The Canadian Press

Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX:SLF) reported Thursday a net loss of $140 million or 25¢ per share for the July-September period, an improvement from a net loss of $396 million or 71¢ per share in the third quarter of 2008.

However, the Toronto-based life insurer’s third-quarter results didn’t appear to please investors, who pulled the company’s shares down 6%, or $1.84, to $28.27 on a volume of 4.5 million traded.

Canada’s third-largest insurance company said revenue more than tripled to $8.8 billion from $2.6 billion as it logged big increases at its operations in both Canada and the United States.

Analysts had estimated Sun Life would produce a smaller loss of 19¢ per share, according to Thomson Reuters, although such estimates typically exclude unusual items.

While favourable equity markets provided some earnings momentum, third-quarter earnings were hurt by reserve increases for downgrades on the company’s investment portfolio. The third-quarter loss was primarily driven by a previously announced accounting change, an update of actuarial assumptions that amounted to a $513-million charge against Sun Life’s bottom line.

“Although there are signs of stabilization in the economy, we remain cautious on the outlook,” CEO Donald Stewart said in a conference call.

“Consumer demand continues to be sluggish as households rebuild lost savings. Going forward, consumers are likely to be more prudent with higher savings rates and more appetite for risky assets.”

Sun Life also increased reserves related to downgrades on its investment portfolios by $194 million, although that was partially offset by $161 million in reserve releases as a result of favourable equity markets.

“While Sun Life’s shares have greatly underperformed relative to U.S. Lifecos and the broader markets, we are maintaining our underperform rating,” said James Bantis, an analyst at Credit Suisse in a note, while lowering the price target a dollar to $28.

The underperform rating was based on “weaker-than-expected operating results this quarter, lower than expected earnings and profitability guidance for 2010, and continued headwinds from credit related investments.”

In another development, the Sun Life board declared a quarterly shareholder dividend of 36¢ a share, unchanged from the previous quarter.

The company, with 14,500 employees, has operations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, China and Bermuda.

In breaking down the results of its operations, Sun Life said its Canadian division had net income of $219 million in the third quarter, up from $210 million in the second quarter and $157 million in the 2008 third quarter.

The U.S. unit reported a net loss of $413 million in the third quarter, compared with net profit of $364 million in the second quarter of 2009 and a net loss of $533 million in the 2008 third quarter.

The weakening of the Canadian dollar against the U.S. dollar increased the reported loss in the United States by C$22 million more year-over-year.