The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) released financial results for the December quarter (2021) days ahead of its planned Initial Public Offering (IPO). The state-run insurance giant reported a December-quarter profit of ₹234.9 crore - a substantial increase from the ₹94 lakh recorded in the same period last year.
Profit for the first nine months of the current financial year were ₹1,643 crore - a massive surge from the ₹7 crore reported last year. Total premium collected in the December quarter was ₹97,761 crores against ₹97,008 crore last year.
On Wednesday the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) approved LIC's IPO to help the government mobilise about ₹63,000 crore to meet its disinvestment target for the current fiscal year. The approval came in less than a month - the fastest for any company.
According to the DRHP (draft red herring prospectus), the IPO will see the sale of 31.6 crore shares.
LIC's embedded value, which is a measure of the consolidated shareholders' value in an insurance company, has been pegged at about ₹5.4 lakh crore as of September 30, 2021, by international actuarial firm Milliman Advisors, news agency PTI reported.
The IPO is an offer for sale (OFS) by the government and there will be no fresh issue of shares by LIC.
{{/usCountry}}The IPO is an offer for sale (OFS) by the government and there will be no fresh issue of shares by LIC.
{{/usCountry}}The life insurer's IPO is expected to be the biggest in the country's stock market. Once listed, LIC's market valuation could be comparable to some of India's top companies.