iA Financial Corporation has reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $182.7 million, diluted earnings per common share (EPS) of $1.71 and return on shareholders' equity for the last 12 months of 10.5%.

“I'm very pleased with both our profitability and sales in the second quarter,” said Denis Ricard, president and CEO of iA Financial Group. “In the current pandemic environment, these excellent results speak to our sound financial position, the resilience of our business model and the strength of our distribution networks.

Canadian individual life, seg funds and mutual funds, all up

Ricard said sales growth was especially strong in the Canadian Individual Insurance sector, with sales up 10% year over year, and for segregated funds and mutual funds, where net inflows totalled more than $466 million. Strong sales were shown in other business units, particularly the Employee Plans division, its U.S. Individual Insurance sector and iA Auto and Home.

"We completed the acquisition of IAS in the second quarter as well," Ricard said. "We're very happy to welcome this group of companies, which operate in the U.S. vehicle warranty market. This acquisition rounds out our U.S. operations, which have grown considerably in the past few years. The addition of IAS creates a major platform that positions us well to capitalize on opportunities in this market."

EPS higher than a year ago

Jacques Potvin, Executive Vice-President, CFO and Chief Actuary said iA’s reported EPS of $1.71 is higher than a year ago, when second-quarter earnings were strong. Its investment portfolio is considered to be of excellent quality and its financial position remains robust.

“Our solvency ratio of 124% is well above our 110% to 116% target range. We now believe that our 2020 results could be better than we anticipated at the start of the pandemic, depending on how that situation evolves."