“The Board at its meeting held today considered and approved the issuance of bonus equity shares in the proportion of 1:1, that is 1 fully paid up equity share of Rs 10 each for every 1 fully paid-up equity share of Rs 10 each held by the members of the corporation as on the record date,” the company said in a filing.
The bonus issue will be executed by capitalising a sum of Rs 6,325 crore out of the reserves and surplus of the corporation available as of December 2025.
The said bonus issue will be completed within 2 months from the date of approval by the Board, which is on or before June 12.
This is LIC’s first bonus issue since listing. The company has declared five interim dividends since its market debut in May 2022.
In a bonus issue, while the number of shares held by investors increases, the overall investment value remains the same as the stock price adjusts in proportion.
Companies typically announce bonus issues to improve liquidity, make shares more affordable, and signal confidence in future growth. It is often seen in companies with strong reserves and consistent profitability, aiming to reward long-term shareholders without diluting ownership.Shares of LIC have been under pressure of late, in line with the muted sentiments around the broader market. The stock has declined about 5% so far this year. However, it is up marginally by 3% in the last one year.
Coming to the financials, LIC reported a 17% year-on-year increase in consolidated net profit in the recent December quarter at Rs 12,930 crore, compared with Rs 11,008 crore in the same period last year.
Net premium income for Q3 stood at Rs 1.26 lakh crore, up 17% from Rs 1.07 lakh crore a year earlier. The company has not yet announced the date for its January-March quarter results.
On Monday, ahead of the bonus issue announcement, LIC shares closed 1% higher at Rs 809 on NSE.
