Sun Life posts lower profit, says 2015 on track

TORONTO (Reuters) - Sun Life Financial (Toronto:SLF.TO - News) reported a lower fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, but the Canadian insurer said it was on track to exceed its 2015 earnings target.

Sun Life reported net income of C$502 million ($398.10 million), or 81 Canadian cents a share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with a profit of C$550 million, or 90 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

The company said its reported net income from continuing operations was 81 Canadian cents per share, while its underlying net income on the same basis was 59 Canadian cents.

Chief Executive Dean Connor said in a statement the fourth quarter was "challenging" but that Sun Life was "on track to exceed our 2015 earnings objective."

The insurer said assets under management rose 15 percent from a year earlier to end 2014 at a record C$734.4 billion.

($1 = 1.2610 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Jeffrey Hodgson; Editing by Grant McCool and Chris Reese)