Manulife Financial Corp. says it had net income of $1.4 billion attributable to shareholders in the first quarter under new accounting standards.
It says profits increased by about $100 million compared to last year’s interim net income, reflecting last year’s results they would have achieved under the new standards.
International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 17 i IFRS 9 replaced IFRS 4 and International Accounting Standard 39, respectively.
The insurer said diluted earnings per share were 73 cents for the quarter, up 4% from interim earnings per share of 66 cents in the same quarter last year.
The company said the increase in earnings per share was due to strong core earnings and the performance of its share buyback program.
Manulife reported underlying earnings for its Asia unit of $489 million for the quarter, compared with interim net income of $479 million last year.
Its Canadian unit posted underlying profits of $353 million, compared with interim net income of $334 million last year, while its U.S. unit posted underlying earnings of $385 million, up from $293 million a year earlier.
The company compared its latest earnings to its 2022 quarterly results, which have been adjusted for comparative purposes to reflect new reporting standards that went into effect on January 1, 2023.
In global wealth and asset management, net inflows were $4.4 billion, down 35% year-over-year. Net retail inflows were $800 million, down 80% from the same period last year, due to lower investor demand and market volatility.
Net inflows from institutional asset management and pensions were $2.5 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively.
Total assets under management and administration as of March 31 were $1.35 trillion, up 3.8% from $1.30 trillion in the prior quarter and up 0.5% from $1.34 trillion dollars as of March 31, 2022.
Annual premium equivalent sales in Canada were $293 million, down 19% year-over-year, primarily due to the impact of market volatility on demand for segregated funds and volatility in the large group insurance market, partially offset by higher participating life insurance sales.
During the first quarter, the company announced that Manulife Securities had agreed to adopt Fidelity Clearing Canada’s uniFide digital and back-office tools. Manulife has also expanded its Vitality life insurance program in Canada, allowing members to earn points for activities logged on additional wearable devices and mobile apps.
