Soochow Securities·2024-04-26 19:30Investment Rating - The report maintains a "Buy" rating for China Life Insurance [5][33]. Core Insights - The company's net profit for Q1 2024 was 20.644 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 9.3%. When adjusted for comparable accounting standards, the net profit decline was 24.5% [5][9]. - The new business value (NBV) achieved its highest growth rate in recent years, with a year-on-year increase of 26.3% [5][9]. - The report highlights that the decline in insurance service performance significantly impacted profit release, with insurance service income increasing by 14.0% but insurance service performance dropping by 20.4% due to higher actual claims [5][9]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - In Q1 2024, the company reported a net profit of 20.644 billion yuan, down 9.3% year-on-year. The comparable net profit, adjusted for new accounting standards, showed a decline of 24.5% [5][9]. - Insurance service income for Q1 2024 was 53.773 billion yuan, reflecting a 14.0% increase year-on-year, while insurance service performance decreased by 20.4% [9]. - The underwriting profit fell by 27.2% year-on-year, primarily due to a slowdown in the amortization speed of the Contractual Service Margin (CSM) [5][9]. New Business Value - The new business value (NBV) saw a significant increase of 26.3% year-on-year, attributed to a rise in first-year premium income and improved NBV margin [5][9]. - The first-year premium income reached 74.825 billion yuan, a 4.7% increase year-on-year, with long-term policies (10 years and above) contributing significantly to this growth [5][9]. Sales and Distribution - The total sales force at the end of Q1 2024 was 679,000, a decrease of 6.0% year-on-year, but the individual insurance sales force remained stable [5][9]. - The report notes a significant decline of 74.9% in single premium business, attributed to adjustments in the product structure and payment methods in the bancassurance channel [5][9]. Profit Forecast - The report projects net profits for 2024, 2025, and 2026 to be 31.5 billion, 38.4 billion, and 42.3 billion yuan, respectively, maintaining the "Buy" rating [5][9].