Great Eastern's Third-Quarter Net Profit Falls 72% to S$102.9 Million on Investment Losses and a S$57.1 Million Loss on the Part-Sale of Its Indonesian Unit, While Core Insurance Profit Rises 6% and New Business Value Climbs 14%

Great Eastern Holdings reported its third-quarter and nine-month 2026 results on November 2, 2026, for the period ended September 30. The figures in this article come from a report that cites the company's media release on the Singapore Exchange, as well as coverage by The Business Times. This article has not reviewed the exchange filing itself, so readers who need exact figures should consult it. Amounts are in Singapore dollars unless stated otherwise.

The headline: profit down, core earnings up

Net profit for the third quarter was S$102.9 million, down 72% from S$372 million in the third quarter of 2025. Over the same quarter, core insurance profit rose 6% to S$179.3 million from S$169.2 million. Net profit also reflects investment results and the effect of a corporate transaction, both described below.

The report states that profit from the insurance business fell 35% to S$148.5 million. It does not give the prior-year figure, which would be about S$228 million if the 35% decline is exact, calculated here. Investment profit in the insurance fund swung to a loss of S$30.8 million from a profit of S$59.6 million. In the shareholders' fund, the result swung to a loss of S$45.6 million from a profit of S$143.2 million. The report does not provide a full reconciliation between the core result and net profit.

The Indonesian divestment

During the quarter, the group sold part of PT Great Eastern Life Indonesia, known as GELI, to OCBC Indonesia. The transaction closed on September 1, 2026, and the report says it was carried out to meet Indonesian ownership rules. After that date Great Eastern no longer controls GELI. The sale produced a one-off loss of S$57.1 million. A reclassification gain of S$52.6 million recognized in other comprehensive income largely offsets it, and the company says the effect on total comprehensive income is broadly neutral. The net of the two amounts is a loss of S$4.5 million, calculated here. The Singapore life company, The Great Eastern Life Assurance Company Limited, remains part of the group.

New business

Total weighted new sales, a measure that counts regular premiums in full and single premiums at a fraction of their value, were S$362.4 million, down 3% from S$373.1 million. In Singapore, weighted new sales were S$238.1 million against S$251.9 million, a decline of about 5% calculated here. In Malaysia they were S$117.0 million against S$113.3 million, an increase of about 3%. The two markets add up to S$355.1 million, leaving about S$7.3 million, calculated here, from other operations that the report does not itemize.

New business embedded value, an estimate of the value created by new policies sold, was S$208.2 million, up 14% from S$182.2 million. Sales therefore fell while the estimated value of the business written rose, which is consistent with a higher value per dollar of sales; the report describes the nine-month improvement as reflecting a more favorable and diversified product mix. It does not provide a separate explanation for the quarter.

Nine-month results

For the first nine months of 2026, net profit was S$952.4 million, down 1% from S$965.7 million. Core insurance profit was S$742.7 million, up 22% from S$609.8 million. Total weighted new sales were S$1,175.6 million, up 9%, and new business embedded value was S$613.5 million, up 23% from S$498.7 million. The year to date therefore looks much steadier than the third quarter alone: net profit is nearly level and core earnings and new business value are both higher. The nine-month decline of about S$13.3 million, calculated here, is far smaller than the S$269.1 million fall in the third quarter, which implies that net profit in the first half was higher than a year earlier.

Outlook and what the report does not say

Management said the investment outlook is likely to remain challenging in the near to medium term. The report does not give an operating profit figure, so core insurance profit is the nearest equivalent, and it does not provide the prior-year figure for profit from the insurance business. It does not give guidance for the fourth quarter. Some outlets quote a US dollar figure of about US$80.4 million for the quarter's profit, which is a conversion of the S$102.9 million rather than a separate number.

How to read the results

There are three points to keep in mind. First, core insurance profit and net profit measure different things, and the gap this quarter coincided with an investment loss and the Indonesian transaction. Second, the divestment loss is described by the company as largely offset elsewhere in comprehensive income, so it should not be read as a loss of S$57.1 million in value. Third, new sales and new business value moved in different directions, so which measure matters depends on whether the question is about volume or value.

What to watch

Readers following the group should watch investment results in the next quarter, whether sales in Singapore recover from the decline, and how the group reports earnings now that GELI is outside its control. This article is a summary of reported figures and is not investment advice.