National Bank reports Q2 profit up from year ago, raises dividend

National Bank of Canada beat expectations as it reported its second-quarter net income grew to $893 million.

The Montreal-based bank said it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 92 cents per share, up five cents from 87 cents per share.

The increased payment to shareholders came as the bank said it earned $893 million or $2.55 per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30, up 13% compared with a profit of $801 million or $2.25 per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $2.44 billion, up from $2.24 billion.

National Bank said its total provisions for credit losses for the quarter amounted to $3 million compared with $5 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, National Bank said it earned $2.55 per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of $2.25 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $2.25 per share for the quarter, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

The bank’s wealth management arm earned $169 million in the quarter, up 3% from $164 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Revenue in the division was up 7% to $579 million, owing to growth in fee-based revenue driven mainly by the full-service brokerage, the bank said. Wealth management also benefited from interest rate hikes, with net interest income up 14% year over year.

Expenses in the division were up 10% from a year ago, which National Bank attributed to the shift from transaction- to fee-based revenue.

Assets under administration on April 30 totalled $627.7 billion, up 5% year over year but down 4% from the previous quarter. The decline was due largely to sinking financial markets, though net sales were also down from the previous quarter.

Assets under management in the division totalled $114.9 billion, up 9% from a year ago but down 3% from Jan. 31.

National Bank said its personal and commercial banking operations earned $313 million in the second quarter compared with $305 million in the same quarter last year, helped by growth in total revenue but tempered by higher provisions for credit losses.

National Bank’s financial markets business recorded $289 million in the quarter, up from $248 million in the same quarter last year as it benefited from higher total revenues and lower provisions for credit losses.

The bank’s U.S. specialty finance and international arm earned $152 million in the quarter, up from $129 million a year ago.

Staff, with files from The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is a national news agency headquartered in Toronto and founded in 1917.