Bank of Nova Scotia, a Canadian bank, has announced a decline in profit for its fiscal third quarter. The bank reported a net income of 2.19 billion Canadian dollars ($1.61 billion), or C$1.72 a share, compared with C$2.54 billion, or C$2.09 a share, in the same period last year.
Adjusted earnings also fell to C$1.73 a share, down from C$2.10 a share, slightly below analyst expectations of C$1.74 a share. The bank’s revenue dropped to C$8.09 billion from C$7.8 billion, missing analyst expectations of C$8.16 billion.
The provision for credit losses, which covers bad or uncollected debt, nearly doubled to C$819 million from C$412 million. This increase was primarily due to an unfavorable macroeconomic outlook and challenging market conditions in Chile and Colombia caused by higher inflation, as well as the bank’s retail portfolio growth.
Among its business segments, Global banking and markets was the only one to post net income growth, rising 15% to C$434 million. Canadian banking, the bank’s largest segment, experienced the biggest decline in net income, falling to C$1.06 billion from C$1.21 billion.
The bank’s common equity tier 1 capital ratio, which measures its core capital compared to riskier assets like loans and mortgages, increased to 12.7% from 11.4% in the previous year.
It is clear that Bank of Nova Scotia faced challenges in its fiscal third quarter, with provisions for credit losses and weaker performance in its core businesses impacting its results. However, it remains focused on managing these challenges and aiming for continued growth in the future.