May 2010 Financial News

$238.6m in half-year profits for Scotia

May 28, 2010

Scotiabank and its subsidiaries have recorded profits after tax of $238.6 million up to its half-year, ended April 30, 2010.

This represented a 5.06 per cent increase over the same period in 2009, the bank said in a statement yesterday.

Earnings per share increased from $1.28 to $1.35, which translated into shareholders being rewarded dividends of 25 cents per share for the quarter, the bank said.

Scotiabank’s market price closed the period at $34.50 versus $28 in 2009, another indication of strong investor confidence in the bank’s performance, it said.

Revenue improved by $65.3 million or 12.1 per cent for the first half of fiscal 2010, with earnings of $602.4 million in total revenues versus $537.1 million in the comparable period for 2009.

’This was commendable, given the current economic climate,’ the bank said.

Net loans to customers declined by $252.7 million or 2.38 per cent as credit demand continued to be sluggish, the bank said.

’This shifted the bank’s loan portfolio down to $10.4 billion. Economic statistics for the market published by the Central Bank confirm this as both commercial bank credit to business and consumer credit have contracted in the year-over-year comparative by 8.6 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively to January 2010. Hence poor market demand, together with monthly pay-offs on existing loan balances, has contributed to the decline in this category and the overall decline in the bank’s balance sheet as loans are the bank’s largest asset,’ Scotiabank said.


Source:
Trinidad Express
Friday May 28th 2010

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/nart?id=161681436&weba=NWSBusiness