Allianz’s life insurance segment to recover

PETALING JAYA: Allianz Malaysia Bhd, which had a satisfactory third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3Q22) performance, will continue to focus on its strategy to intensify agency recruitment and uplift agent productivity which will help boost its agency business, according to TA Research.

The research house also pointed out that the group’s life insurance segment would gradually recover where it noted that its 3Q22 pre-tax profit improved by 40.3% quarter-on-quarter to Rm166.5mil on better performance of the segment following the lower fair value losses on investments.

It said while net profit for the ninemonth period declined by 5.4% to Rm306.5mil due to prosperity tax or cukai makmur, operating revenue rose 6.5% to Rm5.1bil on the back of higher gross earned premiums and investment income.

TA Research said the nine-month results came in at 68.8% and 66.6% its and consensus expectations, respectively and it anticipated a stronger 4Q22, driven by the life insurance segment.

The pre-tax profit tax for the ninemonth period increased by 1% to Rm436.9mil, driven by both the general and life insurance segments, said TA Research.

The research house has reiterated its “buy” call on Allianz with an unchanged target price of RM15.20 per share.