TORONTO, Jan. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Sun Life Financial
Inc. (TSX:SLF) (NYSE:SLF) (Sun Life Financial) today announced the
estimated impact of U.S. corporate tax reform on the Company. Under
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which took effect January 1, 2018, the U.S. corporate tax rate was
reduced to 21% from the previous rate of 35%. As a result of this
legislation, the Company expects the tax expense included in its
2018 underlying net income to decrease by approximately
$130 million.
Sun Life Financial also expects to take a charge to reported net
income of approximately $200 million
related to U.S. tax reform when the Company reports its fourth
quarter results on February 14,
2018. The expected charge reflects the net impact of U.S.
corporate tax reform on actuarial liabilities, deferred tax assets
and deferred tax liabilities and a one-time tax charge on deemed
repatriation of foreign earnings.
Cautionary Language Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
From time to time, the Company makes written or
oral forward-looking statements, including in this document.
All such statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour"
provisions of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The
forward-looking statements in this document relate to: (i) the
expected impact of U.S. corporate tax reform on the Company's tax
expense included in its 2018 underlying net income, and (ii) the
expected charge to reported net income related to U.S. tax reform
in the fourth quarter of 2017. These statements represent our
current expectations, estimates, and projections regarding future
events and are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are
not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and
uncertainties that are difficult to predict.
Important risk factors that could cause our assumptions and
estimates, and expectations and projections to be inaccurate and
our actual results or events to differ materially from those
expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained
in this document, include but are not limited to, the
interpretation of the U.S. tax reform legislation by tax
authorities, and the risk factors that are set out in SLF Inc.'s
2016 AIF under the heading Risk Factors and the factors detailed in
SLF Inc.'s other filings with Canadian and U.S. securities
regulators, which are available for review at www.sedar.com and
www.sec.gov, respectively, and include the factors summarized
below. The realization of our forward-looking statements,
essentially depends on our business performance which, in turn, is
subject to many risks. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from expectations include, but are not limited
to: credit risks -related to issuers of securities held in our
investment portfolio, debtors, structured securities, reinsurers,
counterparties, other financial institutions and other entities;
market risks -related to the performance of equity markets;
changes or volatility in interest rates or credit spreads or swap
spreads; real estate investments; and fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; insurance risks -related to
mortality, morbidity, longevity and policyholder behaviour; product
design and pricing; the impact of higher-than-expected future
expenses; and the availability, cost and effectiveness of
reinsurance; business and strategic risks -related to global
economic and political conditions; changes in distribution channels
or Client behaviour including risks relating to market conduct by
intermediaries and agents; the impact of competition; the design
and implementation of business strategies; changes in the legal or
regulatory environment, including capital requirements and tax
laws; tax matters, including estimates and judgments used in
calculating taxes; the performance of our investments and
investment portfolios managed for Clients such as segregated and
mutual funds; our international operations, including our joint
ventures; market conditions that affect our capital position or
ability to raise capital; downgrades in financial strength or
credit ratings; and the impact of mergers, acquisitions and
divestitures; operational risks -related to breaches or
failure of information system security and privacy, including
cyber-attacks; our ability to attract and retain employees; the
execution and integration of mergers, acquisitions and
divestitures; legal, regulatory compliance and market conduct,
including the impact of regulatory inquiries and investigations;
our information technology infrastructure; a failure of information
systems and Internet-enabled technology; dependence on third-party
relationships, including outsourcing arrangements; business
continuity; model errors; information management; the environment,
environmental laws and regulations and third-party policies; and
liquidity risks -the possibility that we will not be able to
fund all cash outflow commitments as they fall due.
The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or
revise its forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this document or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.
About Sun Life Financial
Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services
organization providing a diverse range of insurance, wealth and
asset management solutions to individuals and corporate Clients.
Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide,
including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2017, Sun Life Financial had total
assets under management of $934
billion. For more information please visit
www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
Media Relations Contact:
Simon
Townsend
Vice-President
Corporate Communications
T. 416-204-3810
simon.townsend@sunlife.com
Investor Relations Contact:
Greg Dilworth
Vice-President
Investor Relations
T. 416-979-6230
investor.relations@sunlife.com
SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.