TORONTO — Scotiabank raised its quarterly dividend as it reported a second-quarter profit of $2.16 billion, down from $2.75 billion in the same quarter last year.
The bank said Wednesday it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.06 per share, up from $1.03 per share.
The increased payment to shareholders came as the bank says it earned $1.69 per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30, down from a profit of $2.16 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $7.93 billion, down from $7.94 billion in the same quarter last year, while provisions for credit losses totalled $709 million, up from $219 million a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, Scotiabank says it earned $1.70 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $2.18 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $1.78 per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
"I am pleased with the bank's stable operational performance in the quarter and encouraged that our strong capital and liquidity profile positioned us well to manage through the current environment of heightened macroeconomic uncertainty," Scotiabank chief executive Scott Thomson said in a statement.
Scotiabank said its Canadian banking division earned $1.06 billion in net income attributable to equity holders in its second quarter, down from $1.18 billion in the same quarter last year, while its international banking operations earned net income attributable to equity holders of $642 million, up from $605 million a year earlier.
The bank said its global wealth management division earned $353 million in net income attributable to equity holders, compared with $407 million in the same quarter last year.
Scotiabank's global banking and markets group earned $401 million, down from $488 million a year earlier.
In its other category, Scotiabank reported a loss of $323 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $10 million in the same quarter last year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2023.
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