** Shares of India's SBI Life Insurance SBIL.NS rise as much as 4.57% to 1923.9 rupees, highest since September 24, 2024; last up 3.2%
** Insurer's Value for New Business margin for the quarter improved to 27.8% from 26.8% earlier
** Annualised premium equivalent sales climbed 10% to 59.5 billion rupees
** Co reported 7% lower quarterly PAT of 4.95 bln rupees on higher commissions paid to boost sales and a drop in income from investment
** JP Morgan ("Buy") said a better mix of insurance product offerings helped offset the impact of GST changes
** Phillip Capital ("Buy") said it was overall a reassuring set of results with minimal impact from unavailability of input tax credit due to the GST changes
** Stock currently rated "Buy" on average; median PT at 2,140 rupees -- LSEG data
** YTD, stock up 36.5%
(Reporting by Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru)
((mridula.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))