SBI Life Shares Soar 10% on FY25 Outperformance, Upbeat Growth Prospects

It seems that investors are buying SBI Life Insurance Company shares with open arms after the company posted a slight growth in its consolidated net profit for the March quarter. The shares today zoomed 9.6% on the National Stock Exchange to touch an intraday high of Rs 1,762, after opening today’s session at a gap-up. The stock opened 7.2% higher today.

It is tough to read the nerves of market as the stock surged despite the company’s total income for the quarter under review fell on year, while its profit rose just slightly over the same quarter a year ago.

The insurer’s total income for the March quarter dipped 36% on year. However, the company was able to rejoice at 13% growth it recorded in renewal premium. On the other hand, the single premium of the company slid 42% on year, dragging the net premium income of the company by 5% for the quarter.

SBI Life Insurance also managed to cut down on its expenses related to benefits and actuarial liability during the fourth quarter of FY25.  

The 12% growth in individual rated premium of the company for the recently ended financial year was more than the industry growth of 10.5%, Amit Jhingran, managing director and chief executive officer of SBI Life said in a release. The company has a 22.8% market share in private space in individual rated premium.

“FY25 was an exceptional year on every front. Standing at the intersection of regulatory changes, evolving customer needs and digital acceleration, we responded with resilience and conviction,” he further added.

Management expects 13-14% individual annualised premium equivalent growth in FY26, slightly above industry growth of 12% on the back of continued expansion and productivity improvement of agency channel, according to a Motilal Oswal report.

Improvement in product-level margin and continued tilt toward non-linked products will likely improve value of new business margin, the brokerage firm said as it reiterated its ‘buy’ rating on the stock and raised the target price to Rs 2,000. “Continued investments in the agency channel will boost overall growth, while digital enhancements will keep costs in check,” the brokerage house added.