(November 19 – 11:45 ET) –
Royal Bank of Canada today
reported its financial results for
the fourth quarter and year ended
October 31, 1999.
In the fourth quarter of 1999,
net income, excluding one-time
items, was $479 million, up 10%
from a year ago and up 4% from the
third quarter of 1999. Core fully
diluted earnings per share were
a year ago and up 5% from last
quarter. The increase in earnings
compared to a year ago resulted
from strong growth in other income,
while the increase from last
quarter reflected lower core
provisions for credit losses and
also solid revenue growth.
Core return on common shareholders’
equity was 16.6%, up from 16.4% a
year ago and 16.0% last quarter.
As shown above, for the full
year, core net income was $1,813
million, up 1% from 1998, while
core fully diluted earnings per
share were $5.25, also up 1%. Core
return on common shareholders’
equity (ROE) was 16.6%, compared
to 18.5% in 1998.
Net income from international
operations accounted for 35% of
total core earnings in 1999. The
highest contribution was from
Europe, where the bank has strong
private banking operations. The
bank also has profitable retail
operations in the Caribbean, an
expanding presence in the United
States, and focused Latin American
and Asian operations.
This quarter, the bank sold its
33 non-branch, multi-tenant
buildings to Oxford Properties
Group Inc. and Ontario
Municipal Employees Retirement
System for $827 million
(pre-tax). Under the terms of the
sale, the bank has leased back
from the purchasers all the space
that it presently occupies in these
buildings. The sale of the
properties resulted in a gain of
approximately $350 million.
In the fourth quarter, specific
provisions for credit losses fell
by $170 million from the level in
each of the first three quarters
of 1999, reflecting improvement in
the quality of the personal and
commercial loan portfolios.
Accordingly, specific provisions
for credit losses declined to
$530 million from $555 million in
1998. The bank recorded a $230
million general provision in the
fourth quarter, including the $90
million mentioned above.
-IE Staff
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