The market capitalisation of Life Insurance Corporation, India's largest insurer, fell below the ₹5 lakh crore mark for the first time since listing as shares of LIC closed in the red for the fifth straight session.
Shares of LIC fell 2.8% or 22 points to ₹777 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) as well as the BSE, hitting its lowest level after the company made a lukewarm public market debut last month.
With the latest slump, shares of LIC have tanked 18% from its issue price of ₹949.
LIC erased over ₹46,000 crore from its market value on the first day of trading after the stock listed at a discount of over 8%. At the issue price of ₹949, the market valuation of the insurance giant stood at around ₹6 lakh crore.
The state-owned insurer had raised ₹20,557 crore in the country's biggest ever IPO in May, becoming the fifth biggest listed firm in terms of market capitalisation.
Post listing, the company's market cap has been in a free fall. Just last week, India's largest private lender ICICI Bank pipped LIC to become the country's sixth most valuable company in terms of market capitalisation.
The country's largest insurer had set its price band for the initial public offering (IPO) at ₹902 to ₹949 per equity share. Policyholders were offered a discount of ₹60 per equity share, while retail investors and employees received a discount of ₹45 on each share.
Last week, LIC said its net profit fell 18% to ₹2,371.55 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. The insurance major had registered a profit after tax of ₹2,893.48 crore in the year-ago period.
Net premium income rose to ₹1,43,745.92 crore in the January-March period, compared with ₹1,21,626.06 crore in the corresponding period a year ago.
The insurer's net income from investments improved marginally to ₹67,498.15 crore in Q4 FY22 from ₹67,435.29 crore Q4 FY21.
Net commission during the quarter also saw marginal growth at ₹7,742.56 crore from ₹7,476.20 crore in the year-ago period.
For the entire fiscal, net profit stood at ₹4,043.12 crore, boosted 39% by lower tax provisions against ₹2,900.57 crore in FY21.
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