TD Bank Joins Canadian Peers With Earnings Beat

Toronto-Dominion Bank is the latest Canadian bank to top earnings estimates in its most recent quarter.

TD, Canada's second-largest bank, said Thursday its earnings climbed 17% from a year ago as revenue grew, customer credit improved and insurance claims dropped.

The company reported income of 2.8 billion Canadian dollars ($2.2 billion) in its third quarter ended July 31, up from C$2.4 billion a year earlier.

Earnings per share, adjusted to exclude nonrecurring items, rose to C$1.51 from C$1.27. Total revenue rose about 7% to C$9.3 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected adjusted earnings per share of C$1.33 and revenue of C$8.74 billion.

Canadian banks have been benefiting amid economic growth and better-than-expected housing demand. Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada and Bank of Montreal all beat the mean earnings estimates from Thomson Reuters in their recently reported quarters, and a handful increased dividends. Still, total returns across the Canadian banking industry are lagging.

TD Bank, like its peers, has been expanding its business outside of Canada and now has more locations in the U.S. than Canada. The bank's Canadian retail business earnings increased 14% to C$1.7 billion in its latest quarter, while its U.S. retail earnings also increased 14%, to C$901 million.

The bank's U.S. retail segment doesn't include its investment in TD Ameritrade. Earnings from TD Ameritrade dropped 6% to C$118 million in its third quarter.

The bank's fee-based income rose 6% as net interest income rose 7%. Higher employee-related expenses and investments in technology sent the company's noninterest expenses up 5% as its loan-loss provision fell 10% amid credit improvements.

The bank also said it is seeking regulatory approval to repurchase an additional 20 million shares. It has repurchased 15 million to date. The combined amounts would be 1.9% of the company's issued and outstanding stock.

Write to Cara Lombardo at cara.lombardo@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications

This article was corrected at 5:36 p.m. ET because an earlier version misstated the total revenue figure as C$9.8 billion. Toronto-Dominion Bank total revenue rose to C$9.3 billion in its latest quarter.

Toronto-Dominion Bank total revenue rose to C$9.3 billion in its latest quarter. "TD Bank Joins Canadian Peers With Earnings Beat," at 7:42 a.m. ET and an update at 8:51 a.m. misstated the figure.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 31, 2017 17:50 ET (21:50 GMT)