Canada's Manulife posts lower quarterly profit on North America weakness

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Manulife Financial MFC.TO reported a lower fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, hurt by weakness in its Canada and U.S. units.

Profit attributed to shareholders in Manulife's Canada and U.S. units dropped 43% and 21%, respectively.

The results contrast with those from smaller peer Sun Life Financial SLF.TO, which reported a jump in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by strength in its North America businesses.

The company's wealth and asset management business helped cushion the drop, with profit jumping 18% to C$452 million ($333 million) in the second quarter.

Net income attributable to shareholders was C$1.50 billion, or 83 Canadian cents per share, in the three months ended December 31, compared with C$1.64 billion, or 88 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

($1 = 1.3571 Canadian dollars)