State-owned behemoth Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Friday (September 27) said it has reduced its shareholding in state-run Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) by 2.09% over a two-week period.

According to a filing made by the corporation, LIC’s equity holdings in MGL decreased from 9.03% to 6.94% of the company’s paid-up capital between September 12-26. The reduction amounts to the sale of 20,64,972 shares, bringing LIC’s total holding down from 89,19,236 shares to 68,54,264 shares.

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LIC posted a 10% rise in net profit, reaching ₹10,461 crore for the June 2024 quarter, up from ₹9,544 crore a year ago. LIC’s total income grew to ₹2,10,910 crore from ₹1,88,749 crore. First-year premiums rose to ₹7,470 crore from ₹6,811 crore, and renewal premiums increased to ₹56,429 crore from ₹53,638 crore.

Net income from investments also saw an improvement, reaching ₹96,183 crore compared to ₹90,309 crore previously. LIC’s solvency margin improved to 1.99% from 1.89% in the same quarter a year ago. However, new business premiums rose 24.7% to ₹58,470 crore, better than the Street estimate of ₹57,441 crore.

Annualized premium equivalent (APE) increased by 30.7% to ₹11,560 crore but missed the forecast of ₹12,460.2 crore. Retail segment APE grew 19.2% to ₹6,747 crore, falling short of the anticipated ₹7,093.4 crore. The value of new business (VNB) surged 44.1% to ₹1,610 crore, yet was below the expected ₹1,876.5 crore. The VNB margin improved to 13.9% but fell short of the 15.1% forecast.

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Shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India ended at ₹1,023.90, down by ₹4.10, or 0.40%, on the BSE.