Samsung Life Insurance (032830.KS) and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance (000810.KS) both posted their highest first-half net profits since the adoption of the new IFRS 17 accounting standard. Samsung Life saw investment income rise on dividend gains and improved subsidiary earnings, while Samsung Fire improved its insurance income as long-term insurance loss ratios stabilized and high-value claims in general insurance declined.
Samsung Life said on the 13th that its first-half net profit attributable to controlling shareholders reached 1.89 trillion won ($1.4 billion) on a consolidated basis, up 35.8% from a year earlier. It marked the company's highest first-half earnings since the adoption of IFRS 17. Insurance income fell 35.9% to 533.1 billion won because of one-off costs, but investment income reached 1.86 trillion won on higher dividend income and gains from subsidiaries and consolidated operations, lifting overall results.
New-business contractual service margin (CSM) totaled 1.72 trillion won, up 20.4% from a year earlier, supported by a sales strategy that took profitability and market conditions into account. CSM from new protection-type policies reached 1.64 trillion won on stronger competitiveness in health products and expanded whole-life insurance sales. The company's retained CSM stood at 13.7 trillion won, up 500 billion won from the start of the year. Its capital adequacy ratio under the Korean Insurance Capital Standard (K-ICS) was 208% as of the end of June, aided by rising share prices and interest rates and the effect of new contracts. The company had 44,987 exclusive agents, maintaining industry-leading channel competitiveness.
Samsung Fire also posted a first-half net profit attributable to controlling shareholders of 1.37 trillion won on a consolidated basis, up 10.2% from a year earlier. It was the company's largest half-year figure. Insurance income rose 10.9% to 1.11 trillion won, while investment income grew 22.0% to 788 billion won. The gain came as the company expanded interest income by increasing investment in higher-yielding assets, along with valuation gains from a buoyant stock market.
Samsung Fire said improved profitability in long-term insurance and a recovery in auto insurance results also underpinned its earnings. In long-term insurance, the company managed products, underwriting and channels with a focus on quality-driven growth under a strategy to strengthen returns, lifting its CSM multiple to 13.9 times, an improvement of 1.1 times from a year earlier. Total CSM also reached 14.59 trillion won, up 427.1 billion won from the end of last year. Auto insurance likewise swung to a 29.6 billion won profit in the second quarter from a loss in the first.
Koo Young-min, chief financial officer at Samsung Fire, said the company had "achieved solid results through profitability-focused management," adding that it would "continue to strengthen its core-business fundamentals in the second half."
Strong earnings have continued across the insurance industry in the first half of the year. Hanwha Life Insurance (088350.KS) posted a net profit of 510.2 billion won on a separate basis, as investment income surged 776% from a year earlier to 354.8 billion won. DB Insurance saw its first-half net profit rise 8.0% to 979.6 billion won, with insurance income and investment income up 17.6% and 8.4%, respectively.
