GREAT Eastern Holdings on Wednesday posted a 90 per cent drop in net profit to S$33.9 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 from S$342.7 million a year ago.
The insurance arm of OCBC Bank was weighed down by non-operating losses of S$222.8 million, compared to a non-operating profit of S$75.9 million a year earlier. Great Eastern said this was due to lower valuation of investments, arising from unfavourable financial market conditions in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, operating profit doubled to S$298.6 million from S$148.7 million from the same quarter last year. This was driven by increased contribution from its core markets and a reduction in insurance contract liabilities in both Singapore and Malaysia. Total weighted new sales for the quarter grew 21 per cent to S$298.8 million, from S$247.4 million a year ago.
According to Great Eastern, the group's operations in Singapore and Malaysia continued its growth momentum, driven by agency channels in both countries and the bancassurance channel in Singapore.
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