Manulife Financial reports Q2 profit of $1.26B

Manulife Financial Corp. recorded a second-quarter profit of $1.26 billion, a slight increase from the same period last year.

Net income attributable to shareholders was up from the $1.25 billion in the quarter ending June 30 last year, while earnings were 61 cents per common share for both quarters.

Earnings per share were slightly below the 62 cents expected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters Eikon.

Core earnings were up in its Canada, U.S. and global wealth and asset management divisions, while earnings slipped in Asia.

Restructuring charges related to its downsizing as part of a digital strategy shift came in at $200 million for the quarter.

Manulife also announced it will maintain its quarterly shareholders’ dividend of 22 cents per share.

Cost-cutting measures

Manulife gave more details today on an aggressive cost-cutting initiative it announced at its investor day in June aimed at saving $300-million per year.

The company said in June it will cut 700 jobs over the next 18 months as part of a streamlining of operations.

The firm’s chief financial officer Philip Witherington told analysts that over the next 12 to 18 months Manulife intends to combine its head office footprints in the U.S. and Canada to a single building in each market, consolidate its legacy IT systems in the U.S., in addition to cutting employee costs on both sides of the border.

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