ICICI Lombard Q4 Results: Profit Rises, Beats Estimates

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co.'s fourth-quarter profit rose, beating analysts' estimates.

The general insurer's net profit rose 40% year-on-year to Rs 437 crore in the quarter ended March, it said in an exchange filing. That compares with the Rs 394 crore consensus estimate of analysts tracked by Bloomberg.

The net premium earned rose to Rs 3,726 crore, a rise of 12% over a year earlier.

• Revenue rose 13% to Rs 5,256 crore, as against a Bloomberg estimate of Rs 4,299 crore.

• Operating profit was up 27% at Rs 1,279 crore.

• Operating profit in the fire segment grew 8%, while profit from the motor segment gained 23% year-on-year. Profit in the health retail segment fell 2%, while profit in the group and corporate segment jumped 2.4 times.

• Crop insurance surged 3.5 times over a year ago.

• The margin stood at 24.3% versus 21.8%.

• Solvency ratio stood at 2.51 times versus 2.45 times, as of December. It was 2.46 times as of March 31, 2022, which is higher than the minimum regulatory requirement of 1.50 times.

• The combined ratio, calculated by adding incurred losses and expenses and dividing them by the premium earned, was higher at 104.2% against 103.2%.

• The claim ratio was higher at 74.2% versus 72% last year.

• The expense of management ratio improved by 10 basis points from a year ago to 31.4%.

The company has recommended a final dividend of Rs 5.50 per share for fiscal 2023. It had paid an interim dividend of Rs 4.50 apiece in December 2022. In fiscal 2022, the company paid a total dividend of Rs 4 per share.

• The after-tax profit jumped 36% to Rs 1,729 crore.

• Operating margin was at 13.2%, up from 11.1%, while revenue rose by 12%.

• The incurred claims ratio stood at 72.4% against 75.1%.

• The combined ratio stood at 104.5%, as compared with 108.8% over the same period a year ago.

• The yield on investments stood at 7.5% versus 8.45%.

• The average return on equity was 17.7% versus 14.7% last year.