Manulife reports Q1 earnings

It’s Manulife Financial Corporation’s turn to report on its performance for the three months ended March 31.

Manulife, which operates primarily as John Hancock in the US, reported the following numbers:

Regarding Manulife’s net income attributed to shareholders per segment, Canada and Asia saw decreases while the US suffered a loss. The group result, meanwhile, would have amounted to $1.6 billion if not for the impact of the reinsurance transaction with Global Atlantic.

As for APE sales in the quarter, the Asia segment posted a 13% increase, Canada 54%, and the US 14%. NBV and new business CSM were also up across all segments.   

Commenting on the quarterly financial results, Manulife president and chief executive Roy Gori (pictured) said: “After a milestone year for Manulife, we continued to show strong momentum in 1Q24 by delivering superior results, including 20% core EPS (earnings per common share) growth, an increase of 11% in adjusted book value per common share, and record level APE sales with double-digit growth across each of our insurance segments.

“We again demonstrated a disciplined focus on execution by closing the largest ever LTC (long-term care) reinsurance transaction in the first quarter and entering the largest-ever universal life reinsurance agreement in Canada. I’m excited by our momentum in the first quarter and by the opportunities ahead of us to continue generating shareholder value.”

Colin Simpson, chief financial officer, added: “We had a strong start to 2024 with record levels of new business CSM and new business value, reflecting 52% and 34% growth, respectively. Global WAM saw strong net inflows of CA$6.7 billion, and our capital position remains robust with a LICAT (Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test) ratio of 138%.

“Looking ahead, we remain committed to further improving ROE (return on common shareholders’ equity) through disciplined capital allocation and continued business performance improvements.”

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