OTTAWA: National Bank of Canada, the first of the country’s lenders to report second-quarter results, said profit rose 12 per cent on gains from selling shares in Fiera Capital Corp. and higher capital markets earnings. The firm increased its dividend 4 per cent.
Net income for the fiscal period ended April 30 climbed to $404 million, or $1.13 a share, from $362 million, or $1.01, a year earlier, the Montreal-based lender said Wednesday in a statement. Profit excluding some items was $1.15 a share, beating the $1.12 average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
“Results once again underlined the strength of our franchise with strong volume growth in personal and commercial loans and deposits, higher wealth management revenues and good overall performance from our financial markets activities,” Chief Executive Officer Louis Vachon, 52, said in the statement.
National Bank raised its quarterly dividend to 52 cents from 50 cents. Bank of Montreal, Canada’s fourth-largest lender by assets, also reports results Wednesday.
Earnings from personal and commercial banking were $166 million, up 5.7 per cent from a year earlier. National Bank’s capital-markets unit had net income of $160 million, up from $128 million. Wealth-management earnings rose 49 per cent to $103 million, helped by a gain from selling a stake in Fiera Capital.
