Shares of Star Health & Allied Insurance Company rose nearly 3% today after the firm reported a 12% year-over-year increase in October 2022 gross direct premiums. The insurance company reported a 12% increase in gross premium for September 2022 on a year-on-year basis. Buoyed by the rise in premium, the scrip rose 2.86 per cent to Rs 619.85 against its previous close of Rs 602.60 on the BSE.
The stock is part of late investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala’s portfolio. Jhunjhunwala is the promoter of Star Health. He (14.33 per cent) and his wife Rekha Jhunjhunwala (3.09 per cent) held 17.42 per cent stake in the company as of the September quarter, according to BSE shareholding pattern data.
The stock has gained momentum after 11 consecutive days of decline. Star Health Insurance stock is trading below 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The stock has lost 21.85 per cent in its year to date and has fallen 14.86 per cent in one month. The market cap of the insurer fell to Rs 35,508 crore on the BSE. A total of 0.16 lakh shares changed hands valuing Rs 96.89 lakh on BSE.
The insurance firm said that it recorded a premium of Rs 6,612 crore for October 2022 as against Rs 5927 crore in the same month last year. For September 2022, the premium stood at Rs 5655.1 crore as against premium of Rs 5069.8 crore in the same month last year.
For the quarter ending September 2022, the firm reported a profit of Rs 93 crore as against a loss of Rs 170.49 crore in the September 2021 quarter.
Sales increased to Rs 3,002 crore in the second quarter as against Rs 3,702 crore in the September quarter of the previous fiscal.
Star Health & Allied Insurance Company is one of the largest private health insurers in India with a market share of 15.8% in FY2021. The company focuses on the retail health and group health segments, which account for 89.3% and 10.7% of the company’s total gross. written premium (GWP) in FY2021, respectively.
