China Life Insurance Co. Ltd. said its estimated net profit attributable to equityholders for 2019 will increase by about 45.58 billion yuan to 47.86 billion yuan, or about 400% to 420%, compared to its net profit attributable to equityholders in 2018.

The estimated net profit attributable to equityholders after deducting nonrecurring items will increase by approximately 40.57 billion yuan to 42.88 billion yuan, or approximately 350% to 370%, compared to its net profit attributable to equityholders after deducting nonrecurring items in 2018.

For 2018, the company reported net profit attributable to equityholders of 11.40 billion yuan, or 39 fen per share, and 11.59 billion yuan of net profit attributable to equityholders after deducting nonrecurring items.

The nonrecurring items refer to the company's enterprise income tax, which decreased by approximately 5.15 billion yuan due to the implementation of certain pretax deduction policies for insurers in China, and its income tax expense.

The increase is mainly attributed to the impact of investment returns and nonrecurring items. China Life said its investment income increased significantly after it promoted the reform of its investment management system, strengthened its assets and liabilities management, optimized its asset allocation strategy and increased its underlying assets and strategic assets allocation.

The preliminary estimates are subject to further examination and have not been audited. The audited financial information for 2019 will be disclosed in the company's 2019 annual report, according to China Life.

As of Jan. 17, US$1 was equivalent to 6.86 Chinese yuan.