Empire Life reports first quarter results
Q1 2026 highlights (compared to Q1 2025)
- Common shareholders’ net income of $6 million (compared to net income of $70 million)
- Earnings per share (basic and diluted) of $6.05 (compared to $71.11)
KINGSTON, ON, May 5, 2026 /CNW/ – The Empire Life Insurance Company (Empire Life) reported Common shareholders’ net income of $6 million in the first quarter of 2026, a decrease of $64 million compared to the first quarter of 2025. The year-over-year decline was primarily driven by less favourable market-related impacts in the current quarter relative to the same period in the prior year.
“Despite market volatility and global upheaval, our disciplined strategy has successfully mitigated these external pressures producing healthy returns for our shareholders including an additional dividend,” says Mark Sylvia, President and CEO. ” Furthermore, our Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio remains robust, underscoring our strong capital position.”
Financial highlights
|
First Quarter |
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|
(in millions of dollars except per share amounts) |
2026 |
2025 |
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|
Common shareholders’ net income (loss) |
$ |
6 |
$ |
70 |
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|
Earnings per share – basic and diluted |
$ |
6.05 |
$ |
71.11 |
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|
Mar 31 |
Dec 31 |
Sep 30 |
Jun 30 |
Mar 31 |
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|
Other Financial Highlights |
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|
Return on common shareholders’ equity(1) |
7.8 % |
11.5 % |
12.3 % |
17.6 % |
18.1 % |
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|
LICAT total ratio |
150 % |
153 % |
145 % |
142 % |
140 % |
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|
(1) See Non-IFRS Measures section. |
The following table provides a summary of Empire Life results for the three months ended March 31, 2026 and 2025.
|
For the three months ended |
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|
(in millions of dollars) |
March 31, 2026 |
March 31, 2025 |
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|
Insurance service result |
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|
Insurance revenue |
$ |
395 |
$ |
373 |
|
Insurance service expenses |
(352) |
(304) |
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|
Insurance service result |
43 |
69 |
||
|
Net recovery (expense) from reinsurance contracts held |
(8) |
(19) |
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|
Net insurance service result |
35 |
50 |
||
|
Investment and insurance finance result |
||||
|
Investment income (loss), excluding segregated fund account balances |
||||
|
Investment income |
11 |
165 |
||
|
Change in investment contracts |
(2) |
(7) |
||
|
Net investment result, excluding segregated fund account balances |
9 |
158 |
||
|
Insurance finance income (expense), excluding segregated fund account balances |
||||
|
Insurance contracts |
— |
(78) |
||
|
Reinsurance contracts held |
3 |
— |
||
|
Net insurance finance income (expense), excluding segregated fund account balances |
3 |
(78) |
||
|
Segregated fund account balances net investment and insurance finance result |
||||
|
Investment income (loss) on investments for segregated fund account balances |
147 |
48 |
||
|
Insurance finance income (expenses) segregated fund account balances |
(147) |
(48) |
||
|
Segregated fund account balances net investment and insurance finance result |
— |
— |
||
|
Net investment and insurance finance result |
12 |
80 |
||
|
Other income and expenses |
||||
|
Fee and other income |
17 |
8 |
||
|
Non-insurance expenses |
(49) |
(36) |
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|
Interest expenses |
(4) |
(4) |
||
|
Total other income and expenses |
(36) |
(32) |
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|
Net income (loss) before taxes |
11 |
98 |
||
|
Income taxes |
— |
(24) |
||
|
Net income (loss) after taxes |
11 |
74 |
||
|
Less: net income (loss) attributable to the participating account |
(2) |
1 |
||
|
Less: net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests |
— |
— |
||
|
Shareholders’ net income (loss) |
13 |
73 |
||
|
Less: preferred share dividends declared and distributions on other equity instruments |
7 |
3 |
||
|
Common shareholders’ net income (loss) |
$ |
6 |
$ |
70 |
- The drivers of our reported Common shareholders’ net income are Net insurance service result, Net investment and insurance finance result, and Total other income (expense). Below is a summary of the movements in these balances during the quarter.
- The Net insurance service result was $35 million, a decrease of $15 million in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2025. This decrease was primarily attributable to unfavourable mortality experience in the Individual Insurance segment, as well as adverse life and LTD claims experience in the Group Solutions segment.
- The Net investment and insurance finance result was $12 million, a decrease of $68 million in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period in 2025. This variance was driven by the non-recurrence of favourable impacts from interest rate movements, as well as a shift from favourable to unfavourable impacts from non-fixed income asset performance.
- Total other expenses were $36 million in the first quarter compared to $32 million in the same period in 2025. The $4 million increase primarily reflects strategic investments in technological infrastructure and costs associated with the launch of new product offerings.
The Company’s Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test Total ratio was 150% at March 31, 2026, well above the requirements set by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada as well as Empire Life’s internal targets.
Non-IFRS measures
Empire Life uses non-IFRS measures including return on common shareholders’ equity, assets under management, annualized premium sales, gross and net sales for segregated funds and fixed annuities to provide investors with supplemental measures of its operating performance and to highlight trends in its core business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on financial measures as defined in IFRS Accounting Standards. Empire Life also believes that securities analysts, investors and other interested parties frequently use non-IFRS measures in the evaluation of issuers. Empire Life’s management also uses non-IFRS measures to facilitate operating performance comparisons from period to period, to prepare annual operating budgets and to determine components of management compensation. Empire Life believes that these measures provide information useful to its shareholders and policyholders in evaluating the Company’s underlying financial results. Further information on these non-IFRS measures can be found in Empire Life’s latest Management’s Discussion & Analysis (MD&A), filed on Empire Life’s profile available at www.sedarplus.ca.
Additional information
All amounts are in Canadian dollars and are based on the consolidated financial results of Empire Life for the period ended March 31, 2026. Additional information about Empire Life can be found in Empire Life’s latest MD&A and Annual Information Form. These documents are filed on Empire Life’s profile available at www.sedarplus.ca.
About Empire Life
Established in 1923 and a subsidiary of E-L Financial Corporation Limited, Empire Life provides individual and group life and health insurance, investment and retirement products. The Company’s mission is to provide expertise and intelligent solutions to help Canadians navigate life with confidence. As of March 31, 2026,
Empire Life had total assets under management of $20.8 billion. Follow us on social media @EmpireLife or visit www.empire.ca for more information.
SOURCE The Empire Life Insurance Company
