Sun Life Financial third-quarter profit increases 10 per cent to $750 million

TORONTO – Sun Life Financial Inc. says its net profit increased 10 per cent in the third quarter as its asset management business increased 25 per cent from a year earlier.

The Toronto-based insurer says that equated to $1.28 per share, up from $1.15 per share or $681 million in the third quarter of 2019.

Underlying net income for the three months ended Sept. 30 was $842 million or $1.44 per share, compared with $809 million or $1.37 per share in the prior year.

SunLife was expected to report $1.28 per share in adjusted profits, according to the financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

Insurance sales were down $4 million to $681 million while wealth sales increased to $52.7 billion, up from $41.2 billion.

Its assets under management reached nearly $1.2 trillion, up from $1.06 trillion a year ago.

“So far this year we have delivered more than $140 million of claims payments to the families of clients who have succumbed to COVID-19, and paid millions in additional pandemic related health claims,” stated CEO Dean Connor.

This report by The Canadian Press was first publishedNov. 4, 2020.

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