Bank of Montreal today reported record earnings for the fourth quarter as all of its business units showed strength.

Net income for the quarter rose jumped 19% to $657 million, or $1.27 a share, up from $551 million, or $1.06 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain items, cash earnings were $674 million, or $1.31 a share, up 18% from a year ago.

Net income was also helped by a $43 million after-tax net impact from several items, including the sale of Harrisdirect and of common shares of TSX Group Inc.


All told, items represented about 9¢ worth of adjustments to the bottomline.

The provision for credit losses during the quarter was $57. Last year, the bank recorded a net recovery of $13 million.

“Operating results in the fourth quarter were up strongly from a year ago, notwithstanding higher provisions for credit losses and even after excluding certain significant items that increased earnings,” president and CEO Tony Comper said in a release.

Revenue climbed to $2.4 billion from $2.3 billion. Return on equity, a key measure of performance, was 19.8% this quarter compared with 17.8% last year.

“We surpassed four of the five financial targets we set for the year, including targets for earnings growth and return on equity, after having achieved or surpassed all five of our financial targets in both 2003 and 2004,” Comper said.