Once again, thank you very much for attending the earnings briefing session today. I will start with a review of KPIs, mainly financials, followed by our CEO Kikuta's presentation of our strategy in line with our medium-term management plan. Please look at page 4, look back at capital and financial. As we believe that the group's efforts to improve its ability to generate capital and cash flow and to efficiently allocate capital gain through our business, including those to shareholders, have been generally successful. In terms of risk control, Dai-ichi Life's market risk reduction exceeded the three-year target of medium-term management plan, resulting in a significant improvement in the group's risk profile, and the soundness of each company's financial was enhanced.
In terms of location of cash and capital, a company has continued to repurchase shares in excess of JPY 100 billion for 4 consecutive fiscal years since FY 2021. In MTP, the dividend payout ratio was raised from 30% to 40% to enhance shareholder return. Page 6, I would like to discuss each of the initiatives. First, the status of ESR. As we indicated in February, ESR for the group and its domestic subsidiaries has been calculated on a new criteria basis starting this year. ESR was 226% as a result, an increase of 14% year-on-year. ESR increased significantly due to contribution made by self-efforts to reduce risk, as well as contribution from the market fluctuations with rising equity prices and interest rates.
The sensitivity of ESR has changed in part due to rise in interest rates and stock prices. With rising equity prices, sensitivity to equity has increased, and the sensitivity of ESR to the interest rate has become negative during the period of rising interest rates, which will be explained in more details on the next page. Please go to page seven. This shows the risk profile of the group. Progress in risk reduction has led to improvements, including a significant reduction in interest rate risk since the end of the previous period.
On the other hand, with respect to a mass surrender risk, as shown in the graph, below, the relationship between the, a normal, surrender risk and the mass surrender risk, has been reversed, since the time of, calculation. The standard criteria is to adopt the larger of the usual cancellation risk, the usual surrender risk, and mass surrender risk, and the mass surrender risk, increased with the rising yen interest rates and was recognized as surrender risk. In order to reduce, dynamic surrender risk, we will consider measures, such as, ceding business in force and so forth. Please have a look at page 8. So this is about group's new business and the value thereof. The value of group's new business, decreased, by 30% year-on-year to reach JPY 54.5 billion.
As mentioned at the earnings call, in FY 2024, new business is expected to grow in TAL, as well as recovery of sales in Dai-ichi Life, so therefore, VNB is expected to recover to a level above JPY 100 billion. Turning to the next page. Turning to ROEV, that reflects the economic value-based capital efficiency. At the time of the earnings call on May 15th, rough estimates were shared, but this time the figures are finalized. There are no major change. Increase in EV, particularly in Dai-ichi Life, was led by rise in yen interest rate and stock market. Regarding EV sensitivity, as you see on the right-hand side, to financial market fluctuations, as you can see, sensitivity of Group EV to interest rates continue to decline. And as a flash report, based on the calculation, is shown here.
The reduction in sensitivity to interest rates, as was shown in the earnings call document, asset and liability cash flow matching is being narrowed down and duration is last less than one year, and 78%-89% in a different scale, so the matching is coming closer. So this is one reason that is contributing to the decline in the sensitivity. And the dividend of the policyholders is a absorption buffer which is also playing a role, and also discount ratio is also having an impact. And therefore, with regards to interest rate sensitivity, this is very important, and therefore, what are the different factors and what is what is the impact?
We will do a further analysis, and at the time of first quarter earnings, we will want to take you through more closely. As for interest rate, we're expecting a rise in yen interest rate, but in XARA, duration, asset is shorter than liabilities, and especially for new business, interest rate increase will have a positive impact, and therefore, interest rate increase will have a positive impact on our our business performance in terms of sensitivity. Please go to page 12. And this is the cash position at the holding company. Remittance from subsidiaries in FY 2024. In addition to remittance from subsidiaries based on earnings in the year ended March 2024, Dai-ichi Life will start interim dividend payout this fiscal year.
.E ven, therefore, in payment at the interim is also included. But even excluding remittances expected in the middle of the year as interim dividend, remittance rate has exceeded 90%. As a mature company, remittance of 100% from Dai-ichi Life, a cash-generating entity, will be maintained, and increased remittance year over year from TAL was realized with progress in profit contribution of TLIS. Remittances from group companies will fluctuate with future earnings and capital level, but remittance expected to be received in the two years after next fiscal year, calculated based on earnings as of March 2025, is expected to be JPY 600 billion level. Taking out shareholder dividend, scheduled now, approximately JPY 800 billion will be usable cash through March 2027.
