Canadian Western Bank Group (TSX: CWB) is increasing its dividend to shareholders following a $45-million profit in the fourth quarter of its 2011 financial year, a 15% increase from the year-earlier period.
The dividend will rise to 15 cents per common share, payable on Jan. 4, a seven per cent increase from the previous dividend and up 15 per cent than the dividend declared one year ago.
The Edmonton-based bank’s net income amounted to 54 cents per diluted share, or 55 cents on a diluted cash basis.
That’s up six cents per share by either measure from the fourth quarter of 2010 when CWB’s net income was $39.1 million.
The bank’s revenue was $121.2 million, up 12 per cent from $108.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.
As with other Canadian banks that reported last week, CWB said it faced a decline in net interest margin but more than offset that with higher loan volumes.
Its banking and trust segment accounted for $42.3 million of the profit and $117.5 million of revenue, while the insurance segment contributed $2.7 million in net income.