Royal Bank of Canada's Profit Increases

Royal Bank of Canada, one of Canada's largest lenders by assets, said revenue and profit rose in its third quarter.

Toronto-based RBC said results were driven by earnings increases in its wealth management, capital markets and personal & commercial banking divisions. They were partially offset by declines in insurance and in the investor & treasury services segments.

In all for the quarter, RBC's net profit rose to 2.89 billion Canadian dollars ($2.24 billion), or C$1.88 a share, compared with net income of C$2.45 billion, or C$1.66 a share, in the same quarter last year.

Earlier this year, RBC sold its home and auto-insurance operations to the Canadian arm of U.K. insurance provider Aviva PLC for about C$582 million.

When excluding the gains for that sale and other items, RBC said adjusted earnings per share were C$1.72 a share in the latest quarter.

Revenue rose 16.2% to C$10.26 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected C$1.71 in adjusted earnings per share on revenue of C$9.35 billion.

The bank also increased its quarterly dividend by 2 Canadian cents to 83 cents per share.

RBC set aside less money in the quarter to cover impaired loans stemming from the low energy prices. That figure, its provision for credit losses, was C$318 million, down from C$460 in the prior quarter and up from C$270 million last year.

Net interest income rose 9% to C$4.12 billion as fee-based income jumped 22% to C$6.13 billion.

Write to Austen Hufford at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 24, 2016 07:25 ET (11:25 GMT)

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