Manulife Financial Corporation (MFC) has filed for a securities offering of $9.4 billion (C$10 billion) with the Canadian and U.S. regulators. In the latest instance, securities worth $3.8 billion (C$4 billion) were filed with the U.S. regulators.
Previous Debt Offering
Recently, Manulife Financial completed its offering of $871 million (C$900 million) in medium-term notes. The notes will bear an interest of 4.079% maturing on Aug 20, 2015. The notes were issued under its medium-term note program.
Manulife Financial intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including investments in subsidiaries.
Other Strategic Initiatives
On the other hand, Manulife Financial remains focused on introducing new products and restructuring its fund portfolios. John Hancock Financial, a unit of Manulife Financial, introduced two Lifecycle portfolios, enabling its investors to have a choice in asset allocation options to match their 401(k) needs.
Manulife Mutual Funds, a division of Manulife Asset Management Limited, a unit of Manulife Financial, decided to merge and close several funds in October/November 2010, in an effort to streamline and augment its fund offering. Manulife Mutual Funds also added six new funds − three new income funds, two new Canadian equity funds and one new Canadian balanced fund − to its mutual funds portfolio.
Quarterly Results
Manulife Financial incurred a loss of $2.3 billion (C$2.4 billion) in the second quarter, largely driven by market related losses, reversing a profit of $1.7 billion (C$1.8 billion) it posted in the prior year quarter.
The company ended the second quarter of 2010 with $3.2 billion (C$3.3 billion) in debt balance, lower than the year-ago level of $4.2 billion (C$4.3 billion).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter 2010 is a loss of 22 cents per share. For full years 2010 and 2011, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are pegged at a loss of 45 cents and a profit of $1.77 per share, respectively.
Given weak equity market conditions and a lower interest rate environment, we maintain our long-term Neutral recommendation on Manulife Financial. The quantitative Zacks #4 Rank (Sell) for the company indicates downward pressure on the shares over the near term.
Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Manulife Financial operates as a life insurance company. The company also offers reinsurance services. The company functions as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.
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