MONTREAL - National Bank of Canada (
TSX: NA,
Forum) beat expectations as its third-quarter profit grew three per cent to $453 million.
The Montreal-based bank - the sixth-largest in Canada - earned $1.28 per diluted share, up from $1.24 per share or $441 million a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, National said Wednesday it earned a record $444 million or $1.25 per share, up from $427 million or $1.20 per share in the third quarter of 2014. Revenues were up three per cent to $1.51 billion.
The bank was expected to earn $1.19 per share in adjusted profits on $1.48 billion of revenues according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
Adjusted profits attributable to shareholders was $427 million compared to $409 million in the prior year.
“These results, combined with the strength of our credit portfolio and the investments we are making to better serve customers, give us confidence for the coming quarters in spite of a slowdown in the global economic environment,” CEO Louis Vachon said in a news release.
National's (TSX:NA) personal and commercial banking operations had $197 million in net income, up six per cent from last year - with growth coming from mortgages and consumer and commercial loans.
Its financial markets arm generated $202 million in net income, an eight per cent increase from last year, due to higher trading activity and service revenue.
National Bank's wealth management operations had $78 million of net income, up 20 per cent from last year. Adjusted profits grew 11 per cent to $84 million.
The bank maintained its dividend of 52 cents per share that was raised in the prior quarter.
Total assets under administration and management grew six per cent to $365.3 billion.
Analyst John Aiken of Barclays Capital said the results showed industry-leading growth in retail banking operations and “impressive resiliency” of its capital markets platform.
He said investors have been historically unwilling to give National full credit for its earnings.
“(But) we believe that the performance in the quarter merits outperformance against its peers today,” he wrote in a report.
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