Manulife says prioritize organic growth, dividend hikes, buybacks for C$29 bn excess capital

Manulife Financial Corp will prioritize organic growth, dividend increases and buybacks for its C$29 billion ($22.9 billion) of excess capital over acquisitions, its chief executive said on Thursday. "We don't need M&A to deliver on our medium-term goals of 10% to 12% core earnings per share growth," Roy Gori said on an analyst call after Manulife reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates.

Manulife Financial Corp will prioritize organic growth, dividend increases and buybacks for its C$29 billion ($22.9 billion) of excess capital over acquisitions, its chief executive said on Thursday.

"We don't need M&A to deliver on our medium-term goals of 10% to 12% core earnings per share growth," Roy Gori said on an analyst call after Manulife reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat estimates. "When we do deploy capital, for any M&A, we will do that opportunistically... when we've got a high degree of confidence that we can execute against that agenda." ($1 = 1.2666 Canadian dollars) (Reporting By Nichola Saminather)