China Life(601628) 国联民生证券·2025-03-28 13:53Investment Rating - The investment rating for the company is "Buy" (maintained) [5] Core Insights - The company reported a significant increase in net profit for 2024, achieving a year-on-year growth of 131.6% to reach 106.935 billion yuan, driven primarily by increased investment income [3][12] - The company adjusted its investment return assumptions, lowering the rate from 4.5% to 4.0%, while maintaining the risk discount rate for ordinary business at 8.0% and reducing the rate for floating income business from 8.0% to 7.2% [3][11] - The company's new business value (NBV) for 2024 is projected at 33.709 billion yuan, reflecting a decrease of 26.4% due to actuarial assumption adjustments, although the overall NBV growth remains strong [12] Summary by Sections Financial Performance - The company achieved total investment income of 308.251 billion yuan in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 150.4% [12] - The annualized net and total investment returns for 2024 were 3.47% and 5.50%, respectively [12] - The company plans to distribute a dividend of 0.65 yuan per share, marking a 51.2% increase year-on-year [12] Business Metrics - The NBV growth rate for 2024 is expected to be 24.3%, with the first quarter, first half, and nine months showing growth rates of 26.3%, 18.6%, and 25.1%, respectively [12] - The number of agents as of the end of 2024 is 615,000, which is a decrease from previous periods [12] - The company's embedded value (EV) is projected to be 1.4 trillion yuan by the end of 2024, reflecting an 11.2% increase from the beginning of the year [12] Future Projections - The company forecasts net profits of 108.5 billion yuan, 122.6 billion yuan, and 141.6 billion yuan for 2025, 2026, and 2027, respectively, with growth rates of 1.5%, 13.0%, and 15.5% [13]