LIC Q1 Profit Rises 23%, VNB Surges 61% As Margins Beat Street Estimates

Mumbai: Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) reported a strong operational performance for the quarter ended June 2026, led by sharp growth in Value of New Business (VNB) and a substantial improvement in margins.

However, Annualised Premium Equivalent (APE), a key measure of new business sales, fell short of market expectations.

VNB Beats Estimates

LIC’s total APE increased 8.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 13,692 crore. The figure was below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of Rs 14,841 crore.

VNB surged 61.3 percent to Rs 3,136 crore, comfortably exceeding the Street estimate of Rs 2,638 crore. The VNB margin expanded by 750 basis points to 22.9 percent, compared with 15.4 percent in the corresponding quarter last year. It also surpassed the estimated 17.8 percent.

Profit Climbs 23 percent

Profit after tax rose 22.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 13,492 crore, while total premium income increased 6.8 percent to Rs 1.27 lakh crore.

Individual new business premium income grew 14.5 percent to Rs 14,351 crore. Total individual premium income advanced 5.5 percent to Rs 75,416 crore, while group business premium income rose 8.6 percent to Rs 51,834 crore.

Product Mix Improves

Individual business contributed Rs 7,532 crore to total APE, representing 6.7 percent annual growth. Group business APE increased 10.2 percent to Rs 6,160 crore.

Non-participating APE within the individual business climbed 14.2 percent to Rs 2,447 crore. Its share in the individual business mix improved to 32.5 percent from 30.3 percent a year earlier.

Financial Position Strengthens

Assets under management grew 4.1 percent to Rs 59.39 lakh crore. LIC’s solvency ratio improved to 2.42 from 2.17, although its overall expense ratio edged up by 16 basis points to 10.63 percent.

LIC retained a 60.1 percent share of India’s first-year premium income. Its individual and group business market shares stood at 38.9 percent and 70.9 percent, respectively, according to IRDAI data.

CEO Highlights Strategy

Managing Director and CEO R Doraiswamy attributed the margin expansion to product diversification and LIC’s distribution strategy.

LIC shares ended 1.4 percent lower at Rs 387.50 before the results announcement on Thursday. The stock has declined approximately 9 percent in 2026 and more than 13 percent over the past year.