Manulife Q3 earnings get Asia boost while region weighs on Sun Life results

Two of Canada’s biggest TORONTO 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.