On October 21, Caixin reporters (Reporter Xia Shuyuan) released the first quarterly report of listed insurance companies. On October 20, Ping An announced its third quarter report, showing that in the first three quarters of 2024, Ping An achieved a net operating profit attributable to shareholders of 113.818 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.5%; a net income attributable to shareholders of 119.182 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 36.1%; and an annualized operating ROE of 15.9%.

Among them, its life and health insurance, property insurance, and banking three core businesses remain stable. The net operating profit attributable to the parent company's shareholders was 119.651 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.7%. As of the end of September 2024, the total assets of Ping An Group reached 5.32 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.7% from the beginning of the year.

Industry insiders said that the recovery of the capital markets in the third quarter, coupled with the increase in investment income, is a common factor contributing to the significant increase in the performance of listed insurance companies. However, as of the end of the first half of 2024, the ratio of trading financial assets to owner's equity in Ping An's investment assets was only 26%, significantly lower than some listed insurance companies. "Overall, there is still considerable room for equity asset allocation in insurance companies." The above-mentioned person said.

In the first three quarters, Ping An's life and health insurance achieved a new business value of 35.16 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.1%.

Looking at Ping An Group's revenue composition, in the first three quarters of 2024, Ping An Group achieved operating income of 775.383 billion yuan, an 8.7% year-on-year increase. Insurance service revenue was 414.465 billion yuan, accounting for 53% of the total, showing that the insurance business is still outstanding in all sectors and remains the core business of Ping An Group.

In terms of original premium income, in the first three quarters of 2024, Ping An Group achieved an original premium income of 689.175 billion yuan, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year. Among them, life and health insurance premium income was 449.804 billion yuan, an increase of 9.8% year-on-year, accounting for 65% of the group's insurance business, showing that the personal insurance business remains the mainstay of Ping An Group.

Thanks to the growth of new business, in the first three quarters of 2024, Ping An's life insurance and health insurance business achieved a new business value of 35.16 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 34.1%, and the new business value rate calculated by standard premiums increased by 5.7 percentage points to 31%.

Among them, the new business value of the agent channel increased by 31.6% year-on-year, the average new business value per agent increased by 54.7% year-on-year, and the new business value of the bank and insurance channel increased by 68.5% year-on-year, with continuous improvement in production capacity.

The service income from property and casualty insurance increased by 4.5% year-on-year, and the comprehensive cost ratio decreased by 1.5 percentage points to 97.8% year-on-year.

In the first three quarters of 2024, Ping An Property achieved insurance service income of 246.022 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.5%; original premium income of 239.371 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%; and achieved operating profit of 13.987 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 39.7%.

In the first three quarters of 2024, Ping An Property achieved an overall comprehensive cost ratio of 97.8% through strengthened business management and risk screening, optimizing by 1.5 percentage points year-on-year.

Looking at different types of insurance, Ping An's auto insurance business achieved premium income of 160.535 billion yuan in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of 3.8%. The comprehensive cost ratio of auto insurance was 98.2%, up by 0.8 percentage points year-on-year.

Ping An Insurance stated that this was mainly due to the increase in liability costs caused by the decrease in discount rates under the new insurance contract standard and the impact of multiple typhoons and heavy rain, and other natural disasters year-on-year.

Ping An Insurance's annualized net investment return rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2024, and will increase allocation to new quality productivity in the future.

In the first three quarters of 2024, facing a complex and volatile market environment, Ping An Insurance's investment performance remains stable.

According to data, in the first three quarters of 2024, Ping An Insurance's investment portfolio achieved an annualized comprehensive investment return rate of 5%, an increase of 1.3 percentage points year-on-year. The annualized net investment return rate was 3.8%, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points year-on-year. As of the end of September 2024, the scale of Ping An Group's insurance investment portfolio was 5.32 trillion yuan, an increase of 12.7% from the beginning of the year.

As of the end of September 2024, the scale of debt plans and debt-based wealth management products invested by Ping An Insurance's investment portfolio was 376.174 billion yuan, accounting for 7.1% of the total investment assets, a decrease of 1.7 percentage points from the beginning of the year in terms of asset allocation of major asset classes.

As of the end of September 2024, the real estate investment balance in Ping An Insurance's investment portfolio was 205.026 billion yuan, accounting for 3.9% of the total investment assets. This type of investment is mainly real property investment using the cost method, accounting for 80.6% of real estate investments, mainly directed towards rental properties such as commercial offices, logistics real estate, industrial parks, long-term rentals, etc., to match liabilities duration, contribute relatively stable rental, dividends, and income, and achieve asset appreciation. Additionally, debt investments accounted for 15%, while other equity investments accounted for 4.4%.

Ping An stated that in the first three quarters of 2024, China's economy operated generally steadily, but faced difficulties such as structural differentiation during the transition period from old to new dynamics. In the third quarter, the government introduced a series of policies related to currency, finance, stabilization of capital markets, and promotion of employment. The capital markets responded positively, and the stock market rebounded rapidly.

It is reported that Ping An's average comprehensive investment return rate over the past decade has been 5.4%, consistently ranking at the forefront within the industry.

However, according to Ma Mingzhe, Chairman of Ping An, there are differences in investment philosophy, global strategy, professionalism, and institutional aspects compared to the requirements of shareholders and Ping An itself. It is not easy for insurance fund investments to match well in terms of investment return, time, cycle, products, and regulation.

In the future, Ping An will increase its investment efforts in which sectors, becoming an important reference for market investors.

Regarding future investment directions, Vice President of Ping An, Fu Xin, recently stated in a public forum that Ping An's insurance fund investments will fully leverage patient capital functions, serve national strategies, support the real economy, and promote new quality productivity.

In Fuxin's view, insurance funds are typical representatives of patient capital. Insurance funds have three important characteristics of 'long cycle, high stability, and large scale', naturally possessing the attributes of patient capital, capable of providing continuous funding support for long-term projects, supporting strategic emerging industries and technology investments through various means such as private equity investments, and serving the development of new and high-quality productive forces.