Life insurer Sun Life Financial reported that its underlying net income reached $1.05bn at the end of the first quarter of 2026. The figure, reported in a 7 May press release, was marginally higher than what was recorded a year earlier. The results came as growth in its protection businesses in Asia, Canada and US supported performance.
Reported net income, however, fell 50% year on year to $465m, while underlying earnings per share rose 4% to $1.89. Reported earnings per share declined 48% to $0.84.
Underlying return on equity stood at 18.6%, while reported return on equity was 8.2%.
Assets under management rose to $1.575tn, up by $23bn from the first quarter of 2025. The company also reported a Life Insurance Capital Adequacy Test (LICAT) ratio of 143%.
Sun Life also announced its intention to renew its normal course issuer bid to purchase up to 10m common shares. It also raised its common share dividend from $0.92 to $0.96 per share.
Sun Life President and CEO Kevin Strain said, “This quarter we delivered strong growth in our protection businesses led by Asia, Canada and U.S. Health and Risk Solutions.”
He added, “We also added further scale to our asset management platform, deploying over $2.4bn in capital for the buy-ups of BGO and Crescent Capital and announcing our intention to acquire Bell Partners, a leading US multifamily real estate investment manager and vertically integrated property management business.”
Mr Strain also said the company continued advancing its digital and AI strategy.
“At the same time, we continued momentum in advancing our digital and AI strategic objectives, using data, automation and intelligent solutions that simplify experiences, deepen engagement and improve outcomes for our clients around the world,” he said.