Even if its revenue and earnings increased for the fourth quarter of 2014, Toronto-Dominion Bank reported last Thursday that it was able to record lower-than-expected profits.
The net income of the second largest lender in Canada went up to C$1.75 billion which is equivalent to C$0.91 per share for the quarter that ended on the 31st of October. This is compared to last year’s fourth quarter profit of C$1.62 billion that is equal to C$0.84 per share.
Toronto-Dominion Bank’s earnings were C$0.98 per share which are lower than analysts estimate of C$1.05 per share excluding special items.
Chief Executive Bharat Masrani of Toronto-Dominion said last Thursday in the earnings statement that the bank is seeing a more challenging environment in 2015. He added that the bank will be focusing on organic growth next year.
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Colleen Johnston stated that the challenges that will be faced by the bank for 2015 would include the slow economic growth in the country and continuous low interest rates. She also added that the year 2014 results were mostly earnings from acquisitions with the weaker value of the Canadian dollar which boosted the U.S. earnings plus the lower credit losses.
It can be remembered that the bank’s Canadian retail arm went up from C$1.24 billion of 2014 to C$1.3 billion of this current year which was brought about by the purchase of a part of Canadian Emperial Bank of Commerce’s Aeroplan Vista credit card portfolio.