Manulife Financial Corp. said its earnings slipped in the third quarter as market losses and hurricane costs weighed.
The insurance company had a net income of $1.35 billion for the quarter ending Sept. 30, down from $1.59 billion for the same quarter last year.
Earnings worked out to 68 cents per diluted share, down from 80 cents per share last year.
Manulife said on the investments side it benefited from fixed income reinvestment activities, but took a hit on lower returns and writedowns on real estate-related holdings, while profits were also affected by declines in the stock market.
In global wealth and asset management, net inflows were $3.0 billion, down by 69.4% year over year. Net inflows in retail were $1.0 billion, down by 87% over the same period, due in part to falling investor demand amid equity market declines and higher interest rates.
Total assets under management and administration at Sept. 30 were $1.27 trillion, a 0.8% increase from $1.26 trillion the previous quarter and a 7.8% decrease from $1.38 trillion from Sept. 30, 2021.
During the third quarter, the firm launched a service that lets customers book one-on-one meetings with a Manulife PlanRight financial advisor directly in the mobile app, “which generated successful engagement, and resulted in approximately 1,400 advisor meeting requests in 3Q22,” Manulife said in a release on Wednesday.
On the insurance side, Manulife took at $256-million charge related to Hurricane Ian, compared with $152 million for charges a year earlier related to Hurricane Ida and European floods.
It said new business value dropped in Asia as it saw lower sales in Hong Kong, while Canada and the U.S. saw gains driven by higher margins.