Manulife’s first-quarter profit rises on Asia unit strength

:Canada’s Manulife Financial Corp reported a jump in first-quarter profit on Wednesday, pushed by powerful performance in its Asia unit.

The firm’s Asia enterprise has benefited from mainland Chinese company returning to Hong Kong after pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Annualized top price equivalent (APE), a key sales metric, jumped 21 per cent in the quarter, pushed by a 13 per cent upward thrust in Manulife’s Asia unit and a 54 per cent jump in its Canada enterprise.

Whole funding income at Manulife came in at C$4.Seventy nine billion ($3.49 billion) in the quarter, in contrast with C$5.46 billion final year.

The country’s largest insurer posted core earnings of C$1.75 billion, or 94 Canadian cents per allotment, in the three months ended March 31, in contrast with C$1.fifty three billion, or Seventy nine Canadian cents per allotment, a year earlier.

Analysts on moderate had anticipated Manulife to chronicle a profit of 91 Canadian cents per allotment, in step with LSEG data.

($1 = 1.3722 Canadian greenbacks)