Sun Life Financial (SLF) Q4 Earnings & Revenues Improve Y/Y
Sun Life Financial Inc.’s SLF fourth-quarter 2016 operating net income of $548 million (C$732 million) jumped 22.4% year over year.
The company continues to forge ahead with its digital and wealth initiatives in Canada, witness strong sales momentum in Asia, the scaling and integration of its U.S. operations, and strong long-term investment performance in asset management businesses.
In 2016, Sun Life witnessed strong revenue growth with insurance sales increasing 27% and wealth sales rising 14%.
Total premiums and deposits were $31.8 billion (C$42.4 billion), up nearly 28% year over year.
Adjusted revenues came in at $6 billion (C$8 billion), up 6.2% year over year. Higher premiums and fee income in SLF U.S. and SLF Asia drove the upside.
Segment Results
SLF Canada’s operating net income soared 95% year over year to $292 million (C$390 million).
SLF U.S. operating net income was $121 million, down 26% from the year-ago quarter.
SLF Asset Management reported operating net income of $101 million (C$135 million), up 3% year over year.
SLF Asia reported operating income of $44.2 million (C$59 million), down 19.2% year over year.
Financial Update
Global assets under management was $670 billion (C$903 billion), up 1.3% from the 2015-end level.
Sun Life Assurance's Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus Requirements (MCCSR) ratio was 226% as of Dec 31, 2016 compared with 240% as of Dec 31, 2015.
Sun Life Financial reported operating return on equity of 13% in 2016 as against 12.6% in 2015. Underlying ROE of 12.2% deteriorated from 12.8% in 2015.
Dividend Update
The board of directors of Sun Life Financial approved dividend of 42 cents per share. This will be paid on Mar 31, to shareholders on record as of Mar 3, 2017.
Zacks Rank
Sun Life carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
Sun Life Financial Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Sun Life Financial Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Sun Life Financial Inc. Quote
Performance of other Insurers
Among the other players from the same space that have reported their fourth-quarter earnings so far, the bottom line at Progressive Corp. PGR and The Travelers Companies Inc. TRV and RLI Corp. RLI beat their respective Zacks Consensus Estimate. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Just Released – Driverless Cars: Your Roadmap to Mega-Profits Today
In this latest Special Report, Zacks’ Aggressive Growth Strategist Brian Bolan explores a full-blown technological breakthrough in the making – autonomous cars. He also spotlights 8 stocks with tremendous gain potential to feed off this phenomenon. Click to see the stocks right now >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF): Free Stock Analysis Report
RLI Corp. (RLI): Free Stock Analysis Report
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV): Free Stock Analysis Report
Progressive Corporation (The) (PGR): Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
