(Dec 2): Bank of Nova Scotia topped estimates on better-than-expected results at its capital-markets and wealth-management divisions even as it booked a restructuring charge to cut expenses.
The Toronto-based lender earned C$1.93 per share on an adjusted basis in its fiscal fourth quarter, according to a statement on Tuesday, more than analysts’ C$1.84 average estimate.
Net income at the company’s global banking and markets unit totalled C$519 million in the three months through October, better than the C$457 million average forecast of three analysts in a Bloomberg survey. In the global wealth-management division, net income came in at C$450 million, compared with estimates of C$440 million.
“This quarter all our business lines reported year-over-year earnings growth with particular strength in global wealth management and global banking and markets and improving results in Canadian banking,” Chief executive officer Scott Thomson said in the statement.
Scotiabank recorded C$373 million in costs “primarily related to workforce reductions”, according to an investor presentation on Tuesday.
Scotiabank is two years into a strategic overhaul under Thomson, and its international division has been tracking ahead of plans while earnings growth at home has been slower. In October, the bank told employees in the Canadian banking division that it was cutting jobs as part of an effort to boost long-term profitability.
See also: BOE lowers bank capital requirements to boost UK lending
Provisions for credit losses totalled C$1.11 billion for the quarter, more than the C$1.08 billion average forecast.
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