Manulife sees nearly 2 per cent bump in first quarter net income

TORONTO – Manulife Financial Corp. says its net income attributed to shareholders increased 1.63 per cent in its first quarter of the 2018 financial year.

Manulife says its income was $1.372 billion or 67 cents per share in the quarter compared to $1.35 billion or 66 cents per share in the same quarter the previous year.

The company says the increase comes partly from growth in core earnings thanks to lower U.S. tax rates and strong growth in Asia and Global Wealth Asset Management, among other things.

Its core earnings were $1.303 billion for the quarter or 64 cents per share, compared to $1.101 billion or 53 cents per share in the same quarter the previous year.

CEO Roy Gori says in a statement that the company has made significant strides in transforming the business to be more customer centric and is encouraged by its early progress.

The company also announced a quarterly divided of 22 cents per common share.