Manulife Phils net sales up 16%

The combined Philippine operations of Manulife Philippines experienced total new sales growth of 16 percent for the first six months compared with the same period last year, while total gross premium increased by 14 percent.

Manulife Phils. is a subsidiary of global financial giant Manulife Financial Corp. of Canada.

With the merger of Manulife Financial with John Hancock Financial Services Inc. of the US last April, the John Hancock in-force block was transferred to Manulife Philippines via an assumption reinsurance agreement in June this year.

In addition to this, some 140 John Hancock agents transferred to Manulife Philippines.

"With the growing interest for investment type products, Manulife Philippines in April introduced the first of a range of variable life products called Affluence," Manulife Phils. president and chief executive officer Renato Vergel De Dios said in a statement. "This product has heightened our focus on attractive market segments such as the affluent and sophisticated individual."

Affluence is a single-premium peso-denominated variable life (or unit linked) product with added life insurance protection.

Similarly, the University Savings Plan (USP), a popular participating John Hancock product, was added to the Manulife portfolio in June to meet the educational needs of the middle to upper markets.

Meanwhile, Manulife Financial Corp. said total premiums and deposits for the second quarter were $13 billion, or $5.6 billion higher than reported in the second quarter of 2003. Excluding the impact of John Hancock, premiums and deposits increased by $2.1 billion or 28 percent from the prior year driven by strong sales of wealth management products in all regions.

Funds under management were $360.2 billion as of end June, more than twice the level at the end of the prior quarter. The combination with John Hancock increased funds under management by $190 billion. Strong net policyholder cash flows, particularly in the wealth management operations, as well as improved equity markets also contributed to the increase.

Last April, Manulife Financial completed its merger with John Hancock Financial Services.

For the two months since the merger date, John Hancock contributed $166 million to earnings in the quarter.

Excluding the impact of John Hancock, earnings in the second quarter increased $108 million or 28 percent compared to the same period a year ago.

Strong business growth across the firm, excellent claims experience in US Protection, the impact of relatively stable credit and equity markets, and an improved expense position were the key drivers of the earnings growth.

Earnings per common share increased by 12 percent to $0.93 from $0.83 reported in 2003.

Excluding the impact of integration costs, earnings per share increased 16 percent from the prior year to $0.96.

Return on common shareholders’ equity for the quarter was 14 percent compared to 18 percent in 2003, reflecting the impact of the larger capital base following the merger.