Laurentian Bank reports lower fourth-quarter profit

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Laurentian Bank of Canada raised its dividend as it reported that its fourth-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago.

The bank increased its quarterly payment to shareholders by a penny to 67 cents a share.

The higher payment to shareholders came as Laurentian reported a fourth-quarter profit of $41.3-million or 90 cents a diluted share.

That compared with a profit of $50.8 million or $1.13 a diluted share in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Laurentian says it earned $1.05 a diluted share for the quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1.22 a diluted share a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of $1.16 a share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

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