Reuters
BMO ends Canadian bank results season with earnings beat, dividend boost
TORONTO (Reuters) -Bank of Montreal (BMO) closed out Canadian banks’ results season with better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, and announced the industry’s biggest dividend increases and share buyback. Canada’s fourth-largest lender said adjusted profit rose 38%from a year earlier, beating estimates on lower-than-expected loan-loss provisions and expenses, with higher income from a year ago in all its major businesses offering a boost. It said it would increase its dividend by 25% to C$1.33 and would buy back up to 22.5 million, or 3.5%, of outstanding shares.
