Canadian corporations earned record high operating profits last year, Statistics Canada said today. Profits hit $204.5 billion, up 18.8% from 2003.

“The 2004 profit growth was the strongest since 2000, largely due to significant gains in the first two quarters of the year,” the agency said Friday.

“Virtually all major sectors gained ground in the year, buoyed by robust resource prices, steady employment growth, healthy consumer spending and higher export demand for Canadian goods,” StatsCan said.

However, the stronger Canadian dollar contributed to slower exports during the latter part of the year.

In the financial sector, chartered banks and insurance companies reported solid profit growth.

Fourth-quarter profits increased 2.4% to $52.9 billion, after little change in the third quarter, the agency said. Non-financial companies saw operating profits rise 4.4% to $40.6 billion in the quarter.

The financial sector saw profits slip to $12.3 billion in the final quarter from $12.8 billion in the third quarter.

Led by the chartered banks, the depository credit intermediaries earned record high operating profits of $21.3 billion, up from $18.2 billion in 2003.

Property and casualty insurers saw profits rise to $5.5 billion from $3.4 billion in 2003.