【2628 Earnings】China Life Final Dividend Increases 37% to 61.8 RMB Cents; One-Year New Business Value Rises 36%

China Life Insurance (02628) announced its full-year results, recommending a final dividend of 61.8 cents RMB per share (tax included) for 2025, up 37% year-on-year. Including the interim dividend paid for 2025, the total annual dividend per share amounts to 85.6 cents RMB (tax included), a 32% increase year-on-year.

Last year, China Life’s new business value reached 45.75 billion RMB, up 36% year-on-year, with the individual insurance channel accounting for 39.3 billion RMB, a 26% increase. The company’s net profit last year was 154.08 billion RMB, a 44% growth.

China Life’s new single premium increased by 9%, while first-year regular premium declined by 2%

Last year, China Life’s new single premium was 234.08 billion RMB, up 9% year-on-year. The first-year regular premium was 116.21 billion RMB, down 2%, and the ten-year and above first-year regular premiums totaled 52.2 billion RMB, down 8%. The company stated that in 2025, it will vigorously promote the development of variable return products through the individual insurance channel. During this period, dividend insurance business grew rapidly, accounting for nearly 60% of the first-year regular premiums in the individual insurance channel, becoming an important support for new business premiums. The main sales products are gradually shifting towards medium- and long-term sales, with more diverse insurance terms. The proportion of the top five insurance types in the first-year regular premiums in the individual insurance channel decreased by over 10 percentage points compared to 2024, leading to a more diversified and balanced business structure.

China Life’s individual insurance sales personnel decreased by 5% year-on-year

As of the end of the reporting period, the individual insurance sales force numbered 587,000, down 5% year-on-year. Among them, the marketing team decreased by 6% to 371,000, and the distribution team decreased by 2% to 216,000.

Last year, China Life recorded a total investment return of 387.69 billion RMB, up 26% year-on-year. China Life stated that the company achieved its best investment performance in recent years, with a total investment yield of 6.09%, an increase of 59 basis points year-on-year. The announcement did not mention the net investment yield excluding asset fair value changes, as was discussed in previous years’ results.

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