Feb 13, 2023
Sun Life CEO: 'Mix of our business positions us very well'
, BNN Bloomberg
Our asset management platform is in a good spot, so we're focusing on execution: Sun Life CEO
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Sun Life Financial Inc.'s CEO said the company stands to benefit from new growth trends after exceeding expectations in its fourth quarter.
“We came very close to reaching $1-billion in underlying income for the first time, and we saw strength across our Canada, U.S. and Asia businesses,” Kevin Strain, president and chief executive officer of Sun Life, told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Monday.
Driving growth was Sun Life's protection and health business, Strain explained. He also noted the opportunities in raising premiums amid a changing labour market.
"The mix of our business positions us very well," he added.
While the company beat Q4 analyst expectations, it did report weaker results compared to this time last year, as net income fell 12 per cent to $951 million in the quarter. The pressure came in part due to the cost of its DentaQuest acquisition in the U.S.
Strain noted that Sun Life now stands to benefit from China’s reopening and deploying the systems they put in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What emerging from COVID does is allows for that distribution to start to happen, those relationships again to be rekindled, that movement to happen,” he said.
In the meantime, the company used COVID uncertainties to build out new digital tools for its clients.
Strain expressed his confidence in Sun Life's business trajectory in noting that the company deployed a lot of capital in the past few years and is now reaping those rewards.
“We’ve really done a good job of investing in scaling and capabilities. A lot of this year will be about execution," he said.
“We came very close to reaching $1-billion in underlying income for the first time, and we saw strength across our Canada, U.S. and Asia businesses,” Kevin Strain, president and chief executive officer of Sun Life, told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Monday.
Driving growth was Sun Life's protection and health business, Strain explained. He also noted the opportunities in raising premiums amid a changing labour market.
"The mix of our business positions us very well," he added.
While the company beat Q4 analyst expectations, it did report weaker results compared to this time last year, as net income fell 12 per cent to $951 million in the quarter. The pressure came in part due to the cost of its DentaQuest acquisition in the U.S.
Strain noted that Sun Life now stands to benefit from China’s reopening and deploying the systems they put in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What emerging from COVID does is allows for that distribution to start to happen, those relationships again to be rekindled, that movement to happen,” he said.
In the meantime, the company used COVID uncertainties to build out new digital tools for its clients.
Strain expressed his confidence in Sun Life's business trajectory in noting that the company deployed a lot of capital in the past few years and is now reaping those rewards.
“We’ve really done a good job of investing in scaling and capabilities. A lot of this year will be about execution," he said.
