Here's why GEH's profit plunged from S$263m to S$81m

Great Eastern Holding's non-par fund profits declined to a mere S$2m.

Here's more from OCBC Investment Research:

Great Eastern Holdings’ (GEH) 2Q12 net profit came in at S$81m, a significant decline from S$263m a quarter ago as non-par fund profits were impacted by weaker investment performance and less favourable market conditions. This is within expectations. We had said that the strong 1Q12 momentum was unlikely to be repeated.

Non-par fund profits declined to a mere S$2m from S$160m in 1Q12 leading to a lower overall profit from insurance operations q-o-q and y-o-y. Profit from general insurance was stable at S$5m. A 10 Scts interim DPS was declared for the quarter.

Strong underlying business is sustainable. Gross premiums were 4% higher q-o-q but 3% lower y-o-y. Q-oq, total weighted new sales were driven by Malaysian operations. New sales from the emerging markets segment were encouraging q-o-q. New business embedded value remained resilient, growing at 5% q-o-q and 4% y-o-y.