Ping An interim profit misses estimates as China rate cut erodes insurer’s investments

The first-half profit of China’s most valuable insurance company missed analysts’ estimates, as one-off revaluations of investments eroded the increasing sales of life and health products by Ping An Insurance (Group).

Interim net profit fell 8.8 per cent to 68.05 billion yuan (US$9.50 billion) from a year earlier, missing a 4.4 per cent increase that was expected by Bloomberg’s consensus estimate.

The value of new business in Ping An’s life and health insurance divisions, a key measure of future growth, rose 39.8 per cent during the period to 25.96 billion yuan, fuelled by strong sales by agents and the bancassurance business.

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“China’s economy was generally stable and improved steadily despite pressure from a complex and severe external environment in the first half of 2025, but it still faces short- and medium-term challenges including lacklustre domestic demand,” Ping An chairman Peter Ma Mingzhe said in an earnings statement on Tuesday to the Hong Kong stock exchange after trading hours.

Peter Ma Mingzhe, chairman and chief executive officer of Ping An Insurance (Group). Photo: Xiaomei Chen alt=Peter Ma Mingzhe, chairman and chief executive officer of Ping An Insurance (Group). Photo: Xiaomei Chen>

The Shenzhen-based insurer said it would pay an interim dividend of 0.95 yuan per share, up 2.2 per cent from a year earlier.

Its shares fell 2 per cent amid a declining market to HK$57.45 before its earnings were released.

Ping An’s logo. Photo: Getty Images. alt=Ping An’s logo. Photo: Getty Images.>

Operating profit after tax attributable to shareholders grew 3.7 per cent from a year earlier to 77.73 billion yuan. Ping An’s collection of retail customers grew in the first six months of the year, increasing 4.6 per cent from a year earlier to 247 million people.

Net profit for the property and casualty insurance units rose 2 per cent to 10.6 billion yuan, while profit from asset management surged 85.3 per cent from a year earlier.

China’s central bank cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point in May to spur economic growth. Its first reduction in seven months crimped Ping An’s net interest margin by 0.16 percentage points to 1.8 per cent.

The Ping An International Financial Center in Beijing. Photo: Reuters alt=The Ping An International Financial Center in Beijing. Photo: Reuters>

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That caused the bank unit’s net profit to fall by 3.9 per cent during the first six months. Total investment income fell by 30.2 per cent to 5.99 billion yuan in the first half.

In the past three months, the company completed two rounds of convertible bond issuances to fund its core business operations and strengthen its capital position to support strategic initiatives in the healthcare and elderly care sectors, as well as for general corporate purposes.

It raised HK$11.77 billion in June by issuing zero-coupon convertible bonds maturing in 2030, according to a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange. A month later, it issued US$3.5 billion worth of convertible bonds due in 2029, according to a Bloomberg report.

Elderly people exercised at a park at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on April 3, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE alt=Elderly people exercised at a park at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on April 3, 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE>

Since late 2024, Ping An has lifted its holdings in Hong Kong-listed shares of mainland lenders, including Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Merchants Bank and Agricultural Bank of China, to about HK$180 billion, a Bloomberg report said.

The company was considering expanding its life insurance and retirement care businesses in Hong Kong through strategies such as applying for new operating licences, forging alliances with local partners and seeking mergers and acquisitions, co-CEO Michael Guo Xiaotao said in an interview in March.

In the second half of the year, Ping An planned to advance its technology-driven “integrated finance plus health and senior care” strategy and push a broader digital transformation, Ma said.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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