India’s state-owned giants Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have wrapped up the financial year 2024–25 with distinctly improved numbers.
While LIC posted a strong profit on the back of steep expense cuts and investment income, BSNL delivered a surprise with its second straight quarterly profit—something it hasn’t managed since 2007.
LIC reported a net profit of ₹19,012 crore for the January–March quarter (Q4FY25), marking a 38% year-on-year jump. A major driver behind this was a sharp drop in expenses, with employee remuneration falling nearly 57% to ₹5,928 crore and overall management costs dropping 33% to ₹16,495 crore. Net commissions also slipped 6.5% during the quarter.
For the full year, LIC’s net profit stood at ₹48,151 crore, up from ₹40,676 crore in FY24. The corporation’s assets under management grew to ₹54.52 trillion, a 6.45% rise.
While the insurer saw a decline in its annualised premium equivalent (APE), which fell 11% to ₹18,853 crore, and a 3% drop in value of new business (VNB) to ₹3,534 crore, its VNB margin—a key profitability metric—rose to 18.75% from 17.21% in the same period last year.
LIC continued to lean heavily on its investment book. Net income from investments during Q4 was ₹93,133 crore, up 10.31% year-on-year. For FY25, total investment income reached ₹3.92 trillion. Of this, equity markets brought in ₹73,000 crore in profits, a 19% increase from the previous year. The insurer said it invested ₹1.85 trillion in equities and ₹80,000 crore in corporate bonds during the year—marking 41% and 30% increases, respectively.
The expense of management ratio improved to 11.15% from 16.20% in Q4FY24, while the solvency ratio rose to 211% from 198% a year earlier.
Persistency metrics, however, showed mixed trends. The 13th-month premium persistency ratio was mostly flat at 68.62%, while the 61st-month ratio fell to 54.54% from 59.69%. LIC said recent regulatory changes and revamped products may improve these figures next year.
The board has recommended a ₹12 final dividend per share and allocated ₹56,190 crore in bonus to policyholders—up from ₹52,956 crore last year.
BSNL, once written off as a perennial loss-maker, reported a net profit of ₹280 crore for Q4FY25. This follows a ₹262 crore profit in Q3FY25, marking the first time since 2007 that the telecom PSU has stayed in the black for two consecutive quarters.
Compared to a loss of ₹849 crore in the same quarter last year, this improvement has been linked to better mobile revenue after the much-delayed rollout of 4G services.
For the full year, the company still posted a loss of ₹2,247 crore. But that’s nearly a 58% reduction from the ₹5,370 crore loss in FY24—offering a hint that BSNL’s financial bleeding may be slowing.
BSNL’s operating revenue rose 7.8% to ₹20,841 crore in FY25, while total income hit ₹23,427 crore—10% higher than last year. Revenue from mobile services, including interconnect usage charges, grew 6% to ₹7,499 crore. Fibre broadband climbed 10% to ₹2,923 crore, while enterprise services and leased lines brought in ₹4,096 crore, a 3.5% increase.
Its Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) more than doubled to ₹5,396 crore from ₹2,164 crore a year earlier. Notably, 27 telecom circles reported Ebitda profits in FY25, up from 17 last year, and 10 circles turned net profitable, up from just three.
The company also recorded its highest-ever capital expenditure and monetised some assets, though specific figures weren’t shared.
BSNL managing director Robert J Ravi said the results reflected a “sharp turnaround” driven by professional management and government support, adding that future growth would not depend on tariff hikes. That, however, may be tested in a market still dominated by deep-pocketed private players.
While LIC continues to rely heavily on its investment engine, its growth in new policies and customer retention remains subdued. Meanwhile, BSNL’s back-to-back profits, although modest, offer a rare bright spot in its long road to revival.
Both entities still face plenty of structural challenges, but for now, FY25 ends on a relatively upbeat note for these two public sector giants.
