Earnings Review
HDFC Life posts sluggish PAT growth as invest income slumps
This story was originally published at 19:33 IST on 15 October 2025
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025
Please click here to read all liners published on this story
--HDFC Life Jul-Sept net profit INR 4.47 bln
--HDFC Life Jul-Sept net profit INR 4.47 bln vs INR 4.33 bln year ago
--HDFC Life Jul-Sept net premium income INR 187.77 bln vs INR 165.70 bln
--HDFC Life board OKs raising up to INR 7.5 bln via NCDs
--HDFC Life Apr-Sept net profit INR 9.94 bln vs INR 9.11 bln year ago
--HDFC Life Apr-Sept net premium income INR 332.43 bln vs INR 290.79 bln
--HDFC Life solvency ratio 175% as on Sept 30 vs 181% year ago
--HDFC Life 13th month persistency ratio 80.8% as on Sept 30
--HDFC Life Apr-Sept value of new business INR 18.18 bln, up 10% YoY
--HDFC Life Apr-Sept new business margin 24.5% vs 24.6% year ago
By Aaryan Khanna
NEW DELHI – HDFC Life Insurance Co. Ltd. posted a sluggish growth in year-on-year net profit in the September quarter as the top line fell sharply due to a slump in the net income from investments. A sharp fall in the change in actuarial liability and a decline in benefits paid from a year ago helped the insurance company to bring down costs and offset the impact of weak revenues.
The life insurer's net profit rose 3.3% on year to INR 4.47 billion in Jul-Sept, but fell by over 18% from the June quarter. Motilal Oswal Financial Services, the only brokerage tracking the firm's earnings, had estimated the bottom line at INR 4.75 billion in the reporting quarter.
On the revenue side, net income from investments in the policyholders' account fell by INR 102 billion on year to INR 14.10 billion in Jul-Sept. The actuarial liability in the September quarter fell to INR 69.79 billion, down nearly 52% on year and nearly 59% on quarter. Net benefits paid also declined 9.4% on year to INR 93.29 billion.
HDFC Life is the country's second-largest private life insurer in terms of market share, according to data on new premium income of life insurance companies in September. Its net premium income rose 13% on year to INR 187.77 billion. Still, total income in the policyholders' account fell 29% on year to INR 203.15 billion, dragged by the investment income.
Other heads on the expense front rose on year despite the sharp decline in benefits paid and actuarial liabilities. The total expenses on the policyholders' account fell nearly 27% on year to INR 204.87 billion. Net commissions paid rose by a quarter to INR 23.21 billion. Management expenses rose 16% on year to INR 41.01 billion.
Total income fell more than total expenses on year, leading to a revenue deficit of INR 1.72 billion in the policyholders' account, against a surplus of INR 5.10 billion a year ago. However, the life insurer was able to transfer INR 2.15 billion to the shareholders' account and show a surplus in the policyholders' account due to interim and terminal bonuses.
Meanwhile, the transfer of funds to shareholders to policyholders fell by nearly 75% on a year-on-year basis to INR 485 million in the September quarter. Net income from investments in the shareholders' account rose by a third to INR 3.61 billion. This helped prop up the bottom line.
HDFC Life Insurance's assets under management rose 11% on year to INR 3.60 trillion as on Sept. 30. The debt-to-equity ratio of its holdings was 69:31, the company said in its investor presentation.
The net profit of the life insurer in Apr-Sept rose 9% to INR 9.94 billion. The net premium income in the first half of the year rose around 15% to INR 334.11 billion.
The value of new business in the first half of the financial year rose 10% to INR 18.18 billion, implying a September quarter addition of around INR 10 billion, based on June quarter earnings. The new business margin, a closely tracked metric for life insurers, was at 24.5% in Apr-Sept from 24.6% a year ago. The margin was 25.1% in the quarter ended June. Meanwhile, the 13th-month persistency shrank by two percentage points on year to 86% in Apr-Sept, while the 61st-month persistency rose by the same margin to 62%. or the quarter ended September, the 13th-month persistency was 80.8%.
The insurer's solvency ratio fell to 175% as of Sept. 30 from 181% a year ago, and is closer to the minimum mandated ratio of 150%. To improve this, the board approved issuing non-convertible debentures of up to INR 7.50 billion in the nature of subordinated debt, HDFC Life said.
Wednesday, shares of HDFC Life Insurance ended 2.4% higher at INR 761.15 on the National Stock Exchange. The company announced the results after market hours. End
Edited by Saji George Titus
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
