TORONTO, Feb. 19, 2025 – Manulife Financial Corporation (Manulife or the Company) unveiled impressive financial results for the full year and fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024. The report highlights record core earnings, growth exceeding 30% across key business metrics, double-digit core earnings per share (EPS) growth for the year, and a 10% rise in the common share dividend.
Key highlights for 2024 and the fourth quarter (4Q24) are as follows:
- Core earnings reached $7.2 billion in 2024, representing an 8% increase on a constant exchange rate basis from 2023.
- Core earnings for 4Q24 were $1.9 billion, up 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q23).
- Net income attributed to shareholders was $5.4 billion in 2024, a $0.3 billion increase from 2023, and $1.6 billion in 4Q24, aligning with 4Q23.
- Core EPS was $3.87 in 2024, showing an 11% increase from 2023, and $1.03 in 4Q24, which is a 9% increase from 4Q23.
- Excluding the impact of Global Minimum Taxes (GMT), core EPS would have been $3.97 in 2024, a 14% increase from 2023, and $1.06 in 4Q24, reflecting a 13% increase from 4Q23.
- EPS was $2.84 in 2024, marking an 8% increase from 2023, and $0.88 in 4Q24, matching 4Q23.
- Core ROE was 16.4% in 2024 and 16.5% in 4Q24, while ROE was 12.0% in 2024 and 14.0% in 4Q24.
- Manulife entered an agreement with Reinsurance Group of America (RGA) to reinsure two blocks of legacy business, including a younger block of long-term care (LTC), representing the second LTC reinsurance transaction within a year.
- The LICAT ratio was 137% in 4Q24, on par with the prior quarter.
- Remittances totaled $7.0 billion in 2024, compared to $5.5 billion in 2023.
- The company purchased and canceled 4.6% of common shares outstanding, or over 82 million common shares, at a cost of $3.2 billion in 2024.
In addition, the company announced a 10% increase in the quarterly dividend per common share and a Normal Course Issuer Bid (NCIB) allowing the repurchase of up to 3% of outstanding common shares, expected to begin in late February 2025.
Roy Gori, Manulife’s President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “2024 was a banner year for Manulife on many fronts and we finished the year with very strong results. We delivered record insurance new business results for the full year, including 30%+ increases year-over-year across APE sales, new business CSM and new business value. Asia continued to lead with substantial top-line growth and a 27% increase in core earnings. Global WAM ended the year with over $13 billion of net inflows, a 220 basis point increase in core EBITDA margin and 30% core earnings growth.”
He added, “We continued to build on our momentum to deliver for shareholders and customers. We closed the largest LTC reinsurance transaction in the industry and announced a second LTC risk transfer deal within 12 months. We also made significant progress towards our digital, customer leadership ambition, achieving a record high Net Promoter Score and generating over $600 million of benefits from our initiatives globally in 2024. We have created a robust foundation for sustained growth. I am confident about the future of Manulife and the value that we will continue to generate for our shareholders.”
Colin Simpson, Manulife’s Chief Financial Officer, noted, “We continued to make progress against our targets announced at Investor Day. Our core ROE increased to 16.4% and core EPS grew 11%, despite the impact of Global Minimum Tax. Expense efficiency ratio improved further and ended at 44.8% for the full year. We remitted $7.0 billion in 2024, reflecting our strong cash generating capability across our global operations and benefiting from our capital optimization initiatives. We returned $6.1 billion of capital to shareholders, including buying back 4.6% of outstanding common shares. As announced today, the Board approved a 10% increase in the common share dividend, and we are launching a new NCIB program to repurchase up to 3% of our outstanding common shares.”
Manulife’s conference call and live webcast detailing the fourth quarter and full year 2024 results will take place on February 20, 2025, at 8:00 a.m. (ET).
