Manulife Financial Corp. today said its third-quarter profit rose 5% despite having to take a $198 million charge for losses caused by hurricane Katrina.

Canada’s largest insurance company said net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2005 was $746 million, or 93¢ a share, compared with $713 million, or 88¢ a share, in the year-ago period.

Manulife said Katrina led it to take a $198 million charge in its reinsurance division. That division recorded a loss of $151 million in the quarter.

The reinsurance loss was partially offset by a $65-million gain relating to the recognition of future tax assets in Japan.

Total revenue climbed to $8.39 billion from $8.05 billion.

Return on common equity rose from 12% to 12.7%. Excluding one-time items, return on common equity would have been 14.9%.

Total premiums and deposits for the quarter rose to $15.7 billion, up from $13.5 billion. Funds under management were $359.9 billion as of Sept. 30, 2005.

“The solid results reported in the third quarter reflect the benefits of our diversification and scale,” said Manulife CEO Dominic D’Alessandro, in a release.

“Despite the charges recorded for hurricane Katrina, we have again reported strong sales and strong earnings,” he said.

The company said its integration of John Hancock Financial Services, which it bought for $15 billion in 2004, was almost complete.

“Our integration efforts are now drawing to a close as we approach run-rate savings at our targeted US$325 million level,” said Manulife CFO Peter Rubenovitch.