Brokerages have responded positively to LIC's Q4 FY26 results, with Citi maintaining a 'Buy' rating and hiking the target price to ₹1,475, representing an 84.3% upside from current closing prices. Macquarie retained 'Outperform' coverage at a target price of ₹1,100, marking a 37.4% upside, while Bernstein maintained 'Outperform' at ₹940, a 17.4% upside. As per NDTV Profit, the positive reviews cite strong margins, improving product mix, and margin expansion as key drivers. The brokerages highlighted margin uplift in FY26 led by product mix improvements and favorable yield curve movements.
LIC reported a 23.26% year-on-year growth in consolidated net profit at ₹23,467.18 crore in the fourth quarter, compared with ₹19,038.67 crore in the last year period. For FY26, consolidated profit after tax rose 18.90% to ₹57,453.15 crore from ₹48,320.33 crore in FY25. The company's net premium income stood at ₹1.7 lakh crore during the January-March quarter, reflecting an 11.59% increase from ₹1.48 lakh crore recorded in the same period a year ago. On a sequential basis, net premium income rose 30% from ₹1.26 lakh crore reported in the October-December quarter of FY26. As per LiveMint, the insurer's asset quality also improved with gross non-performing assets (GNPA) contracting to 1.21% in Q4 FY26 from 31% in the December quarter of FY26 and 1.46% in the year-ago period.
Investment income, a key earnings driver for LIC, rose 17% to ₹1.09 lakh crore during the quarter from ₹93,443 crore a year ago. However, the gains were partly aided by a change in accounting policy implemented in the fourth quarter, which contributed around ₹11,000 crore to growth in investment income. The insurer's solvency ratio improved to 2.35% at the end of FY26 from 2.11% a year ago, indicating enhanced financial strength. As per The Economic Times, LIC cautioned that prolonged geopolitical tensions could weigh on savings flows and economic activity, with the company expecting macroeconomic uncertainty from the ongoing West Asia conflict to impact sectors including life insurance savings.
For the full financial year, LIC's Value of New Business (VNB) surged 41.63% to ₹14,179 crore, with VNB margin (net) improving by 360 basis points to 21.2%. Individual Business Non-Par APE increased by 43.78% to ₹15,214 crore while non-par APE share within individual business at 35.11% for FY26 as compared to 27.69% for FY25. As per LiveMint, LIC achieved a non-par share on an APE basis in its individual business of more than 35% and its VNB margin is more than 21% for the year. New business premium income from the individual segment increased 8.29% to ₹67,676 crore. The company's group business also registered healthy growth with total group business premium income increasing 16.26% to ₹1.97 crore and total premium income rising 9.80% to ₹5.36 crore in FY26.
Life Insurance Corporation of India's board on Thursday approved issuance of 1:1 bonus shares - one new fully paid-up equity share of ₹10 each for every one existing fully paid-up equity share of ₹10 each. The company has set May 29 as the record date to determine shareholders' eligibility for the bonus issue. LIC also declared a final dividend of ₹10 per equity share with the record date set as June 25, 2026 to determine shareholders eligible for the payout. This follows the company's strong Q4 performance showing significant growth across key financial metrics, with the board also approving a ₹10 per share dividend to reward shareholders.
