China Life's First-Half Profit Triples as Investment Gains Outpace Insurance Growth
China Life Insurance's (HKG:2628, SHA:601628) attributable profit in the first half of 2026 more than tripled versus a year earlier, driven by a surge in investment income that outpaced the modest rise in insurance revenue.Net profit attributable to shareholders surged 229% year over year to 134.5 billion yuan, or 4.76 yuan per share, according to an after-market filing in Hong Kong on Thursday.The Chinese insurer, also listed in Shanghai, said revenue jumped 81.5% to 434.6 billion yuan, as investment income more than tripled to 240.2 billion yuan. Insurance revenue, meanwhile, only rose 5.3% to 112.5 billion yuan.The company attributed the surge in investment income to market value fluctuations of financial assets and proactive investment operations.Gross written premiums rose 2.2% to 536.6 billion yuan. The company attributed the modest growth to its solid "market-leading position."By segment, China Life's life insurance business remained its largest revenue driver, accounting for about 84% of overall gross written premiums, followed by the health insurance business at 15% and accident insurance business at 1%."The company continuously advanced the diversification of product supply and business development in terms of product form, duration and cost, with premiums from new policies from life insurance, annuity insurance and health insurance accounting for 22.80%, 42.49% and 31.55%, respectively," China Life Insurance said.Premiums from new policies jumped nearly 12%, while renewal premiums edged down 2%.Insurance service expenses fell sharply, as the company swung from booking losses on onerous contracts to reversing those losses in the first half.The board proposed an interim dividend of 0.358 yuan per share, inclusive of tax, up 50.4% from the payout a year earlier.Looking to the second half, the company flagged a weak global backdrop, warning that "the asset-liability matching management will be more difficult for the insurance industry."However, it expects to have sufficient capital to meet its insurance business spending and new general investment needs in the second half.
