Private sector HDFC Life Insurance has posted an 18.47 per cent increase in net profits for the third quarter of the fiscal despite low growth in income from investments.

Its net profits stood at ₹245.63 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, on the back of a healthy increase in premium income, compared to a net profit of ₹207.32 crore in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.

Its net premium income grew by 27.3 per cent to ₹6,897.68 crore in the quarter under review, compared to ₹5,419.99 crore in the same period a year ago.

The growth in first-year premium was more muted at about 4.15 per cent for the third quarter this fiscal at ₹1,252.34 crore, against ₹1,202.36 crore in the same period a year ago.

However, income from investments almost halved by 43.9 per cent to ₹2,384.85 crore for the October to December quarter this fiscal, from ₹4,253.14 crore in the same period a year ago.

The insurer attributed it primarily to lower mark-to-market gains in the unit-linked segment, compared to the previous period due to market movements. “The investment return in the unit-linked segment is directly passed on to the policyholders with corresponding changes in the reserves, with no direct impact to the surplus or profits for the relevant period,” it said.

Vibha Padalkar, MD and CEO, HDFC Life Insurance, said this is only a pass-through, and is because of the equity exposure in linked portfolio.

“We will be defocussing from ULIPs to some extent. It would also depend on the market outlook,” she said.

In a regulatory filing, the insurer also announced the appointment of Niraj Ashwin Shah as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company with effect from March 1, 2019. He is currently CFO at PNB Metlife.

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