Manulife Financial Corporation has released its most recent earnings showing that net income attributable to shareholders increased in the fourth quarter and in all of 2020, compared to net income numbers reported for the same periods in 2019. 

The company’s most recent financial statements state that net income was $1.8-billion in the fourth quarter of 2020, up from $1.2-billion reported for the same period in 2019. Full year net income was $5.9-billion in 2020, up from $5.6-billion in 2019. 

Core earnings flat 

Core earnings, meanwhile, remained flat at $1.5-billion in the fourth quarter while core earnings for the full year declined from $6-billion at the end of 2019 to just $5.5-billion at the end of 2020. The company says the decrease in core earnings comes from the absence of core investment gains during the year, lower investment income, the impact markets had on seed money in new segregated funds and mutual funds, and lower business volumes, all offset by in-force business growth, new business in Asia and growth in its wealth and asset management business. 

Assets under management with the company’s global wealth and asset management business were $754-billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, up from $681-billion at the end of 2019.  

Canadian operations 

In its Canadian operations, core earnings were $316-million in the fourth quarter of 2020, up from $288-million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Full year core earnings in Canada remained flat at $1.2-billion.  

Manulife’s Life Insurance Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio was 149 per cent at the end of the fourth quarter in 2020, up from 140 per cent reported at the end of 2019.  

Alongside the release of its earnings report, Manulife’s board of directors also announced the company will pay quarterly dividends of $0.28 per common share and preferred dividends ranging between $0.09 and $0.30, on March 19, 2021, to shareholders of record on Feb. 23, 2021.