Manulife reports surge in Q3 profit despite lower Canadian earnings

Manulife Financial Corp.’s third-quarter profit surged 42% to $1.57 billion despite a lower contribution from its Canadian operations.

Net income attributable to shareholders was up from the $1.1 billion in the quarter ending Sept. 30 last year, while diluted earnings rose to 77 cents per share, from 54 cents per common share in the third quarter of 2017.

Core earnings were $1.54 billion, or 75 cents per share, up from $1.08 billion, or 53 cents per share, a year ago.

Core earnings decreased by 13% to $351 million in Canada but were up in Asia, the U.S. and in global wealth management.

Manulife’s global wealth and asset management division reported Q3 core earnings of $289 million, up from $216 million in the same period last year.

The wealth segment saw net flows of $0.4 billion in the quarter, compared to $4.2 billion in Q3 last year. In Canada, net flows were negative $1.5 billion, compared with positive net flows of $0.9 billion in 2017.

The Canadian decline was due to higher retail redemptions, the departure of a large retail advisor branch, and the redemption of two fixed income institutional asset management mandates worth $1 billion, the company said.

On the insurance side, annualized premium equivalent (APE) sales increased 8% from Q3 2017 to $1.4 billion, driven by growth in Asia with the launch of a new corporate-owned life insurance term product in Japan, the company said.

In Canada, where Manulife launched its new whole life insurance product, Manulife Par, in June, APE sales declined 14% in the third quarter compared to last year. While the new product drove an 18% increase in APE sales, the gains were more than offset by lower group insurance sales, the company said.

Read: Manulife offering new whole life product, AI underwriting tool

The Toronto-based company recently announced its quarterly dividend will increase 14% to 25 cents, payable as of Dec. 19 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 30.

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

Staff, with files from The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.