Canada’s Manulife posts higher quarterly profit on strength in Asia business

Signage is seen on Manulife Financial Corp.'s office tower in Toronto, Feb. 11, 2020.

Canadian insurer Manulife Financial MFC.TO reported a rise in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by strong performance in its Asia unit.

Core earnings from Asia jumped 22 per cent to $598 million during the reported quarter, while global wealth and asset management rose 2 per cent to C$448 million.

“Asia achieved another strong quarter, with 22 per cent growth in core earnings and 15 per cent growth in new business value, reflecting robust contributions from key markets in the region,” CEO Phil Witherington said in a statement.

Profit attributable to shareholders in Manulife’s Canada units rose 7 per cent.

Shares of the insurer have gained about 9.6 per cent year-to-date, compared with a 13.2 per cent gain for smaller peer Sun Life SLF.TO, which also reported a higher quarterly profit last week.

The company’s core earnings came in at C$1.84 billion ($1.34 billion), or C$1.06 per share, for the three months ended March 31, compared with C$1.77 billion, or 99 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Reporting by Prakhar Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber