Max Financial Services Ltd — Q1 FY27 earnings call
Summary generated by AI from the official transcript Max Financial Services Ltd filed with BSE on 20 Aug 2026. Every statement cites a verbatim quote from that document — open any citation to read it. This is a record of what management said, not a recommendation. How we check these summaries
The short read
Max Financial Services reported Q1 FY27 results with individual adjusted first year premium growth of 17% and APE growth of 15%, while VNB margin expanded from 20.3% to 23.2% driving 33% growth in value of new business. Axis Bank completed an additional 0.98% stake purchase in Axis Max Life for INR381 crore, raising the insurer's solvency ratio to 198%. Management discussed structure simplification progress following the Insurance Act amendment, ongoing consultations with shareholders on next steps, and ongoing evaluation of capital raising options including a QIP approval valid until May next year.
Numbers mentioned
Individual adjusted first year premium growth: 17% (Q1 FY27)
p. 3
“In quarter 1 FY27, our individual adjusted first year premium grew by 17%, outperforming both the private sector and the overall industry growth.”
Sumit Madan, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
APE growth: 15% (Q1 FY27)
p. 3
“Our APE grew by 15% during the quarter, supported by balanced contributions from both proprietary and the partnership channel, growing at 15% and 16%, respectively.”
Sumit Madan, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
VNB margin: 23.2% (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“our VNB margin expanded from 20.3% in Q1 of FY26 to 23.2% in Q1 FY27, driving a robust 33% growth in the value of new business or VNB.”
Sumit Madan, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Solvency ratio: 198% (as of June 30, 2026)
p. 2
“increasing its shareholding to 19.99%. The infusion enhanced our financial strength, raising our solvency ratio to a robust 198%”
Sumit Madan, page 2 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Revenue excluding investment income (MFSL): INR7,289 crore (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“At MFSL level, the revenue excluding investment income grew by 18% to INR7,289 crore.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Consolidated profit after tax (MFSL): INR180 crore (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“the consolidated profit after tax at MFSL stood at INR180 crore.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Gross written premium (Axis Max Life): INR10,610 crore (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“The gross written premium for Axis Max Life has grown by 19% to INR10,610 crore.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Renewal premium: INR4,639 crore (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“In which renewal premium has registered a healthy growth of 20% and stands at INR4,639 crore.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Individual new business sum assured: INR1,17,000 crore (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“Individual new business sum assured, which is a measure of protection penetration that we are trying to drive within the country, has grown by 32% year-on-year and has touched INR1,17,000 crore from an Axis Max Life perspective.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Embedded value: INR 30,415 crore (end of Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“Our embedded value end of the quarter stood at INR 30,415 crore, with a growth of 15% year-on-year.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Annualized operating ROEV: 14.9% (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“The annualized operating ROEV has improved to 14.9% in quarter one FY27.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Policyholder operating expense as % of GWP: 16% (Q1 FY27)
p. 5
“Policyholder operating expense as a percentage of GWP has improved by 185 basis points year-on-year to touch 16%, driven by focused productivity enhancement initiatives.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
AUM: INR 2.03 lakh crore (as of June 30, 2026)
p. 5
“AUM has crossed a significant milestone for the company, surpassing INR 2 lakh crore and closed at INR 2.03 lakh crore at the end of June 30, 2026 quarter, reflecting an 11% increase.”
Amrit Singh, page 5 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Annuities business growth: 116% (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“Our annuities business delivered an exceptional 116% growth during the quarter.”
Sumit Madan, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Protection and health business growth: 44% (Q1 FY27)
p. 3
“our protection and health business grew 44%, led by 57% growth in riders, reflecting increasing customer demand for comprehensive protection solutions.”
Sumit Madan, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Participating products growth: 48% (Q1 FY27)
p. 3
“Participating products continued to witness strong traction, growing 48% and contributing 15% of the overall APE.”
Sumit Madan, page 3 of the filed PDF · View the filing
13-month premium persistency: 83% (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“Our 13-month premium persistency stood at 83%.”
Sumit Madan, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Net promoter score: 63 (Q1 FY27)
p. 4
“Our overall net promoter score increased to 63 from a baseline of 60 at FY25 exit.”
Sumit Madan, page 4 of the filed PDF · View the filing
What management said it would do
A record of statements made on the call, in the words management used. Parakho does not forecast, endorse or assess them, and their presence here is not a view on whether they will happen.
VNB growth relative to APE growth — FY27
stated as an aspiration by Amrit Singh
p. 6
“we remain focused on delivering VNB growth that outpaces APE growth while maintaining disciplined execution and profitability.”
Amrit Singh, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Solvency sustainability without fresh capital — above internal risk threshold · two to three quarters
stated conditionally by Amrit Singh
p. 10
“we can stay above the risk threshold for at least two to three quarters quite comfortably as we see it.”
Amrit Singh, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Sub-debt raise
stated firmly by Amrit Singh
p. 16
“We will recoup and re-raise both that amount and also the amount that we got from an additional capacity of the Axis infusion that happened in the first quarter. Yes, we will be doing a sub-debt raise.”
Amrit Singh, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Non-par growth trend
stated as an aspiration by Amrit Singh
p. 11
“We do hope to get the trends even on the non-par to at least no longer be in such sharp de-growth. It should move towards more in the green as the quarter’s progress.”
