Scotiabank reports Q1 profit down, provisions for credit losses up from a year ago

TORONTO –

Scotiabank reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its provisions for credit losses climbed higher.

The bank said Tuesday it earned $1.77 billion or $1.36 per diluted share for the quarter ended Jan. 31, down from a profit of $2.74 billion or $2.14 per diluted share in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue totalled $7.98 billion, down from $8.05 billion.

Provisions for credit losses amounted to $638 million, up from a provision of $222 million in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Scotiabank says it earned $1.85 per diluted share compared with an adjusted profit of $2.15 per diluted share a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $2.03 per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

“The bank’s performance in the first quarter of 2023 reflects both the merits of a diversified platform, and also the continued relative pressure on our profitability given our funding profile,” Scotiabank CEO Scott Thomson said in a statement.

Scotiabank said its Canadian banking earned net income attributable to equity holders of $1.09 billion, up from $1.20 billion in the same quarter last year, while its international banking operations earned net income attributable to equity holders of $654 million compared with $545 million a year ago.

Scotiabank said its global wealth management division earned net income attributable to equity holders of $385 million, down from $412 million in the same quarter last year.

The bank’s global banking and markets group earned net income attributable to equity holders of $519 million, down from $561 million a year ago.

In its other category, Scotiabank reported a loss attributable to equity holders of $913 million, including an income tax charge of $579 million related to the Canada Recovery Dividend, compared with a loss of $67 million a year earlier.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2023.