Laurentian Bank reports $30.6M Q4 profit, down from $55.7M a year ago

Laurentian Bank headquarters is seen Tuesday, April 5, 2022 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Laurentian Bank of Canada reported its fourth-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as it was hit by restructuring and other costs related to its strategic review and a major computer outage in September.

The Montreal-based bank says it earned $30.6 million or 67 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from a profit of $55.7 million or $1.26 per diluted share a year earlier.

The bank says the results included a $5.3-million charge related to the mainframe outage and $15.9 million in restructuring and strategic-review related charges.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $247.4 million, down from $257.1 million a year ago, while provisions for credit losses totalled $16.7 million for the quarter compared with $17.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

On an adjusted basis, Laurentian says it earned $1 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $1.31 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.

Laurentian named Eric Provost as its new chief executive in October, replacing Rania Llewellyn in the top job, after the mainframe outage which happened during a planned IT maintenance update. Director Michael Boychuk was also appointed chair of its board of directors, replacing Michael Mueller, who resigned from the board.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Dec. 7, 2023.