Prudential plc has released its 1Q2026 business performance update for the three months ended 31 March 2026.
On a constant exchange rate basis, some highlights of the quarter include:
- New business profit was up 10% compared with 1Q2025, to $686m with growth across all segments
- Annual premium equivalent (APE) sales grew 6% to $1.8bn over the quarter, as compared to 1Q2025
- New business margin increased 2 percentage points
According to Prudential plc CEO Anil Wadhwani in a company statement, bancassurance also delivered strong y-o-y growth in both volumes and margins, with continued traction across key markets, as similar to the outcome in FY2025.
“We remain confident in delivering double-digit growth across our key financial metrics in 2026 and achieving our 2027 financial objectives,” said Mr Wadhwani in the statement.
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APE new business sales (APE sales) and TEV new business profit (NBP) for the three months ended 31 March 2026
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2026
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2025 CER
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Change CER
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2025 AER
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Change AER
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NBP
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$686m
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$625m
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10%
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$608m
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13%
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APE sales
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$1.82bn
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$1.73bn
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6%
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$1.68bn
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9%
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NBP margin
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38%
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36%
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2 ppts
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36%
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2 ppts
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Comparatives on a constant exchange rate basis (CER) and actual exchange rate basis (AER).
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Source: Prudential plc
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Market highlights
According to the statement, “Hong Kong saw new business profit growth across both agency and bancassurance channels and delivered an expansion in margins, with a higher proportion of health and protection APE sales and repricing actions”.
Prudential’s Mainland China joint venture, CITIC Prudential Life, also maintained the strong APE sales momentum seen in 2H2025.
“As expected, the on-going focus on participating business, as we rebalance the product portfolio, led to a moderation in profit margins,” said the statement.
“Malaysia new business profit growth was driven by agency and while volumes were lower in the bancassurance business, margins increased as we further optimised our product portfolio.”
At the same time, Indonesia saw what the statement called “modest new business profit growth following on from the strong performance seen in the prior period”, and also noted that the bancassurance channel grew by double-digits.
“In Singapore, we again saw good growth in APE sales particularly through the agency channel, reflecting customer demand for savings and wealth products,” the statement continued.
“As in 2025, these shifts in product mix have reduced margins, leading to more modest growth in new business profit. We are taking targeted actions to broaden our health and protection offerings and to address previously announced changes in co-payment requirements on certain health insurance plans.”
The company also launched a $1.2bn buyback in January, to be executed over 2026 and comprising $500m of recurring capital returns and $700m of net proceeds from the initial public offering of ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company.
In 1Q2026, Prudential repurchased approximately 20m shares for $312m.