Shares of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company (ICICI Prudential) slumped by nearly 3 per cent after the insurer reported a 26 per cent drop in net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31.

On the BSE, the scrip declined 2.92 per cent to close at Rs 575.80.

The scrip opened down 6.73 per cent at the day’s low of Rs 553.15. Similarly, on the NSE, it lost 2.66 per cent to settle at Rs 578 after falling 6.24 per cent to Rs 556.75 during intra-day trade. The company’s market valuation dipped by Rs 2,311.57 crore to Rs 83,131.37 crore on Wednesday.

ICICI Prudential on Tuesday reported a 26 per cent drop in net profit at Rs 174 crore for the quarter ended March 31 on higher expenses.

The private sector insurer had posted a profit of Rs 235 crore in the January-March period of 2022-23.

The insurer’s net premium income rose 17 per cent to Rs 14,788 crore in the March quarter compared with Rs 12,629 crore in the year-ago period. For the whole of 2023-24, the insurer’s net profit rose 5 per cent to Rs 852 crore. In the 2022-23 fiscal, the net profit was Rs 811 crore.

The insurer said in a presentation that during the year, it added five new bank tie-ups that took the total number to 44 in its bancassurance segment. On the other hand, 204 partnerships were added during the year leading to 1,112 partnerships. Around 43,947 advisers were recruited in 2023-24 to take the number of advisers to 2,09,000.

The insurer announced a dividend of Rs 0.60 per share. Ganessan Soundiram, chief technology officer, and Rajiv Adhikari, head of corporate communications, have been designated as senior management personnel of the company with effect from May 1.

“We will continue to leverage technology to simplify products and processes and augment customer experience. This is aligned with our objective of balancing growth, risk and prudence and profitability. Our industry leading claim settlement ratio of 99.2 per cent in 2023-24 reflects our commitment to fulfilling the promise made to our customers and their families,” ICICI Pru Life MD & CEO Anup Bagchi said.