National Bank Announces Lower Fourth Quarter Earnings From A Year Ago, Increases Quarterly Dividend

MONTREAL — National Bank of Canada has increased its dividend after announcing that its fourth-quarter profits fell 4% from a year ago.

The Montreal bank says it will increase its quarterly payment to shareholders by five cents to 97 cents per share.

The payout increase came as National Bank said it earned $738 million or $2.08 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from $769 million or $2.17. per diluted share in the same quarter last year. Revenue totaled $2.33 billion, down from $2.21 billion a year earlier.

Provisions for credit losses totaled $87 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a recovery of $41 million a year ago.

National Bank says it earned $2.08 per diluted share on an adjusted basis in its most recent quarter, down from adjusted earnings of $2.19 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of $2.24 a share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on November 30, 2022.

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The Canadian Press

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