The Canadian Press

Canadian corporations earned $54.1 billion in operating profits in the third quarter, up 7.9% from the previous quarter after three straight quarterly declines.

Profits in the non-financial industries increased 10.4% from the second quarter to $41.7 billion.

Profits in the financial industries were relatively flat as firms reported $12.4 billion in profits, up 0.3%.

Overall gains were widespread, as 18 of 22 industries reported higher profits in the third quarter.

Together, profits for oil and gas, and petroleum and coal increased 20.4% to $5.9 billion, marking their first increase in four quarters.

Manufacturers reported $9.4 billion in operating profits in the third quarter, up 28.6% from the second quarter.

Motor vehicle and parts manufacturers reported an operating loss of $100 million — but this compares with an operating loss of $1 billion in the second quarter and a loss of $1.7 billion in the first quarter.

Transportation and warehousing earned $2.8 billion in profits in the third quarter, up 14.8%.

The 0.3% increase in profits for the financial industries this quarter follows three straight quarterly declines in profits.

Property and casualty insurance carriers posted significant declines this quarter as bad weather resulted in higher claims.

Offsetting some of these declines were gains in banking and other depository credit intermediaries. Higher dividend revenue, commissions and fees contributed to the higher profits in the third quarter.