Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago is reporting improved results in the July quarter, than the year before and for the April 2014 quarter. Net income after tax for the latest quarter, amounted to $140 million an increase on the $134 million earned for the same period last year. The improvement was helped by rising net income and recovery of bad loans, with the latter amounting to $8 million versus a loss of $3 million in 2013.
For the nine months to June, profits fell to $390 million from $404 million, but it represents an improvement over the decline in the six months results, with profits of $250 million versus $270 million in 2013. The second quarter results of $105 million compared with $128 million, was one of the factors pulling down the results, as net revenues fell compared with the prior year. In the latest quarter, while net interest income has not declined, it hardly grew, other income grew a bit from $100 million to $132 million for the quarter and for the nine months by $30 million to $467 million, with all the increase coming in the last quarter.
Total assets ended the period at $20.2 billion up from $19.5 billion at the year end, but encouragingly, for the bank, the main income generator, loans, grew from $10.576 billion at the end of the 2013 year, with a small increase to $10,847 in April, but it jumped sharply to $11.47 million in July. This growth should help in improve income generation going forward. The bank will need to keep close to the last quarter pace, to help move profits forward, in a serious way.
With the July quarter showing some signs of improvement, earnings going forward should end up around the $3.50 range in 2015, if the pace of loan growth continues. With the price of the stock having pulled back below $60, it could be an attractive buy in the months ahead. At the close of trading there was still no buying interest in the stock and it looks set to decline some more, as investors seem to be ignoring the improved third quarter numbers.