KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 24): Allianz Malaysia Bhd's net profit fell 10.78% to RM115.16 million for the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2021 (3QFY21), from RM129.07 million a year earlier, on the back of higher claims provision and fair value losses on investment in its life insurance segment.

Earnings per share dropped to 64.96 sen from 72.96 sen, the insurance group said in a Bursa Malaysia filing.

Quarterly revenue inched up 3.51% to RM1.58 billion, from RM1.53 billion in the same quarter last year, as gross earned premiums and investment income rose by RM35 million and RM18.7 million respectively.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Allianz's net profit fell 20.81% from RM145.41 million in the immediate preceding quarter, while revenue grew by a marginal 1.01% from RM1.57 billion.

For the cumulative nine months ended Sept 30, 2021, net profit declined 13.94% to RM323.82 million from RM376.3 million, despite a 7.7% rise in revenue to RM4.76 billion from RM4.42 billion.

Moving forward, Allianz said it will continue with its strategic initiatives to strengthen its agency force and to invest in building distribution capabilities.

"The strong and diversified distribution channels and portfolio mix have provided a solid base to deliver resilience and profitable growth in the third quarter despite the challenging and uncertain environment.

"The group will focus on accelerating digital capabilities, investment in IT infrastructure and focus on operations efficiency to improve productivity and increase customer satisfaction," the group said.

"In these unprecedented times, the group remains cautious and by pursuing its strategic initiatives, the group will strive to maintain profitability to its shareholders in 2021," it added.

Shares in Allianz finished two sen or 0.15% lower at RM13.00, giving the group a market share of RM2.31 billion.