China Life warns on unexpected Q3 loss

China Life (LFC.NYSE, 2628.HKG, 601628.SZ) warned that it expects net profit for the first three quarters of this year to shrink by 55% annually due to capital market weakness that resulted in lower investment yields and higher impairment losses, Reuters reported. The decrease, if borne out by official results on October 26, would mean a RMB2.1 billion ($335 million) loss for the third quarter, the company’s first quarterly loss since the fourth quarter of 2008. Three analysts polled by Reuters had projected quarterly profit to increase by around 30%, rather than decline. China Life’s Hong Kong-listed shares retreated 4% on the warning. Mainly state-owned, China Life has a market capitalization of more than US$83 billion. Its profit decreased 45.5% in 2011.