By: Kimberly Ramkhalawan
September 16, 2022
Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited realised Income after Tax of $521m for the nine months ended July 31, 2022, marking an increase of $59m or 13 percent over the same period. Income after tax for the quarter was $164m, $7m or 5 percent more than the quarter ending July 2021.
In its report, the bank attributes the improvement over the prior year to be driven by continued increases in core banking activity as we see a return to normal operating conditions following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The improvement in profitability has resulted in an increased Return on Equity from 14.5 percent in 2021 to 16.2 percent in 2022 and an increase in Return on Assets from 2.3 percent in 2021 to 2.8 percent in 2022.
Commenting on the results, Managing Director of Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Limited, Gayle Pazos, remarked: “We are pleased to announce another solid third quarter performance by Scotiabank. We continue to see a steady rise in Loans to Customers, recording an increase of $1.3bn or 8 percent over the last nine months and driving total asset growth by 6 percent when compared to the same period in 2021. Of this $1.3bn, Consumer Loans represent $818m, corresponding to our best performance since 2016”.
Earlier this year, the bank received the award from Global Finance as Trinidad and Tobago’s Best Consumer Digital Bank 2022 for the second year in a row and being recognised again by Great Place to Work as one of the best workplaces in the Caribbean 2022.
Pazos attributes this to what she calls the bank’s “continued investment in its people, innovative use of technology, motivated by customers and their feedback in improving our digital competencies. Over the last year alone, digital transactions increased by one million or 42 percent with digital adoption at a record rate of 50 percent”.
In terms of Total Revenue, the bank says its comprising Net Interest Income and Other Income was $1.4bn for the period ended July 2022, an increase of $133m or 10 percent over last year. Net Interest Income for the period was $916m, $12m or 1 percent lower when compared to the same period last year, which is says was driven by a decline in the loan portfolio during 2021, together with continued margin compression due to competitive pricing pressures. Core banking revenues continue to recover, driven by Other Income growth of $145m or 39 percent to $520m in 2022 as we note increased activity in both retail and commercial segments.
The bank notes that its Mutual Funds Under Management have seen steady growth over the last year, surpassing the $1bn threshold earlier this year ending the quarter at $1.25bn.
As for its dividends, Scotia says describes what it offers as a “very healthy return and capital appreciation for its shareholders”, having declared total dividends of 100c for the quarter, inclusive of a special dividend of 35c per share. This brings the total dividends per share to 230c, an increase of 28 percent over the same period last year, excluding the special dividend of 85c in prior year.
Based on these results, the Directors have approved a third quarter dividend of $1.00 per share, to shareholders on the Register of Members as at September 26, 2022, payable by October 11, 2022.