China Life 2628; ADR (LFC)

[winston]

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DJ MARKET TALK: China Life +3.2%; NBV Shows Revamp Success - JPM

0939 [Dow Jones] China Life (2628.HK) rallies 3.2% to HK$20.95 and is the best-performing blue chip, as investors ignore the 26% decline in 1H12 net profit, which was flagged while focus is on the 2.5% growth in new business value, a gauge of future profitability.

Its chief rival Ping An (2318.HK) was sold down last week in part as its 1H12 NBV fell 9.0% on-year.

JPMorgan says China Life's NBV growth is due to strong margin improvement despite a 26% drop in new sales.

"Results were largely in-line with expectation but we expect positive market reaction given initial success from restructuring."


Source: Dow Jones Newswire

[winston]

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China Life sees value in change

China Life Insurance (2628) said it will continue to change its insurance product structure in the second half to boost new business earnings.

"The growth of China Life's new business value was due to the faster development of long- and medium- term individual insurance installment payment plans," chairman Yang Mingsheng said yesterday.

Although the insurer booked a 25.7 percent decline in first-half net profit, its new business value gained 2.5 percent to 12.5 billion yuan (HK$15.2 billion) in the period.

Yang said the insurer should expand its investment channels, including infrastructure industry which can result in a return of 6 percent.

This is higher than returns from the stock and funds markets with lower than 1 percent and 2 percent return, respectively, Yang added.

China Life shares rose about 2 percent to HK$20.70 yesterday - the most in more than a month, after brokerages geared up its investment rating.

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_deta ... 20830&fc=7

[winston]

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CHINA LIFE (02628.HK) buy:$20.5, target:$23, stop:$19.5 - Matthew Kwok

Matthew Kwok, Global Investment Strategy Vice President at Haitong International, said net profit of CHINA LIFE (02628.HK) slipped 25.7% to RMB9.635 billion, which was within market expectation.

The company attaches huge importance to structural improvement.

It saw investment yield for the first half of 2012 topped peers with net asset climbing.

Future capital pressure was eliminated basically on significant improvement of solvency adequacy ratio from 170% to 231%.

Stock price of CHINA LIFE has the potential to regain upside momentum, said Kwok.


Source; AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

China Life warns of profit squeeze

China Life (2628) said the profit for the first nine months of this year may decrease by 55 percent, as compared to the same period a year ago, the mainland insurer said in a statement filed to the stock exchange.

It is mainly due to the decline in investment yield and the increase in impairment losses resulting from
continued weakness in the capital markets.


Source: The Standard HK

[winston]

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DJ MARKET TALK: China Life Set To Fall On Profit Warning

0741 [Dow Jones] China Life (2628.HK) is set to fall, after it warns that its profit for the January-September period will likely slump 55% on-year vs CNY16.7 billion a year earlier, as weak capital markets hurt its investment income.

This implies a 3Q12 loss of CNY2.1 billion given its 1H12 net profit of CNY9.6 billion, and is set to disappoint investors as the consensus is currently looking for a full-year net profit of CNY24.3 billion, according to 25 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

"The decline in investment yield and the increase in impairment losses resulting from continued weakness in the capital markets" caused the profit decline, China's biggest life insurer by premiums says in a statement.


Source: Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[winston]

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DJ MARKET TALK: China Life Bid Down 3.9%; Barclays Says Equal Weight

0908 [Dow Jones] At pre-open, China Life (2628.HK) is quoted 3.9% lower at HK$22.10, after it warns that its profit for the January-September period will likely slump 55% on-year, implying a 3Q12 net loss of CNY2.1 billion.

Barclays says operationally, it believes China Life has turned the corner, following the stronger-than-expected 1H12 NBV (new business value) result, and premium growth is likely to continue to improve in 4Q12.

"However, near-term share price movement is likely to be capped by the weak 3Q12 financial results," Barclays says and keeps China Life at Equal Weight with a target price of HK$26.70.


Source: Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[winston]

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DJ MARKET TALK: China Life Down 1.5% But Off Low; CS Stays Neutral

1354 [Dow Jones] The investment case for China Life (2628.HK) is akin to that of H-shares overall, in the sense that investors are holding on to the belief that the worst may be behind.

Hence while the stock is down 1.5% at HK$22.65, vs the HSI's 0.7% rally, it recovers from an intraday low of HK$22.05.

While the 3Q12 profit warning surprises investors, the performance of China Life's underlying insurance operation is showing signs of recovery, with September 2012 premiums rising 24.3% on-year, following up on a strong August, which was up 19.8% on-year notes Credit Suisse.

"We deem the extent of the profit impact may startle markets but see ongoing premium growth trends as much more important," CS says and keeps China Life at Neutral with a target price of HK$23.00.


Source: Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

[winston]

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Premium income of CHINA LIFE (02628.HK) rises 1.4% YoY in 2012

CHINA LIFE (02628.HK) announced that accumulated premium income of the company for the period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012, climbed 1.38% year-on-year to about RMB322.7 billion.


Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

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CHINA LIFE (02628.HK) expects full-year net profit to rise 1.2x

CHINA LIFE (02628.HK) -0.650 (2.895%) Short selling $96.56M; Ratio 10.785% issued a positive profit alert, stating that the net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for the year 2013 may increase by approximately 120% as compared to the net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for 2012, mainly attributable to the increase in investment income and the relatively low base recorded in 2012.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

Investments boost China Life returns

China Life Insurance (2628) said profit rose 30 percent last year after stock- market rallies boosted its investment returns.

Net income climbed to 32.2 billion yuan (HK$40.2 billion), or 1.14 yuan a share, from 24.8 billion yuan, or 0.88 yuan a share, a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. That compares with the 34.2 billion yuan average estimate by seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

China Life joins smaller Ping An Insurance (Group) in posting a bigger profit last year, when the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 53 percent as the central government expanded liquidity to stem an economic slowdown.

Gross premiums climbed 1.4 percent, lagging the 18 percent industry average, as the company curbed sales of lower-margin products.

The company boosted equities to 11 percent of its portfolio last year and cut debt securities to 44.8 percent. Investment income rose 13 percent.

Net premiums climbed 1.6 percent. New business value, which gauges the profitability of new life policies sold, climbed 9.2 percent.

The shares fell 1.5 percent to HK$33.15 yesterday.

Source: BLOOMBERG