China Life(601628) 长江证券·2024-11-06 01:56Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Buy" and is maintained [5]. Core Views - The company has shown a significant improvement in net profit, achieving 104.52 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2024, representing a year-on-year growth of 173.9% [2]. - New business value has also seen robust growth, increasing by 25.1% year-on-year, which is an improvement from the previous growth rate of 18.6% [3]. - The agent workforce has stabilized and increased, with a total of 641,000 agents by the end of Q3 2024, reflecting a continuous recovery in both quantity and quality [3]. Summary by Sections Financial Performance - The company reported a total and net investment yield of 5.38% and 3.26% respectively for the first three quarters of 2024, showing significant improvement compared to the mid-year figures of 3.59% and 3.03% [2]. - The first-year premium growth rate for new policies was 6.8%, with a notable 17.7% increase in ten-year and longer policies [3]. Business Development - The company has implemented a "Seed Plan" to explore new marketing models, which has been piloted in 24 cities and has shown initial success [3]. - The average first-year premium per agent has increased by 17.7% year-on-year, indicating improved productivity and income for the agent workforce [3]. Investment Recommendations - The company is positioned as a high-elasticity asset, benefiting from the stabilization of its agent workforce and the anticipated trend towards centralization in the industry [4]. - The current price-to-embedded value (PEV) is 0.81 times, suggesting significant upside potential if market conditions improve [4].