The recent business headlines about Sun Life, the Canadian insurer that purchased DentaQuest earlier this year, and its Q2 financial results are quite bipolar - either dismal or glowing.
Good Q2 or not for DentaQuest purchaser
Several publications spotlight the company's significant drop in earnings from Q2 last year which is partially attributed to its acquisition of DentaQuest. While others such as Reuters are over the moon for the company because its Q2 profits are up due to its Canadian operations and its share price went up after the strategically timed announcement of the sale of the company's UK operations right after the release of its Q2 results.
Baystreet's lede -"Sun Life Financial (SLF) earned $785 million in the second quarter, a 13% decline from a year earlier due mainly to the insurance company’s acquisition of DentaQuest, the second biggest dental benefits provider in America. Sun Life said that it purchased DentaQuest for $2.48 billion U.S. as part of its strategy to grow its business in America where it now has more than 50 million customers."
Reuters' lede - "TORONTO, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO), Canada's second-biggest life insurer, on Wednesday comfortably beat analysts' estimates for second-quarter core profit, which rose slightly from a year earlier as higher earnings in Canada helped offset a decline in profits from its wealth management unit."
Problematic
DentaQuest has been problematic for Medicaid providers. Now, it's problematic for its purchaser.