Laurentian Bank reports profits up for the quarter but down for the year

MONTREAL – Laurentian Bank of Canada reported fourth-quarter profits that were up from a year ago, while it reported a loss for 2024 as a whole.
The Montreal-based bank said Friday its quarterly profits amounted to $40.7 million, up from $30.6 million a year ago.
For the fiscal year, it reported a loss of $5.5 million, compared with a net income of $181 million the year before, as it took charges related to its turnaround efforts.
Impairment charges for the year totalled $228.4 million, including a $155.9 million writedown on the value of its personal and commercial banking segment, and $72.5 million in restructuring charges.
In the fourth quarter, the bank reported $7.8 million in severance charges and a $5.7 million writedown in the value of its software and licences, plus impairments on its office space and leases.
The efforts are part of a turnaround that chief executive Éric Provost said in a statement was going well.
“Six months after presenting our strategic plan, I am pleased with the progress we’ve made.”
Profits in the fourth quarter amounted to 88 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from a profit of 67 cents per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $250.8 million, up from $247.4 million a year earlier.
The bank’s provision for credit losses for the quarter amounted to $10.4 million compared with $16.7 million a year ago.
On an adjusted basis, Laurentian says it earned 89 cents per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of 87 cents per share, according to data provided by LSEG Data & Analytics.
Scotiabank analyst Meny Grauman said the bank’s low provisions for credit loss were impressive, especially given its commercial-heavy loan book as businesses face pressure.
“It should highlight for investors the underlying quality of this bank’s commercial franchise at least from an underwriting perspective,” he said in a note.
Laurentian shares were up nine per cent in early trading Friday on the Toronto Stock Exchange while they were up around 4.6 per cent by late afternoon.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 6, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:LB)