CIBC reports Q2 profit down from year ago, raises quarterly dividend

Photo: The Canadian Press

CIBC raised its quarterly dividend as it reported its second-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago.

The bank said Thursday it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 83 cents per share, up from 80.5 cents per share.

CIBC earned $1.52 billion or $1.62 per diluted share in net income for the quarter that ended April 30, down from $1.65 billion or $1.78 per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $5.38 billion, up from $4.93 billion a year ago.

The bank said its provision for credit losses for the quarter amounted to $303 million, up from $32 million in the same quarter last year, due to the acquisition of the Canadian Costco credit card portfolio while the same quarter last year benefited from a favourable change in its economic outlook.

On an adjusted basis, CIBC says it earned $1.77 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1.79 per diluted share a year earlier.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $1.78 per diluted share for the bank's second quarter, according financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

"We delivered well-diversified growth across our bank in the second quarter as we continued to invest to execute our client-focused strategy and further build on our momentum," CIBC chief executive Victor Dodig said in a statement.

The bank said its Canadian personal and business banking business earned $496 million for the second quarter, down from $603 million a year ago, due to a higher provision for credit losses and higher expenses, partially offset by higher revenue.

Meanwhile, the CIBC's Canadian commercial banking and wealth management business earned $480 million for the quarter, up from $399 million a year ago, helped by higher revenue, partially offset by higher expenses and lower provision reversal.

CIBC's U.S. commercial banking and wealth management arm earned $180 million, down from $216 million a year ago, while its capital markets business earned $540 million, up from $495 million in the same quarter last year.