(January 27 – 15:15 ET) – CT Financial Services Inc., the parent company of the Canada Trust group of companies, is reporting its1999 annual results. The results are unchanged from the unaudited earnings results that the company released on January 18.

Net common share earnings for the year increased by 18 per cent over 1998. Return on common shareholders’ equity, exclusive of excess capital held for redeployment, was 18.2 per cent. Here are some highlights:

> Net common share earnings were $346 million compared to $294 million at year-end 1998.

>Return on common shareholders’ equity for the year was 18.2 per cent, excluding the impact of excess capital held for redeployment. This compares to 16.1 per cent return in 1998. Reported return on equity, including excess capital, was 12.6 per cent in 1999 compared to 11.5 per cent in 1998.

> Net earnings per common share were $2.90 compared to $2.46 for fiscal 1998.

> Total assets reached $50.2 billion at December 31, 1999, up 5 per cent from $47.7 billion at December 31, 1998.

> Net common share earnings for the fourth quarter of 1999 were $89 million compared to $70 million in the fourth quarter of 1998.

>Return on common shareholders’ equity, excluding the impact of excess capital, was 18.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 1999. This compares to 14.8 per cent for the same period in 1998.

Consumer Lending and Business Banking operations each reached significant milestones during the year. In 1999 Canada Trust surpassed $1 billion approved credit for small business. Canada Trust’s property and casualty insurance operations maintained
strong growth, increasing premium revenues by 16 per cent year over year.

Explosive growth in the self-serve brokerage industry, says CT, lead to strong gains in market share for CT Market Partner, the company’s self-serve brokerage service, where assets under administration more than doubled over the year. Revenues, trading activity and new account openings reached record levels in 1999.

Mutual fund sales have declined industry-wide and Canada Trust’s results followed this trend. However, Canada Trust has a complete slate of term products and the decline in mutual fund sales in 1999 has been more than offset by strong growth in our term products during the year.
-IE Staff