FWD Group has announced its financial results for the year ended 31 Dec 2023, showcasing considerable growth across its operations. The company reported a 22% increase in the value of new business, reaching US$991m, alongside a 27% rise in operating profit after tax, to US$372m.
For the first time, the business delivered operating profit across all four of its geographic business segments: Hong Kong and Macau, Thailand, Japan, and Emerging Markets.
FWD’s solvency ratio also stood at 292%, a slight improvement from the 288% ratio recorded in 2022.
Group Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Huynh Thanh Phong expressed satisfaction with the results, commenting, “With these results, FWD has again proven its ability to drive organic growth and operating profitability across our business, as we execute our customer-led and digitally enabled strategy.”
The company attributed part of its success to positive trends in Hong Kong and Macau, bolstered by the return of Mainland Chinese visitors.
In Thailand, FWD maintained its leadership in bancassurance and saw solid contributions from agency sales. Japan contributed significantly again, as it continued to pivot towards individual insurance segments and away from corporate life insurance, which has been largely run-off business. While its Emerging Markets segment reported its first-ever full-year operating profit after tax, despite market disruption in Vietnam.
Over the last 12 months, FWD Group has expanded its regional presence by increasing its investment in BRI Life in Indonesia and, just last week, it announced it had become the majority shareholder in FWD Takaful by increasing its stake in the business from 49% to 70%.
In its results announcement, FWD also pointed to some other key developments over the last yeaer, including a block reinsurance transaction executed by FWD Life Insurance in Japan—which was highlighted for delivering capital and risk management benefits—as well as the finalisation of a US$685m revolving credit facility in February 2024, bringing its total undrawn committed credit facilities to US$1.185bn.
Looking to 2024, Phong commented, “As we look ahead, enhancing our presence and deepening FWD’s footprint across the 10 markets we operate in will be a top priority as we continue to build scale in our business.”
