(Reuters) -Canada's Sun Life Financial reported a rise in third-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by strong growth in its Asia unit.

The Toronto-based company reported an underlying net income of C$1.05 billion, or C$1.86 per share, in the three months ended September 30, compared with C$1.02 billion, or C$1.76 per share, in the year-ago period.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)