Sun Life's quarterly profit rises on strong North America performance

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Canada's Sun Life Financial SLF.TO reported a jump in fourth-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by strong growth in its U.S. and Canada divisions.

Underlying net income from the company's Canada operations rose 13.9% while the U.S. unit saw a more than 30% jump.

"We saw robust earnings and sales in Asia, solid wealth sales in Canada, and meaningful progress at SLC Management, which exceeded its Investor Day earnings target," CEO Kevin Strain said in a statement.

The results contrast with those of larger peer, Manulife Financial MFC.TO, which reported a fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday due to weakness in its North American business.

The country's second-largest life insurer posted a net income of C$722 million ($532 million), or $1.29 per share, for the three months ended December 31, compared to C$237 million, or 41 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Underlying earnings from Sun Life Financial's group health and protection businesses, which provide insurance policies to employer and government plan members, rose 15.8% to C$308 million.

Wealth and asset management unit also contributed, with underlying earnings rising nearly 9.9% to C$534 million

($1 = 1.3569 Canadian dollars)