Great Eastern Q2 2026 profit surges 103% to $392.5m

Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of 35 Singapore cents per share on 28 August.

Great Eastern’s first half (H1 2026) group profit attributable to shareholders jumped 43% year-on-year (YoY) to $662.6m (S$849.5m), driven by stronger investment performance, led by equities, and improved insurance profits supported by strong underlying business fundamentals.

For the second quarter, profit more than doubled to $392.5m (S$503.2m) from $193.6m (S$248.2m), an increase of 103%.

The insurer’s H1 2026 total weighted new sales also climbed 15% YoY to $634.3m (S$813.2m), whilst new business embedded value surged 28% YoY to $316.1m (S$405.3m), thanks to higher sales volumes and a more favourable product mix, its local bourse filing said.

Great Eastern said the rise was mainly due to higher insurance operating profit, continued earnings from its existing portfolio of policies and more favourable investment performance.

Singapore remained the main contributor to new business growth, supported by customer demand and higher productivity across the group’s distribution channels.

Great Eastern said the capital adequacy ratios of its insurance subsidiaries remained above their respective minimum regulatory requirements.

The board declared a one-tier tax-exempt interim dividend of 35 Singapore cents per share for the financial year ending 31 December 2026.

The dividend, payable on 28 August, is 17% higher than the final dividend paid for the 2025 financial year.

Great Eastern, a subsidiary of OCBC, has more than $95.9b (S$123b) in assets and over 16 million policyholders across its markets.

(US$1.00 = S$1.28)