Great-West Lifeco profit down 21% in latest quarter

Great-West Lifeco Inc. says its third-quarter profit dropped as a result of losses arising from Hurricane Ian and increased market volatility.

For the quarter ended Sept. 30, net earnings of $688 million and base earnings of $688 million were down from $872 million and $870 million, respectively, or about 21%, a year earlier.

The earnings included a net loss provision of $128 million after tax for estimated claims resulting from the impact of Hurricane Ian, the Winnipeg-based insurer said.

In a release, Paul Mahon, president and CEO of Great-West Lifeco, said the insurer “continued to perform strongly against a backdrop of market volatility and elevated inflation, supported by … diversification and operational discipline.”

Base earnings per share were $0.74, compared to $0.93 a year ago, reflecting the Hurricane Ian provision, reduced net fee income in wealth management and negative currency movement impacts, the insurer said.

Net earnings per share of $0.74, down from $0.94 a year ago, also reflected the Hurricane Ian provision as well as higher restructuring and transaction costs related to the Prudential and MassMutual acquisitions in the U.S. segment.

In the insurer’s Canada segment, base earnings in the quarter were $283 million, down 9% year over year, reflecting lower asset-based fee income, less favourable long-term disability experience in its group customer business and less favourable mortality and morbidity experience in the individual customer business, the insurer said.

Net earnings in the Canada segment were $160 million, down from $305 million the previous year, primarily due to the impact of actuarial changes and partially offset by updated mortality assumptions.

Individual insurance sales in Canada were flat year over year at $93 million, while individual wealth sales were down 17%, at about $2 billion, reflecting market impacts.

Group insurance and group wealth were $116 million (up 15%) and $890 million (up 2%) respectively.

In Canada, the insurer “remains focused on the continued modernization of legacy technology platforms to improve both advisor and customer experience,” the insurer said in the release.

Assets under administration were $2.4 trillion on Sept. 30, an increase of 4% since Dec. 31, 2021.

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