Great Eastern’s profits crash 63% to $102.2m in Q2

It lost $18.7m in disposing of its Vietnam subsidiary.

Turbulent financial markets and low interest rate environments have slashed Greater Eastern Holdings’ (GEH) Q2 attributable income by 63% to $102.2m. Further, this figure crashes 60% to $199.1m in H1.

According to the firm’s media release, GEH also attributes its weaker income to an $18.7m loss on disposal of the group’s Vietnam subsidiary. In addition, GEH asserts that its 2Q15 profits saw a $119.9m gain on disposal of new investments in New China Life Insurance Company Ltd.

GEH’s operating profit inched up 2% YoY to $134.6m in Q2. H1, however, saw this figure drop 10% YoY to $255m.

Meanwhile, Q2 saw total weighted net sales (TWNS) skyrocketing 23% QoQ to 245.7m. GEH attributes this to a robust performance in both Singapore and Malaysia. In addition, the group’s Bancassurance partnership with OCBC continued to post high growth amid intense competition.

The firm also notes that new business embedded value (NBEV) burgeoned to $105.1m, reflecting a 24% QoQ growth. NBEV margin also improved, growing to 42.8% in Q2 from 37.9% in Q1.