Manulife Financial (NYSE: MFC) reported Q4 EPS of $0.01, which does not compare to the analyst estimate of $0.39.

In the fourth quarter of 2016 ("4Q16") net income attributed to shareholders was $63 million, fully diluted earnings per common share was $0.01 and return on common shareholders' equity was 0.3%, compared with $246 million, $0.11 and 2.3%, respectively for the fourth quarter of 2015 ("4Q15"). The 4Q16 net income attributed to shareholders includes charges of $1,202 million due to the direct impact of markets. In 4Q16, MFC generated core earnings of $1,287 million, diluted core earnings per common share of $0.63 and core return on common shareholders' equity of 12.9%, compared with $859 million, $0.42, and 8.7%, respectively, for 4Q15.

Donald Guloien, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Manulife achieved particularly strong operating results, ending the year with $4 billion in core earnings, an increase of 17% from the prior year; and achieving the target we set back in 2012. While the overall impact of higher rates is highly positive over the long term for our Company, net income was negatively impacted by market movements in the fourth quarter. For the full year, net income was $2.9 billion, an increase of 34% over the prior year."

"On the basis of the strong operating results, and our outlook for growth going forward, the Board today approved an 11% increase to our dividend, marking our third consecutive year of increases," added Mr. Guloien.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Manulife Financial (MFC) click here.