Manulife Hong Kong reports improved Q1 earnings

This is despite APE sales dropping by 23%.

Manulife Hong Kong still reported improved core earnings in the first quarter despite Annual Premium Equivalent (APE) sales going down by 23%.

In Manulife’s financial report, core earnings increased by 1% to HK$1.71b ($220m) compared to earnings last year. The increase reflected in-force business growth, favourable new business product mix, and experience gains offset by lower new business volumes amidst the impact of COVID-19 containment measures in Hong Kong.

APE sales were down to HK$1.31b ($170m), down 23% the first quarter of 2021. Manulife blames the decrease in sales to tighter containment measures following an outbreak of COVID-19 during the quarter, and limitations on travel between Hong Kong and mainland China that continued to impact cross-border economic activities.

Meanwhile, new business value (NBV) went down 20% to HK$910m ($115.93m) in the first quarter of 2022 due to lower sales volumes, partially offset by a favourable new business product mix and higher sales of medical plans. NBV margin was 69.1% in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 3.0 percentage points compared with the prior-year quarter.

“Manulife Hong Kong has once again demonstrated its resilience, despite the fifth wave of COVID-19 which impacted the Hong Kong economy, the insurance industry, and hence our APE sales. We succeeded in expanding our agency force whilst growing core earnings and investing strongly in our operations and people. Notwithstanding the challenges created by COVID, our core earnings, NBV, and APE sales all exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2019,” said Damien Green, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau.

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