ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited — Q4 FY26

ICICI Prudential Life reported a mixed FY26 with PAT up 34.6% YoY to ₹16B, driven by higher investment income including a ₹1.14B gain from sale of a subsidiary. VNB grew 10.9% to ₹26.29B with margin expansion of 190bps to 24.7%, aided by product mix improvement and cost efficiencies. Retail protection surged 60.5% in Q4, benefiting from GST reforms. However, overall AP growth was muted at 2.2% for the year, with agency and direct channels declining. Persistency challenges, especially in annuity products, led to negative assumption changes and EV variance. Management remains focused on sustainable VNB growth through granular micro-market strategies and cost optimization. Key risk: persistency headwinds from annuity book and potential regulatory changes on commissions could pressure margins and growth.