Another day, another profit beat from one of the Big Six banks. This time around, its Royal Bank of Canada’s turn – adjusted earnings per share came in at $2.78 per share, easily topping the average estimate for $2.69. It was the usual suspects driving the beat – net interest margins (basically the spread between the rate the bank borrows at and the rate it charges its own borrowers) expanded, in no small part over at its Canadian Banking and Wealth Management division. RBC also announced a three per cent increase to its quarterly dividend, bringing the payout to $1.32 per share. Now, the quick fly in the ointment – provisions for credit losses did rise in the quarter (as we saw with Scotia yesterday,) by about $381 million as the nation’s largest lender set aside more cash for potentially sour loans. I'll leave you with one last fact, because the figure is always eye-popping – for the year, net income came in at a whopping $15.8 billion, though that was actually down nearly a quarter billion from last year.

 

…AND A MISS OVER AT NATIONAL BANK

Almost a case of “similar story, different result” when it comes to National Bank of Canada. Diluted earnings per share came in at $2.08 in the fiscal fourth quarter, well shy of the $2.24 estimate, as a rise in – you guessed it – provisions for credit losses took a toll on the bottom line. Compounding National’s troubles was a weak showing from the capital markets division, which succumbed to a broad slowdown in activity, sending profit 14 per cent lower in the quarter. That said, couple of bright spots for investors – National is raising its quarterly dividend by five cents to 97 cents per share, and the board announced a normal course issuer bid to buy back about 2.1 per cent of the company’s shares outstanding. 

BRP POSTS RECORD QUARTERLY RESULTS

Not to be hyperbolic, but hard to describe the recreational vehicle maker’s third quarter as anything less than a blowout. To wit – revenues were up 71 per cent to hit a new record, normalized EBITDA up 94 per cent and sales of powersports products surged 43 per cent year-over-year. All that is contributing to the company’s move to raise its full-year outlook and state that it’s in a “strong position” to sustain that growth. The company was something of a pandemic darling – bored consumers taking to the outdoors when everything else was closed, and all – but has had a rougher go of it lately, between supply chain bottlenecks and a cybersecurity breach earlier this year, though those issues seem to be fading.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES

  • Saputo is firing back at short-seller Spruce Point, declaring its critical report is “without merit,” and “misleading.” Worth noting we’ll hear from Spruce Point’s Ben Axler at about 9:40 EST on The Open.
  • Enbridge is reaffirming its full-year outlook and announced it expects around 6 per cent EBITDA growth next year, with that metric reaching as much as $16.5 billion. Enbridge is also appointing Pamela Carter as its new board chair, effective January 1.
  • Canadian Natural Resources announced its 2023 capital budget, with plans to spend about $5.2 billion next year.
  • Suncor says it may finish its search for a permanent chief executive officer in the first quarter of next year as it hunts for a replacement for departed CEO Mark Little.
  • Spartan Delta is launching what’s essentially a strategic review (it calls it “strategic repositioning alternatives,”) citing management’s dissatisfaction with the how the public markets value the company. Options on the table include a merger, sale of the company or asset sales.
  • Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is off to a week-long trip to Belgium and Germany to meet with Mercedes-Benz and VW as Canada pursues an aggressive EV and battery strategy.