As of now, excluding JPY 100 billion base cash of the holding company, JPY 700 billion is cash that can be allocated to strategic investments and additional shareholder returns. Please turn to page 13. Next, and lastly for me, is relative TSR. This page shows our TSR relative to 14 peers, which includes 10 traditional peers and four global top insurers we aim for. TSR, based on March 2022, we rank 5th among the 15 companies as of end of March. As we continue to aim for above middle tier, one way to improve is reducing market-related risks. Reducing beta will lead to reduction in cost of capital. While there are external factors, stock price beta for the company will trend down, as you see in the graph.
In the meantime, as explained in the ESR page, current business environment involves increased equity risk on the back of stock price rally. Appropriate risk control will become ever more important. So we will continue to improve relative performance of TSR in order to reduce a share price beta. That is all for me. Thank you.
My name is Kikuta, the CEO. Once again, I would like to thank all of you for attending our briefing session today. I would like to start by explaining the prospects for achieving the goals set forth in the new Medium-Term Management Plan based on the results of the previous year and our understanding of the current situation. So let me provide the update, and please have a look at the next page. This is something that I explained before, but this is about the positioning of the new MTP, Midterm Management Plan.
The new medium-term business plan is based on a vision for the insurance group to become a global top-tier group by 2030, and on a series of tasks and work to be accomplished over the next three years to accelerate growth toward achieving this vision. So we have back-casted based on the vision that we have. The goal of this new MTP is to achieve capital efficiency that consistently exceeds the capital cost. This is what we would like to absolutely achieve, and we have also set KPIs tied to that, including those for adjusted profit. Please have a look at the next page. Here, I explain the historical trend of adjusted profit and the level targeted in the new MTP, as well as the trend of EPS.
Adjusted profit has been growing steadily, reaching on the order of JPY 300 billion for the first time in last fiscal year. And EPS growth exceeded the pace of adjusted profit growth due to the effects of ongoing share buyback program. Now, we expect to achieve JPY 340 billion in adjusted profit in the current fiscal year, and in the last year of new MTP, FY 2026, we would like to aim at achieving JPY 400 billion. And to this end, by executing each business strategy, which is the pillar of the new MTP, and by steadily implementing financial and capital strategies, including our share buyback program, to achieve both an increase in adjusted profit and capital efficiency, resulting in a stable increase in EPS. That's what we wish to achieve.
Next page, please. In terms of the business portfolio, the capital generated from mature businesses, mainly DL, is utilized to support the growth potential of the business in areas with high growth potential. So at the same time, our company aims to redistribute capital to high-growth areas and enjoy the fruits of future market growth. And to increase ROE of these growth areas, we will continue to promote this capital circulation to further improve capital efficiency of the entire group. Next page, please. In the domestic insurance business, which is a mature market, we need to generate stable and sustainable profits and income in order to be able to allocate the right amount of capital to growth markets.
Now, for the sales rep by channel, which is at the core of our business, it has been sluggish for the past few years. But we have been promoting reform on the sales workforce on the ground. And we have shifted to a system of selective recruitment by tightening our criteria and setting a ceiling on the number of hires. So we have made efforts to improve the quality of our personnel. And because of the COVID and other factors, the decrease in the number of sales reps for the past three years has been greater than our expectations.
However, new operations are gradually taking hold, and the number of hires in April, and we hire once every quarter, and the number of hires of sales reps in April far exceeded the quarterly target of 1,000 hires. Those who are joining our company as of first of July are going to be 1,000. So we are now hiring 1,000 people per quarter on a stable basis. So we believe that a drop in the number of personnel will bottom out this year. In the last three years, we have not been able to put out many new products. About July onward, or rather April onward, we have put out a number of new products, and with that, the activities of sales reps have increased.
As an internal indicator, we have the value of operating revenue that we used. So in terms of this indicator, in April and in May, it has been around 1.6, which is quite successful. Please have a look at the next page. Overseas insurance business has been one of our growth drivers, and we have been steadily expanding a profitable business. The overseas insurance business currently accounts for about 30% of our total net income, but we aim to increase this to 40% by FY 2025, and 50% to FY 2026. Next page, please. The section describes the status of Protective in the U.S. and TAL in Australia, which are driving growth of overseas insurance business.
Protective has experienced a significant downturn in profits over the past years due to write-downs and impairments of assets held by the company as a result of rising U.S. interest rates and collapse of U.S. banks. However, we expect these negative incidents to drop off in the current fiscal year, and therefore, profit is expected to recover. In recent years, Protective had not been able to acquire new firms, which have been one of Protective's strong points, due to rise of PE funds. The market has become increasingly competitive, and Protective has been unable to make new acquisitions. But as we disclosed in April this year, for the first time in three years, the company acquired...
