Ping An Profit Rises 38% in 2015 on Investment Income, Jump in Life Business

Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China’s second-biggest insurer, said profit rose 38 percent last year as investment returns from stock trading expanded and banking revenue increased.

Net income climbed to 54.2 billion yuan ($8.3 billion) from 39.3 billion yuan a year earlier, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday. The profit compares with the 54.1 billion yuan median estimate by 22 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

The insurer benefited from volatility in the nation’s stock market. Total investment income nearly doubled to 103.2 billion yuan, the company said in the statement. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index surged more than 50 percent in the first half of last year before faltering in the second half, dropping 30 percent from the June peak.

Written premiums from the life insurance business jumped 19 percent to 299.8 billion yuan [$46 billion], Ping An said.