Max Financial Services Limited (MFSL), a key player in India's life insurance sector, has reinforced its commitment to robust growth during a recent conference call update. The management of Max Financial has confirmed their growth outlook of 15-17% for the fiscal year 2026, signaling confidence in the company's strategic direction and market position.

Strong Performance in H1 FY26

The reaffirmation of the growth outlook comes on the heels of impressive first-half results for FY26:

• Consolidated revenue (excluding investment income) grew by 18% year-on-year to ₹15,090.00 crores
• Individual Adjusted First Year Premium increased by 18% to ₹3,891.00 crores
• Gross Written Premium rose by 18% to ₹15,490.00 crores
• Value of New Business (VNB) saw a significant 27% growth

Key Financial Highlights

Max Financial's subsidiary, Axis Max Life Insurance, reported several notable achievements:

Market Share and Strategic Growth

Axis Max Life has outpaced the private life insurance industry, gaining 83 basis points in private market share to reach 10.1% in H1 FY26. This growth has been driven by:

• Robust performance in offline proprietary channels
• Successful scaling of new partnerships
• Onboarding of 31 new partners in H1 FY26 (16 retail and 15 group business partners)

Management Commentary

Sumit Madan, CEO and Managing Director of Axis Max Life, commented on the company's performance: "In the first half of FY'26, Axis Max Life continued to deliver strong growth in Individual Adjusted First Year Premium and Value of New Business, led by our proprietary channels and further supported by our partnership verticals. This has resulted in a market share of 10.1%, underscoring the strength of our balanced channel mix and our ability to nurture every relationship."

Future Outlook

The reaffirmation of the 15-17% growth outlook for FY26 suggests that Max Financial is confident in its ability to maintain its growth trajectory. The company's focus on expanding its distribution network, improving product mix, and enhancing customer-centric initiatives appears to be yielding positive results.

Conclusion

Max Financial's robust performance in H1 FY26 and the management's confident outlook for the full fiscal year indicate a positive trajectory for the company. With its strategic focus on balanced growth across channels and products, Max Financial seems well-positioned to capitalize on the growing life insurance market in India.

Max Financial Services Limited has declared the results of its postal ballot conducted for the appointment of Mr. Pradeep Pant as Independent Director, with shareholders rejecting the primary resolution despite earlier Board approval and comprehensive clarifications addressing proxy advisory concerns.

Postal Ballot Results Overview

The postal ballot results, declared on December 22, 2025, revealed that shareholders did not approve Mr. Pant's appointment as Independent Director, despite receiving majority support. The voting process was conducted through remote e-voting from November 22 to December 21, 2025, under the supervision of scrutinizer M/s. Sanjay Grover Associates, Company Secretaries.

Background and Proxy Advisory Concerns

The company had initially issued a comprehensive clarification regarding the postal ballot notice after proxy advisory firms recommended voting against Pant's appointment. The firms cited concerns about his tenure aggregation across group companies, noting his current role as Independent Director at Axis Max Life Insurance Limited, a subsidiary of MFSL.

MFSL had emphasized that applicable regulations require considering the maximum tenure of Independent Directors at the entity level, not at the group level. The company stated that Mr. Pant had never held a director position at MFSL and this represented his first-time appointment to the company's Board for a five-year term from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030.

Remuneration Resolution Outcome

Interestingly, shareholders overwhelmingly approved the second resolution regarding payment of remuneration to Mr. Pant, with 92.93% votes in favour. However, since the primary appointment resolution failed, the remuneration approval has become non-operative, requiring no further action from the company.

Voting Participation and Process

The postal ballot process saw significant participation from shareholders, with the company's total paid-up share capital standing at ₹69.02 crore divided into 34,51,14,771 equity shares of ₹2.00 each as of the cut-off date of November 14, 2025. The scrutinizer's report confirmed that all regulatory requirements under the Companies Act, 2013, and SEBI LODR regulations were properly followed during the voting process.

Professional Background Context

Mr. Pant brings over 37 years of FMCG industry experience, having served as Executive Vice President and President of Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa for Mondelez International until 2013. His extensive background includes leadership positions at major corporations and current roles as Founding President of Food Industry Asia and Advisory Board Member of SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

The management, Nomination Remuneration Committee, and Board had believed Pant's association would benefit both management and shareholders significantly, particularly given his current contribution as an independent director of Axis Max Life Insurance Limited.