Scotia Group generated profit of $9.9 billion for the year to October, down from $10.46 billion earned in the similar period in 2014 but saw a jumped in the profit for the quarter to October of $3.9 billion versus $2.76 billion in 2014 period due mainly to a billion dollar jump in insurance income.Total revenues climbed marginally to $42 billion in the year ending October, from $41.9 billion thanks mainly to an increase of $900 million in insurance income over prior year. For this last of 2015, total revenue of $11.5 million was above the amount earned in 2015 of $10.3 billion.
Net interest income after impairment losses for the year was $22.9 billion, marginally above 2014 resulting in a reduction in the impairment losses on loans by $241 million or 15.0 percent, this is “due to enhanced adjudication, monitoring and collection efforts. The Group continues to report strong growth in loan volumes during the year, particularly our Residential Mortgages, Consumer, Small Business and Commercial portfolios; however net interest margins continue to decline due to lower market interest rates and the competitive environment”, Scotia stated in their media release accompanying the financials.
“Other revenue for the year amounted to $12.2 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion or 11.9 percent compared to 2014, and $1.29 billion or 49.5 percent above the previous quarter. Net fee and commission income increased by $634 million or 10.8 percent year over year, primarily due to increased transaction volumes across all services, which was more pronounced in our credit card and merchant service business segments. The Group also reported increased insurance revenue of $890 million due to higher actuarial releases, due mainly to the one-time release of accumulated actuarial provisions resulting from the changes to the income tax regime for insurance companies” the report stated. The banking group further stated that “operating expenses for the twelve months ended October amounted to $20.9 billion, an increase of $1.42 billion or 7.29 percent compared to prior year. The increase in operating expenses is due primarily to the increase in the Asset Tax resulting from the adoption of IFRIC 21 Levies, as well as the increase in the rates from 0.14 percent to 0.25 percent for regulated financial institutions, except insurance companies where the increase was from 0.14 percent to 1 percent. This resulted in Asset Tax of $1.29 billion being recorded in the financial results to October 2015, compared to $484 million for October 2014, an increase of $803 million or 166 percent. Excluding the impact of Asset Tax, operating expenses would have increased by $617 million or 3.3 percent, which is consistent with the level of inflation year over year”.
Total assets increased year over year by $25.9 billion or 6.4 percent to $433 billion as at October 2015 due primarily to increases of $8.8 billion or 6 percent in Loans to $154.5 billion, increase in investment and pledged assets and $9.2 billion in other assets
The group reported earnings per share of $3.19 for the year and $1.26 for the last quarter and seems poised to generate earnings around $4 for the 2016 fiscal year.