaysia.
Total weighted new sales grew 21 percent from the same quarter last year, to S$298.8 million, and new business embedded value grew 15 percent during the quarter as a result of growth in the group's operations in Singapore and Malaysia, driven by the agency channels in both countries and the bancassurance channel in Singapore, the firm reported.
Response to Covid-19
Looking ahead, the firm cautioned that new business volume may slow down amid weakened demand and restricted face-to-face interactions, as a result of circuit breaker measures to control the outbreak of Covid-19. It also said that bancassurance sales may see a more significant impact as sales activity is largely at bank branches.
«The major digital and technology infrastructure initiatives that we have embarked on in the past two years have helped the company to cushion the impact of the Covid-19 situation,» group CEO Khor Hock Seng said in a statement.
Khor said the firm has accelerated its adoption of additional digital capabilities to boost the connectivity and ease of engagement between our financial representatives and customers.
