Optimisation of growth and margin continues to be the main objective for maximising VNB growth; valuation remains attractive
ICICI Prudential (IPRU) reported a volume decline of 5% YoY in total APE vs 10.2% YoY growth for private industry in Q1FY26. While volume growth was weak in Q1FY26 (retail APE down 9.2% YoY), margin performance was better (VNB margin improved to 24.5% in Q1FY26 from 22.8% in FY25) driven primarily by product mix change and cost optimisation.