Manulife Financial Corp. today reported a higher fourth-quarter profit, helped by strong annuity sales in Japan and the United States.

Manulife said net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2005 rose to $908 million, or $1.13 a share, up from $756 million, or 92¢ a share, in the year-before period.

Total revenue climbed to $8.2 billion from $7.9 billion.

Increased variable annuity sales in the U.S. and Japan helped lift total premiums and deposits for the quarter by 14% to $16.3 billion from $14.3 billion.

Funds under management rose by $24.9 billion to $372.3 billion, as of December 31, from $347.4 billion in the year before.

Return on equity rose to 15.5% on an annualized basis from 13%.

For the year, Manulife earned $3.3 billion, up 27% from $2.6 billion in 2004.

“We are very pleased to report record top and bottom line results for the company in 2005,” said Dominic D’Alessandro, president and CEO, in a release.

“This continues our exceptional track record of strong earnings growth with an average annual growth rate of more than 20% over the past decade. And with the successful integration of John Hancock now behind us, we look forward to building on the strengths of our combined operations.”

The company increased its quarterly dividend to 35¢ a share from 30¢ a share.