Manulife Financial (0945) said net income fell 39.6 percent year-on-year to C$783 million (HK$4.97 billion) in the first quarter, dragged down by the direct impact of equity markets and interest rates and variable annuity guarantee liabilities.
Core earnings were C$1.63 billion in the first three months, up by 58.5 percent from the same period last year.
Basic earnings per share were 38 HK cents, and the group declared a dividend of 28 HK cents.
New business value rose 32 percent to C$599 million, annualized premium equivalent sales went up by 14 percent to C$1.79 billion, and annualized premium equivalent sales in Asia rose 18 percent to C$1.28 billion.
In Asia, new business value rose 34 percent to C$477 million, largely due to Hong Kong sales.
Global wealth and asset management net inflows were C$1.4 billion, compared with net inflows of C$3.2 billion in the same period last year.
Investment-related experience reflected higher-than-expected returns on alternative long-duration assets, primarily due to fair value gains on private equity investments.
