Power Financial profit jumps despite strong C$

TORONTO, May 8 (Reuters) - Power Financial Corp (PWF.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday first-quarter earnings rose more than 20 percent, even as the strong Canadian dollar ate into results.

The financial services company, which owns Canada's second biggest life insurer and its largest independent mutual fund company, reported net income of C$586 million ($580.2 million), or 80 Canadian cents a diluted share, for the three months ended March 31.

That compared with C$482 million, or 65 Canadian cents a share, in the same 2007 period.

($1=$1.01 Canadian) (Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Peter Galloway)