Les profits de la Banque Royale chutent de 9%

Publie le 3 decembre 2010
(http://lapresseaffaires.cyberpresse.ca/economie/services-financiers/201012/03/01-4348809-les-profits-de-la-banque-royale-chutent-de-9.php?utm_categorieinterne=trafficdrivers&utm_contenuinterne=cyberpresse_BO4_la_2343_accueil_POS2)

(Montréal) La Banque Royale du Canada (T.RY) a annoncé vendredi que ses profits ont reculé de 9% à 1,12 milliard de dollars au quatrième trimestre, après que l'institution ait inscrit une perte liée à la vente de sa division Liberty Life aux États-Unis.

Le bénéfice par action s'est établi à 0,74$, par rapport à 0,82$ au trimestre comparable l'an dernier, alors que les profits étaient de 1,24 milliard.

Les analystes sondés par la firme Thomson Reuters tablaient sur un BPA de 1,00$.

Sans les éléments inhabituels, dont la perte liée à la vente de Liberty Life, les profits de la Royale auraient progressé de 10% par rapport au quatrième trimestre de 2009.

La banque précise avoir engrangé des profits records au niveau des services bancaires au pays, ainsi qu'une forte croissance au niveau de la gestion de fortune et des assurances.

Les revenus ont également reculé à 7,2 milliards, comparativement à 7,5 milliards il y a un an.

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Royal Bank (TSX: RY.TO) says its fourth-quarter profit slipped nine per cent to $1.12 billion as it booked losses related to the sale of its Liberty Life insurance division and weak results from its retail banking operations in the United States.

"Overall we are certainly disappointed with our international banking segment," president and chief executive Gordon Nixon told a conference call with financial analysts.

Canada's biggest bank said the results were equal to 74 cents per share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from $1.24 billion, or 82 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.

Revenue was $7.2 billion, down from about $7.5 billion at the same time last year.

Cash earnings per share was 84 cents, which was below analyst expectations of $1 per share, according to those surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

In October, the Royal Bank announced an agreement to sell Liberty Life to Bermuda-based reinsurer Athene Holding Ltd. for US$628.1 million, saying it's concerned the division cannot properly compete at its current size.

The bank booked a $116-million loss on the sale. A year earlier, the quarterly results included a $1-billion charge to reflect the reduced value of intangible assets.

Excluding the special items in both years, Royal's fourth-quarter earnings rose $481 million, or 10 per cent, driven by record earnings in Canadian banking and solid growth in wealth management and insurance.

Royal has been refocusing its international strategy outside of the United States as its operations in the Southeast continue to struggle while an economic recovery hits further turbulence.

The bank's international banking business lost $157 million in the quarter compared with a loss of $125 million a year ago.

"In international banking, our U.S. retail bank continues to be challenged by weak economic and credit conditions and we remain focused on restoring its operating performance and returning to profitability," Nixon said.

Royal Bank is the country's largest bank by assets and market capitalization, and has 77,000 employees serving more than 18 million clients. The bank has operations across Canada, the United States and more than 50 other countries.

For the year, the bank reported net income of $5.2 billion, an increase of 35 per cent from a year ago. Revenue was down to $28.3 billion from $29.1 billion.

As of December 3rd :
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RY.to 53.10 -2.62 -4.76%