B2B Trust on Thursday reported weaker profit for the second quarter ended April 30.

The company said net income was $3.6 million or 14¢ per common share compared with $5.5 million or 22¢ per common share a year ago.

Return on common shareholders’ equity was 7.9%, compared with 13% for the same period last year.

“B2B Trust’s results continue to be impacted by the challenging capital market environment as our revenues are mainly linked to these markets and more specifically to the mutual funds market. As a result, the investment loan portfolio has shown no growth following the RRSP campaign and B2B Trust’s results for the first six months are disappointing,” said Bernard Piché, president and CEO.

Total revenue was $15.4 million in the second quarter of 2003 compared to $18.7 million for the same period in 2002, a decrease of $3.3 million.

Net interest income decreased by $2.7 million to $11.5 million in 2003 from $14.2 million in 2002. The net interest margin decreased to 1.79% in the second quarter of 2003 compared to2.35% in the second quarter of 2002.

The provision for credit losses was $0.5 million in the second quarter of 2003 compared to $0.2 million in the same period last year. The increase resulted mainly from the acquisition of portfolios of lines of credit and to a lesser extent from the investment loan portfolio.
Assets under administration of self-directed plans stood at $4.6 billion at April 30, 2003 compared to $5.2 billion at April 30, 2002, mainly due to a decline in the market value of managed assets and a 6.9% decrease in the number of plans under administration. The reduction in the number of plans is attributable mainly to regulations, as a number of financial intermediary firms moved some plans “in-house”.

Tier 1 and Total capital ratios were 13.7% and 18.0%, respectively, as at April 30, 2003 compared to 13.1% and 17.5% at April 30, 2002.

The company declared a quarterly dividend of 7¢ per common share.