Great-West Lifeco Inc. announced on May 3 net earnings of $731 million for the first quarter of 2018 compared to $591 million for Q1 2017.

Return on common shareholders’ equity was 11.4 per cent for Q1 2018 compared to 13.6 per cent for Q1 2017.

"Great-West Lifeco delivered strong first quarter results reflecting healthy sales growth and disciplined expense management", said Paul Mahon, President and CEO, Great-West Lifeco. "The Company maintained its strong capital position after transitioning to the new regulatory capital regime in Canada and continued to advance its growth agenda with tuck-in acquisitions and investments in technology and innovation across the organization."

Highlights of the quarter included Q1 2018 sales of $34.6 billion. This is an increase of seven per cent over the first quarter of 2017.

Canada results

The company’s Canada segment net earnings for Q1 2018 stood at $316 million compared to $255 million for Q1 2017. The company says this improvement reflects “expense reductions driven by its transformation program and strong Group Customer results.”

Lifeco noted that during Q1 2018, the company's major Canadian operating subsidiaries adopted the new Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT). “The Great-West Life Assurance Company reported a LICAT ratio of 130 per cent at March 31, 2018 which is above the Company's target range of 110 per cent to 120 per cent for its major Canadian operating subsidiaries,” stated the company.