Or rather, the company signed an agreement to acquire ShelterPoint, which operates a group insurance business in the U.S. Protective will seek to diversify its business through entry into new business, the domain of group insurance, and expand stable earnings by acquiring insurance risk blocks. So group insurance requires a smaller capital and is less asset intensive. This area, going forward, could be a target for a potential M&A. We see this as a promising market. Now, with respect to TAL, following the acquisition in Westpac Life in 2022, TAL's market share in the Australian market exceeded 30%, solidifying its position as a top player in the market. Last fiscal year, the impact of interest rate fluctuation and other factors resulted in an increase in profits.
Even if we exclude these factors, TAL's underlying earnings capability, including the profit contribution from Westpac Life, which is acquired by TAL, is increasingly steadily. So we're in a phase of recovering profit. Please have a look at the next page. This is about asset formation and succession business. Dai-ichi Frontier Life's new policies were particularly strong during the last fiscal year, resulting in a large increase in its assets under custody. In terms of our new sales in the last fiscal year, the ratio of yen, yen-denominated products increased by currency, and in terms of the sales channel, diversification was effective. So both in terms of currency and sales channel, without excessive concentration on a specific channel or currency, we are seeing well-balanced sales performance. In addition, among the channels, we have maintained a good performance in OTC channel throughout fiscal year 2023.
Please have a look at the next page. Asset management business. This is a capital-light business, and therefore, we want to put emphasis and prioritize this area. W e invested in two asset management companies with strength in private debt investment to enhance asset management functions in the high-growth and highly profitable alternative asset area. In Japan, about 70% of Topaz Capital's shares, a company with strength in private debt investment, were acquired to make it a subsidiary, and overseas acquired about 20% stake in Canyon Partners in the United States, with strength in private debt and CLO investments. The intention is to acquire source of competitiveness and differentiation in the insurance business by improving the group's investment yield, and expect to create synergies within the group by reducing costs that would otherwise flow out of the group. Please turn to the next page.
New business and non-insurance business. Acquisition process of Benefit One is on track. It became a wholly owned subsidiary on May 23rd, after becoming an equity method affiliate in March. To realize the synergy expected at the time of acquisition, and also to accelerate the growth of Benefit One, a steering committee, headed by myself and President Shiraishi of Benefit One, was launched. Various working groups have also started. Operation of Benefit Station by RMs of Dai-ichi Life have also begun. Dispatching of personnel to key positions is being executed, and Dai-ichi Life Holdings is accommodating secondees from Benefit One. A mutual exchange of personnel in this way is expected to create synergy soon. Please go to the next page.
Regarding financial and capital strategy, as was explained by Mr. Nishimura, CFO, domestic equities held by DL, Dai-ichi Life, will be reduced by more than JPY 1.2 trillion during the three years in the new midterm plan, which accounts for about 30% of our holdings in March 2024. In the next MTP period, reduction is expected to continue. We are currently figuring out the ultimate balance, outstanding balance of domestic equities we will be, aiming for, we should be aiming for. I hope, we can find another opportunity to, cover this topic. The extent of sales in the three years during the new MTP will be decided flexibly, taking into account further increase in share price of equities we hold, rise in yen interest rate, and strategic investment opportunities.
Part of the gains from sales as a capital gain will be allocated to rebalance bond portfolio and appropriation for losses in cession. But after netting them out, amount available for strategic investments and shareholder return is expected to increase significantly compared to the previous MTP. Next page, please. Dividend payout ratio based on last fiscal year's profit was raised to 40%, and interim dividend will start from this fiscal year. In the past, in addition to growth in group-adjusted profit and decrease in the number of shares due to share buybacks, dividend per share increased steadily. Adjusted profit last fiscal year well exceeded budget, and combined with increased payout ratio this time, dividend per share has increased largely year-over-year by JPY 27.
After we achieve capital efficiency stably above cost of capital, share buybacks will be scaled down eventually to be implemented more flexibly. We will consider raising payout ratio further. But having said that, until we achieve capital efficiency stably above cost of capital, the current level of capital policy that is that we focus on will continue. Now, regarding strengthening our management foundation, on the next page, CXO system introduced in fiscal year 2022, will be expanded in a phased manner, and the group heads responsible for promoting business were appointed from this fiscal year. In April, Chief Data and AI Officer has come on board from outside the company. Part of the structure has been changed, again, such as dispatching officers to Benefit One, among others.
Going forward, a clear matrix structure based on responsibility should enable us to establish a corporate function that underpins our global growth. Please turn to the next page. Through the various initiatives I have outlined today, we will strive to achieve the KPIs of the new MTP, such as achieving capital efficiency that consistently exceeds the cost of capital. Achieving these KPIs is not easy, but with firm determination, we will strive to execute various transformation initiatives to realize our vision in 2030. Stock-based compensation scheme for domestic key group company employees started from this fiscal year. More than ever, the company will work as one by taking stakeholders' perspective into account to achieve the new MTP. Your continued support is greatly appreciated. That concludes my presentation. Thank you very much for your kind attention.