Investing.com - Hong Kong-listed life insurer AIA Group Ltd (HK:1299) said its net profit slumped 50% year-on-year to $1.7 billion for the first half of 2018 despite a growth in new business, according to the company’s earnings report released on Friday.
The fall in net profit was more than the general consensus of a 33% decline.
Revenue on the other hand rose to $19.5 billion from $18.4 billion a year ago, while diluted earnings per share were down to US$0.18, slightly ahead of analyst’s estimates of $0.17.
In February, AIA changed the company's financial year-end date to Dec. 31 from Nov. 30. As a result, earnings for the first half of 2018 were for the seven months that ended in June, compared to the six months that ended in May last year.
The company’s Hong Kong-listed shares opened lower in morning trade following the release of the earnings report and was down 2.1% by 1:48AM ET (05:48 GMT).