HDFCLIFE

HDFC Life Insurance Company Ltd erased early gains to trade lower on Thursday as investors booked profits despite the insurer reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter earnings, driven by robust value creation. After rising more than 2 percent at the open, HDFC Life shares slipped as much as 1.3 percent to Rs 561.25 by around 9:25 am. The stock had ended Wednesday's session 2.16 percent higher at Rs 567.20 ahead of its earnings announcement but remains down 24.4 percent so far in 2026. For the April-June quarter, the private insurer reported an 8.5 percent year-on-year increase in value of new business (VNB) to Rs 879 crore, surpassing the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of Rs 842 crore. The VNB margin remained steady at 25 percent, ahead of the Street expectation of 24.3 percent, underscoring the company's focus on profitability despite changes in the tax regime. Management attributed the strong performance to a value-focused product mix and sustained momentum in its protection business. Chief Financial Officer Niraj Shah said the VNB margin would have stood at 25.6 percent, compared with 25.1 percent a year earlier, after adjusting for the impact of GST. Excluding the GST effect, the company's underlying profit grew 17 percent during the quarter.