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BMO Financial Group Reports Second Quarter Profit of $1.87 Billion, Increases Quarterly Dividend
BMO Financial Group increased its dividend as it reported a profit of $1.87 billion in the latest quarter, up from $1.03 billion a year ago.
The bank said Wednesday it will now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.55 per share, an increase of four cents from $1.51 per share.
The shareholder payout increase comes as BMO says its profit was $2.36 per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30, up from $1.26 per diluted share a year ago.
Revenue totaled $7.97 billion, up from $7.79 billion in the same quarter last year.
BMO’s provision for credit losses for the quarter totaled $705 million, down from $1.02 billion a year ago, when it took on an initial provision of $705 million related to Bank of the West’s loan portfolio, which acquired last year.
On an adjusted basis, BMO says it earned $2.59 per diluted share, down from adjusted earnings of $2.89 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
“This quarter, we achieved strong pre-provision and pre-tax earnings growth and positive operating leverage, driven by continued momentum in the Canadian personal and commercial banking sector and strengthening performance in our capital markets and wealth businesses,” said BMO Chief Executive Darryl White in a statement.
“We met our commitments with low expenses compared to last year and last quarter.”
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of $2.77 per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
BMO’s Canadian personal and commercial banking businesses earned $872 million in the quarter, up from $819 million in the same quarter last year, while the bank’s U.S. personal and commercial banking operations earned $543 million, down from the U.S. $731 million.
The bank’s wealth management business had revenues of $320 million, up from $240 million the previous year. BMO’s capital markets business had revenues of $459 million, up from $370 million.
BMO’s corporate services segment reported a loss of $328 million in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $1.13 billion in the same quarter last year.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:BMO)