Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
TD Bank Group announced it was significantly expanding a share buyback program as it reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago.
The bank said Thursday its net income totalled $2.96 billion or $1.57 per diluted share, down from $3.21 billion or $1.75 per diluted share in the same quarter last year, as it saw a rise in provisions for credit losses as well as higher expenses in part related to its failed bid to buy U.S.-based First Horizon.
TD called off the US$13.4-billion deal in May citing regulatory uncertainty, leaving a question as to what it would do with the extra cash it had built up for the deal.
Investors got a partial answer Thursday as the bank announced a plan to buy back 90 million shares, or about 4.9 per cent of outstanding shares, after it just completed a 30-million share buyback program.
TD chief financial officer Kelvin Tran said in an interview that the buybacks were part of the bank's consistent capital deployment approach that balances organic growth, acquisitions and payouts to shareholders.
"This strategy depends what’s optimal any point in time, but we're really happy that we can do that by returning excess capital to shareholders."
The buyback program comes as the bank's adjusted earnings amounted to $1.99 per diluted share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of $2.09 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
The result fell below the average analyst estimate of $2.04 per diluted share, based on estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
The miss came in part from higher than expected provisions for credit losses that totalled $766 million, up from $351 million a year earlier, Barclay's analyst John Aiken said.
The higher-than-expected provisions came largely from the bank's extensive U.S. operations, where earnings also disappointed.
“The miss can largely be attributed to weaker earnings in its U.S. retail segment, which saw margins decline and provisions increase," he said in a note.
He said however that the modest miss will likely be offset by the share buyback program.
Revenue at the bank totalled $12.78 billion, up from $10.93 billion in the same quarter last year.
TD said its Canadian personal and commercial banking business earned $1.66 billion compared with $1.68 billion in the same quarter last year, mainly due to higher provisions for credit losses, partially offset by revenue growth.
Tran said the bank's operations were boosted by new accounts up 26 per cent year over year, driven by a record quarter for new-to-Canada accounts, while it also saw record spending on Canadian credit cards.
Mortgage volumes are also rebounding from the lows earlier this year, despite higher rates, he said.
"Obviously when rates go up people are a little bit more cautious, but structurally there's a lot of demand."
And while those rates are affecting consumers, credit card revolving balances remain below pre-pandemic levels and overall client profiles look good, he said.
"We feel very good about the credit quality of our book," said Tran.
The bank's U.S. retail operations earned $1.31 billion, down from $1.44 billion a year earlier as it faced charges related to its unsuccessful attempt to buy U.S. bank First Horizon Corp.
Meanwhile, TD's wealth management and insurance operations earned $504 million, down from $575 million a year ago, as it faced more severe weather-related events and lower transaction revenue in wealth management.
TD's wholesale banking earned $272 million compared with $271 million a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2023.
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Tornadoes wreaked havoc Friday in the Midwest, causing a building to collapse with dozens of people inside and destroying and damaging hundreds of homes, many around Omaha, Neb.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
South Africa marked 30 years since the end of apartheid and the birth of its democracy with a ceremony in the capital Saturday that included a 21-gun salute and the waving of the nation's multicolored flag.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”