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This release was distributed to members of the Financial Press Club and other press in Japan, in Japanese only. The following translation is provided for information only. Announcement of Financial Results for FY2002 Japan - Manulife Life Insurance Company (“Manulife Japan” or the “Company”)(President: Trevor Matthews) announces its financial results for FY2002. Due to the prolonged slump in both the economy and the stock market, the business environment in FY2002 continued to be difficult. However, Manulife Japan has worked to maintain its solid financial base, and, as a newly established company in Japan, has continued to make a number of investments to strengthen its business operations and achieve long-term growth. As a result of these ongoing investments in the business, Manulife Japan reported a base loss of 13.3 billion yen in FY2002. The Company also reported an ordinary loss of 27.0 billion yen in this fiscal year. One of the primary reasons for the ordinary loss was the large valuation loss on domestic stockholdings, which were impaired by the deteriorating equity market conditions. The ordinary loss was also impacted by the amortization expense of goodwill created at the time Manulife Japan commenced life insurance operations, and the amortization expense of the VICA asset created when policies were acquired from Daihyaku Mutual Life (DHY) in FY2001. The amortization of goodwill was completed in FY2002 as scheduled. Efforts to strengthen Manulife Japan’s business base have begun to yield results. Surrenders and lapses decreased in FY2002 compared to FY2001, and benefit payments dropped significantly to 209.3 billion yen in FY2002 from 497.0 billion yen in FY2001. Premium revenue increased to 143.9 billion yen in FY2002 from 141.1 billion yen in FY2001. Given the challenging economic and financial market environment, new business (measured by face amount) showed a decrease in FY2002 compared to FY2001. The amount of in force business also declined over the same period, primarily due to the expected continued run-off of the acquired Daihyaku block of business. Manulife Japan continued to improve business operations on many fronts. In FY2002, the Company launched enhancements to its innovative Universal Life insurance product "ManuFlex" and to its leading Variable Annuity product "ManuSolution". Manulife Japan successfully expanded its sales of ManuSolution, adding several banks as a new sales channel starting in October 2002. The Company also prepared for the launch of a new variable annuity product “ManuHundred GW” for sale exclusively through Nikko Cordial Securities beginning April 1, 2003. Manulife Japan also commenced several projects to revitalize and improve its sales organization and, as a result, the number of new recruits in the latter half of FY2002 increased over the first half of FY2002 and was 46% higher than the same period in the FY2001. The Company maintained both its sound financial base and high solvency margin ratio (770.4% at the end of FY2002). Manulife Japan enjoys a credit rating of AA+ from Standard & Poor's, indicating the Company's very strong financial standing as a life insurance company. Manulife Japan, a member company of the Manulife Financial Group headquartered in Canada, holds a top-class“AA+” credit rating from one of the world’s most prestigious credit rating agencies, Standard and Poor’s Co. (as of April 2003). Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group operating in 15 countries and territories worldwide. Through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners, Manulife Financial offers clients a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services. Funds under management by Manulife Financial were Cdn$141.6 billion (approx. 11,558 billion yen) as of March 31, 2003. Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '0945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com. For more information, please contact below. Minoru Shimizu Manulife Japan Phone: 0424-42-7076 |
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