CWB Financial Group (TSX: CWB) (CWB) announced financial performance for the three and six months ended April 30, 2024, with quarterly common shareholders’ net income of $76 million and adjusted earnings per common share(1) (EPS) of $0.81 both up 9% from the prior year. Pre-tax, pre-provision income(1) increased by 15% from the prior year, which reflected strong revenue growth from the expansion of our net interest margin(1) and our continued measures to contain expense growth to drive positive operating leverage(1) of 5.9%. Growth in earnings this quarter was partially offset by an increase in the provision for credit losses as a percentage of average loans(1), with the current quarter provision slightly above our historical normal range.
Quarterly common shareholders’ net income and adjusted EPS decreased 13% sequentially. Pre-tax, pre-provision income decreased 7%, reflecting the impact of two fewer interest-earning days and seasonally higher non-interest expenses.
Our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.35 per common share, up two cents, or 6% from the dividend declared last year and one cent, or 3%, from last quarter.
“We are well positioned to increase our loan growth through the back half of the year,” said Chris Fowler, President and CEO. “Through the first half of the year, we have delivered a slower pace of loan growth than we originally anticipated which has dampened our full year revenue expectations and reduced our outlook for annual adjusted earnings per common share.”
“We will leverage our strong balance sheet and differentiated client experience to capitalize on a compelling opportunity to expand our market share as the economy strengthens. We have a history of accelerating our loan growth leading out of challenging economic times and our teams will execute our winning playbook to drive more growth across our Canadian footprint.”
Read the news release in full.
Read the shareholders report.
(1) Adjusted EPS, pre-tax, pre-provision income, net interest margin, operating leverage and the provision for credit losses on total loans as a percentage of average loans are non-GAAP measures. Refer to definitions and detail provided on pages 4 and 5 of the news release.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Chris Williams
AVP, Investor Relations
CWB Financial Group
Phone: 780-508-8229
Email: [email protected]