CWB Financial Group CWB-T raised its quarterly dividend as it reported its second-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago and said it was targeting lower annual loan growth than previously expected.
The Edmonton-based bank says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 33 cents per share, up a penny from 32 cents per share.
The increased payment came as CWB says its common shareholders’ net income totalled $70.0-million or 73 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended April 30, down from $74.2-million or 82 cents per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $264.4-million, up from $258.8-million a year earlier, while its provisions for credit losses totalled $10.3-million, down from $11.2-million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, CWB says it earned 74 cents per share, down from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share a year ago.
The average analyst estimate had been for an adjusted profit of 77 cents per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.