Calgary Herald

Manulife’ Q3 earnings get Asia boost

- ARMINA LIGAYA

TORONTO Two of Canada’s biggest insurers delivered third-quarter earnings that beat expectatio­ns but while Manulife Financial Corp. got a boost from its Asia business, the region weighed down results for Sun Life Financial Corp.

Manulife’s profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30 surged 42 per cent to $1.57 billion compared to the earlier-year period, helped by a roughly 22 per cent increase in Asia earnings that helped offset a drop in net income at home.

Sun Life reported net income of $567 million to mark a 30 per cent drop year over year, but beat analyst expectatio­ns with its underlying net income of $730 million for the quarter. Still, the insurer’s underlying net income from Asia declined by 15 per cent.

Canadian insurers have targeted Asia for growth in recent years, positionin­g themselves to benefit from burgeoning middle classes and demographi­c trends in the region. The strategy has paid off in previous quarters for both insurers in terms of strong profit growth, but provided differing contributi­ons in the latest period.

Sun Life reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.20, ahead of the $1.17 expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters Eikon. Manulife reported adjusted earnings per share of $0.75, ahead of the $0.67 expected.

Power Financial Corp. reported on Thursday adjusted net earnings attributab­le to shareholde­rs of $578 million or $0.81 per share, up from $0.65 a year ago but short of the $0.82 expected by analysts.

Shares of Manulife were up nearly more than four per cent in Toronto at $22.37 in the afternoon, while Power Financial’s shares were relatively flat on Thursday afternoon at $28.68.

Sun Life’s stock, however, was down by more than two per cent to $48.27.

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