OREANDA-NEWS. April 30, 2013. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (hereafter “Ping An” or “the Group”, HKEX: 2318; SSE: 601318) announced its unaudited results for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

In the first quarter of 2013, amid the complex economic and market environment, Ping An kept to its operating philosophies of keeping operations stable, proactively exploring new frontiers and pursuing innovation, as well as promoting the integration of new technology and traditional finance. These measures enabled the Group to maintain its healthy and steady growth.

As at March 31, 2013, the Group's total assets reached RMB3,110.777 billion, up 9.4% over the start of the year. Equity attributable to shareholders of the parent company reached RMB168,432 million, up 5.5%. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was RMB7,393 million, 21.9% higher than the same period last year. Basic earnings per share reached RMB0.93, up 21.9% YoY.

Insurance business stable with healthy growth trajectory

Total written premiums of Ping An’s life insurance business reached RMB74,817 million, up 12.4% YoY. Of this, written premiums from the more profitable individual life insurance business grew 14.5% to reach RMB67,914 million. Premium income of Ping An Property & Casualty was RMB27,136 million, up 12.0% YoY. Of this, premium income from cross-selling and telemarketing accounted for 43.4%. Meanwhile, the quality of the business remained sound. For its annuity business, assets entrusted and assets under investment management reached RMB130 billion, enabling it to maintain the industry lead.

Steady growth in banking business, profit contribution stable

In the first quarter of 2013, Ping An’s banking business contributed RMB1,839 million in profit, keeping its profit contribution stable compared with the same period last year. With Ping An Bank’s integration successfully completed, the business changed its growth pattern and adjusted its business structure to raise its investment in business innovation and product R&D, as well as to improve technology.

This further strengthened the banking business’s foundation for rapid future development. According to the first quarter results report of Ping An Bank, as at March 31, 2013, net profit attributable to shareholders of the parent company was RMB3,589 million, up 4.67% YoY and 13.39% QoQ. Operating income reached RMB10,802 million, up 11.09% YoY. The proportion of non-interest income rose to 19.39%, up 1.2 percentage points YoY, reflecting further improvements to the banking business’s income structure.

At the end of the first quarter, Ping An Bank’s total assets reached RMB1,811.249 billion, up 12.74% over the start of 2013. In terms of business scale and growth momentum, the business met its targets with total deposits and total loans reaching RMB1,064.514 billion and RMB754.801 billion, up 4.25% and 4.72% over the start of 2013 respectively. Meanwhile, strategic businesses such as credit cards, microfinance and automobile finance maintained a growth trajectory that was sustainable, healthy and stable.

The number of newly-issued credit cards hit 1.16 million, while that of credit cards in force (CIF) reached 11.66 million, up 28.9% YoY. Pre-tax profit rose 33.3% YoY and the micro-loans balance rose by RMB 8.726 billion to reach RMB 64.56 billion, up 15.63% over the start of 2013. The new automobile loans reached RMB7.9 billion, up 163% YoY, and thebalance of automobile loans reached RMB 25.7 billion, up 22% over the start of 2013, leading the industry by market share.

Investment business kept excellent form in development

Ping An Trust's wealth management business grew steadily with assets held in trust reaching RMB215,112 million, with the number of high net worth customers exceeding 19,000. In addition, Ping An Securities successfully sponsored 17 bond issuance projects as the lead underwriter, ranking second in deal count.


The asset management business fully leveraged the opportunities arising from the new policy on investment of insurance funds, and optimized the asset allocation of the investment portfolio by continuing to ramp up its debt scheme investment.

Ping An said: “Looking ahead, the demand for personal financial services will be effectively boosted by China's growing urbanization and the launch of the Income Doubling Plan, which offer the industry a tremendous development opportunity. In addition, with China's economy in transition, overall economic growth will slow.

Despite this complex economic situation and fierce competition, which brings a certain degree of challenge to the financial industry, Ping An will closely monitor changes in the external environment and economic conditions, and will seize growth opportunities in the industry. We will spare no effort to ensure the traditional businesses enjoy healthy and steady growth, and will explore the in-depth integration of new technology and traditional finance. We will also build momentum to stay ahead of the market, bringing greater value to our shareholders and providing better products and services to our customers.”