1Q24 NBV beat; Life OPAT y/y turned positive

Investment Rating - Maintain BUY rating with a target price of HK$52.00, implying a 51.2$34.40 [2][3]. Core Insights - The first-quarter results for Ping An show resilience in core lines, with Life VNB increasing by 20.7% YoY to RMB12.9 billion, surpassing market consensus and previous estimates [2]. - The growth in VNB is attributed to a significant rise in VNB margin, which increased by 6.5 percentage points YoY to 22.8%, despite sluggish sales in the 2024 jumpstart period [2]. - Group OPAT decreased by 3.0% YoY to RMB38.7 billion, but this is a significant improvement from a decline of 19.7% YoY by the end of 2023 [2]. - Life & Health OPAT turned positive with a growth of 2.2% YoY to RMB27.3 billion, contributing to a 0.3% YoY OPAT growth across the three core segments: Ping An Life & Health, P&C, and PAB [2]. - Asset management returned to profitability with a net profit of RMB910 million in 1Q24, compared to a loss of RMB20.7 billion by the end of 2023 [2]. Summary by Sections Life Insurance - Life VNB rose by 20.7% YoY to RMB12.9 billion in 1Q24, driven by a VNB margin increase to 22.8% [2][16]. - The number of life insurance agents decreased by 4.0% YoY to 0.33 million, but the productivity per agent increased by 56.4% YoY [2][16]. Property & Casualty (P&C) Insurance - P&C insurance revenue grew by 5.7% YoY to RMB80.6 billion, with a combined ratio (CoR) of 99.6%, reflecting a 0.9 percentage point increase [2][16]. - Underwriting profit in P&C declined by 67.5% YoY to RMB323 million, attributed to increased claims from catastrophes [2][16]. Asset Management - The asset management segment reported a net profit of RMB910 million in 1Q24, a recovery from a significant loss in the previous year [2][16]. Financial Projections - FY24-26E EPS revised down to RMB6.42, RMB7.05, and RMB7.61, respectively, from previous estimates of RMB6.94, RMB7.87, and RMB8.62 [2][3]. - The stock is currently trading at FY24 0.47x P/EV and 0.71x P/B, with potential upside driven by improved market sentiment and rising investment yields [2][3].