AIA(HK:01299) Soochow Securities·2025-03-15 15:10Investment Rating - The report assigns a "Buy" rating for AIA Group Limited, indicating a positive outlook for the stock [8]. Core Insights - AIA Group reported a strong performance with a 18% year-on-year increase in New Business Value (NBV) and announced a $1.6 billion share buyback plan [8]. - The company achieved a net profit of $6.84 billion, reflecting an 84% year-on-year growth, with a significant increase of 133% in the second half of the year [8]. - The embedded value reached $69 billion, up 4% year-on-year, with an embedded value operating return of 14.9% [8]. - The expected final dividend per share is 130.98 Hong Kong cents, a 10% increase compared to the previous year [8]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - Total insurance revenue for 2023 was $17.514 billion, with a year-on-year growth of 7.32% [8]. - After-tax operating profit for 2023 was $6.213 billion, showing a decline of 3.24% year-on-year [8]. - Earnings per share (EPS) for 2023 was $0.35, with projections of $0.64 for 2024 and $0.69 for 2025 [8]. New Business Value (NBV) - The annualized new premium (ANP) for the year was $8.61 billion, reflecting a 14% increase year-on-year [8]. - The total NBV for the year was $4.71 billion, with a year-on-year increase of 18% [8]. - The NBV margin improved by 1.9 percentage points to 54.5% [8]. Regional Performance - NBV in Hong Kong increased by 23% to $1.76 billion, accounting for 34.8% of the group's total [8]. - NBV in mainland China reached $1.22 billion, up 20% year-on-year [8]. - The "New Malaysia Thailand" region also showed positive growth in NBV, with increases of 15%, 10%, and 15% respectively [8]. Investment Strategy - The company has shifted its investment strategy, reducing fixed income allocation and increasing equity exposure [8]. - The net investment yield was reported at 4.0%, with a total investment return of 4.9% [8]. Capital Management - AIA Group has completed its previous $12 billion share buyback program and plans to initiate a new $1.6 billion buyback plan to be completed within 2025 [8].