Amrit Singh, page 11 of the filed PDF · View the filing
NCLT scheme process timeline — 6 to 12 months
stated conditionally by Amrit Singh
p. 7
“we had always indicated that the moment we file a scheme document, given it is an NCLT process, will take anywhere between 6 to 12 months. Those timelines hold.”
Amrit Singh, page 7 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Q&A highlights
Management's answers to analyst questions, in Parakho's words rather than a transcript. Each row names who answered and carries the verbatim quote it was drawn from.
Management said about 30% of the margin increase relates to protection mix and operating leverage, and 70% to yield curve movement offsetting the GST impact, which is now largely behind them; solvency rose to 198% due to the Axis Bank equity infusion.
Answered by Amrit Singh
Asked by Swarnabha Mukherjee: What drove the margin increase and what is the residual GST impact; also why has solvency remained flat despite protection growth?
p. 6
“Now that is largely behind us. From a GST perspective, there is not any other effect we have to worry about.”
Amrit Singh, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management attributed opex improvement to distribution productivity gains and cost initiatives such as travel restrictions and lower marketing spend, and said offline proprietary growth was dampened by one-off policy cancellations for quality reasons.
Answered by Amrit Singh
Asked by Supratim: What is driving the improvement in opex to GWP ratio and why did offline proprietary growth slow?
p. 8
“On offline proprietary, to be very honest, I mean it is a small quarter and there were certain one-offs related to certain specific very consciously thought through cancellation that we had to undertake, which actually impacted the numbers.”
Amrit Singh, page 8 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the company can stay above its internal risk threshold for two to three quarters given additional debt capacity from the Axis equity infusion.
Answered by Amrit Singh
Asked by Nischint: How long can the company sustain its solvency level before needing fresh capital?
p. 10
“I think we can stay above the risk threshold for at least two to three quarters quite comfortably as we see it.”
Amrit Singh, page 10 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said they aim for VNB to grow faster than APE growth rather than providing a specific margin number.
Answered by Amrit Singh
Asked by Prayesh Jain: What is the guidance on VNB margins for the full year?
p. 13
“We do intend to grow VNB at a faster clip than the APE growth.”
Amrit Singh, page 13 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management said the assumption is correct if the risk-based capital framework does not come on time, otherwise the amount could change.
Answered by Amrit Singh
Asked by Sanketh Godha: If the Axis stake increase approval is delayed, would the company proceed with the INR1,600 crore QIP to support growth?
p. 15
“Look, if RBC does not come on time, as we had indicated in the past as well, then your assumption is correct.”
Amrit Singh, page 15 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management acknowledged the yield curve move could take away some benefit but said operating leverage as the year progresses could offset this.
Answered by Amrit Singh
Asked by Vinod Rajamani: Given the June yield curve moved lower, should Q2 VNB margin see some unwind from the yield benefit seen in Q1?
p. 16
“You are saying that at the end of the June, the curve has moved, which could take away not the entire, but some benefits that were available in the first quarter from a yield curve perspective.”
Amrit Singh, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management attributed the growth to new product launches, including a Q3 last year launch and a new variable annuity product this quarter, plus a base effect.
Answered by Amrit Singh
Asked by Nidhesh Jain: What is driving the strong growth in the annuity business?
p. 17
“Some bit of this superlative growth that you are seeing is also coming out of a bit of a low base effect of quarter one.”
Amrit Singh, page 17 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Management declined to comment on competitor behavior and reiterated their own commitment to disciplined practices.
Answered by Sumit Madan
Asked by Rishi Jhunjhunwala: Are competitors becoming more aggressive or irrational in open architecture bank channels?
p. 18
“We like the term irrational. We have heard it a few times. All that we can say is you can count on us as far as the Bharosa is concerned. We will never go that route.”
Sumit Madan, page 18 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Risks flagged
Impact of GST on margins and profitability
p. 6
“As we had mentioned in the previous, previous call that in Q4 we had almost taken care of 80% of the GST effect.”
Amrit Singh, page 6 of the filed PDF · View the filing
A specific product variant negatively affected persistency after being discontinued
p. 9
“there was a specific variant of a product which actually posted introduction has not panned out to the way that we wanted it to pan out, which started creating certain impact on our persistency numbers.”
Amrit Singh, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Voluntary policy cancellations due to quality concerns impacted offline proprietary growth
p. 9
“There are certain policies that were sourced actually. So we did not feel that those met the quality standards, so it was a voluntary decision we took.”
Amrit Singh, page 9 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Downward movement in the yield curve could reduce the yield-curve-driven margin benefit in the coming quarter
p. 16
“the curve has moved, which could take away not the entire, but some benefits that were available in the first quarter from a yield curve perspective.”
Amrit Singh, page 16 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Uncertainty around upcoming commission regulation changes and their effect on distribution partners
p. 12
“rather than getting specific into what does it mean to one channel or over another channel and each of these channels actually are at different efficiency levels for us”
Amrit Singh, page 12 of the filed PDF · View the filing
Generated by claude-sonnet-5. Source: the transcript as filed with BSE. We link to the exchange's copy; we do not host transcripts. Parakho is a data and screening tool, not an investment adviser — nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell or hold.