Industrial Alliance’s net income fell slightly in 2022

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By Alain Castonguay | Feb. 21, 2023, 10:51 a.m.

iA Financial Corporation’s net income attributable to common shareholders dipped slightly in 2022 to $817 million, for a 2 per cent decrease from $830 million in 2021.

For the fourth quarter of 2022, net income was $229 million, compared with $209 million reported in Q4 2021. This represents an increase of 10 per cent

Results by segment

Three of the insurer’s five sectors saw upswings in 2022:

U.S. Operations: Net income attributable to common shareholders was $151 million, compared with $89 million in 2021, representing a 70 per cent increase;
Group Insurance: Net income attributable to common shareholders was $95 million, versus $77 million in 2021, equal to growth of 23 per cent;
Group Savings and Retirement: Net income attributable to common shareholders was $89 million, versus a loss of $1 million in 2021.

Results declined in two other sectors compared with 2021:

Individual Insurance: Net income attributable to common shareholders was $321 million compared with $438 million in 2021, corresponding to a decrease of 27 per cent;
Individual Wealth Management: Net income attributable to common shareholders was $186 million, versus $227 million in 2021, amounting to an 18 per cent decrease.

Premiums and deposits

iA reported premiums and deposits of $15.2 billion in 2022, compared with $16.6 billion in 2021. The decrease amounts to $1.4 billion or 8.5 per cent

Looking at the results of each sector:

Individual Insurance: Premiums were $1.9 billion in 2022, compared with $1.76 billion in 2021, up 7 per cent or $124 million;
Group Insurance: Premiums were $2.1 billion in 2022, versus $1.9 billion in 2021, for growth of 13 per cent or $254 million;
Group Savings and Retirement: Premiums were $2.8 billion in 2022, versus $2.78 billion in 2021, an increase of 1 per cent or $27 million;
U.S. Operations: Premiums were $1.17 billion in 2022, compared with $1.04 million in 2021, for an increase of 12 per cent or $130 million;
Property and Casualty Insurance: Premiums were $418 million in 2022, versus $395 million in 2021, an increase of 6 per cent or $23 million.

Individual Wealth Management drove the decline in total net premiums and deposits, which fell 22 per cent from $8.8 billion in 2021 to $6.8 billion in 2022.

According to the press release issued on February 14, the industry as a whole is facing challenges in this business sector amid a difficult macroeconomic environment.

iA Financial Group’s President and CEO Denis Ricard notes that core earnings per share (EPS) and return on equity (ROE) are “well within our guidance.”

Ricard also points to the financial strength of the company, which returned nearly half a billion dollars to its shareholders in 2022.

According to Jacques Potvin, Executive Vice-President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Actuary, core earnings per share grew by 19 per cent as a result of “good policyholder experience and higher long-term interest rates.”

iA Insurance

iA Assurance reported net income attributable to iA Financial Corporation, its sole common shareholder, of $869 million in 2022, compared with $821 million in 2021. This represents an increase of 6 per cent or $48 million.

For the fourth quarter of 2022, net income was $245 million, versus $202 million in Q4 2021.

In terms of fourth quarter highlights, iA Insurance’s solvency ratio was 118 percent at December 31, 2022, compared with 127 percent a year earlier, representing a six percent decline from Q3 2022.

The decrease is mainly due to “to the contribution of organic capital generation being more than offset by unfavourable macroeconomic variations, the dividend payment to the Company’s sole common shareholder, and management actions and portfolio adjustments in view of the transition to IFRS 9 and IFRS 17. Note that most of the negative impacts of the portfolio adjustments in preparation for the transition to the new accounting regime will reverse under IFRS 9 and 17,” the release explains.

In addition, iA Insurance paid a $150 million dividend to iA Financial Corporation in the fourth quarter. The board of directors of iA Insurance determined that no dividend will be paid to iA Financial in the first quarter of 2023.