Winnipeg-based insurance giant’s profits hit by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria
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Great-West Lifeco today announced net earnings attributable to common shareholders of $581 million or $0.587 per common share for the third quarter of 2017 compared to $674 million or $0.682 per common share for the same quarter last year.
Net earnings for the third quarter of 2017 included property catastrophe reinsurance losses of $175 million after-tax relating to estimated claims resulting from the impact of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria which reduced earnings per common share by $0.177. Excluding this item, earnings were $756 million, up $82 million from a year ago, primarily due to higher fee income and lower expenses reflecting the impact of ongoing expense management initiatives.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, excluding the impact of restructuring costs of $156 million year to-date, adjusted net earnings were $1,913 million or $1.934 per common share compared to $1,987 million or $2.004 per common share for the same period last year.
“The third quarter saw solid operating performances across all of our businesses notwithstanding the impact of reinsurance losses on our results”, said Paul Mahon, president and CEO, Great-West Lifeco. “We have had some early gains from our Canadian business transformation, the Empower Retirement business in the US is showing healthy momentum post-integration and our strong capital position allows us to continue to invest in future growth.”
Consolidated assets under administration at September 30, 2017 were approximately $1.3 trillion, an increase of $46.1 billion from December 31, 2016.
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