TORONTO — TD Bank Group topped expectations as it reported its first-quarter profit rose 10 per cent compared with a year ago.
Yet the bank’s Toronto-listed shares fell nearly 1.7 per cent to close at $78.07 apiece on Thursday, after fellow Canadian banks this week also reported better-than-expected earnings growth.
“TD did not benefit from capital markets, wealth management and cost controls to the same degree as its peers,” wrote Barclays analyst John Aiken in a research note.
“What stood out in the quarter from our perspective was the ongoing struggles in its U.S. retail banking platform.”
Profits fell in TD’s U.S. retail business, after Charles Schwab Corp. finished its acquisition of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. in October. TD said Schwab contributed $209 million in earnings, compared with the contribution of $201 million from TD Ameritrade in the first quarter last year.
TD’s U.S. business is closing 82 branches, said Greg Braca, head of TD’s U.S. banking, as it looks to “optimize” redundant locations.
Climbing premiums, insurance sales and uptake in digital term life applications lifted insurance profits by 22 per cent, the bank said.
Teri Currie, the head of TD’s Canadian personal banking, said TD has been investing in its insurance business, focusing on unique aspects like collision centres for auto insurance borrowers.
“As an online insurer we have, I think, the business model, capabilities and customer experience for the future. And in Q1, we had record earnings in that business,” said Currie.
TD said its wealth management business’s profits rose 55 per cent in Canada amid higher transaction and fee-based revenue, while there were also strong mortgage originations and chequing account growth.
“On the wealth side there was strength across the board, and we did have the highest wealth asset levels on record,” said Currie. “We’ve been adding advisors for wealth… to help our customers who are often, right now, sitting on more liquidity than they had planned for.”
Overall, TD earned net income of $3.28 billion or $1.77 per diluted share for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $2.99 billion or $1.61 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue totalled $10.81 billion, up from $10.61 billion.
On an adjusted basis, TD says it earned $1.83 per diluted share, up from an adjusted profit of $1.66 per diluted share a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $1.49 per share, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.
Provisions for credit losses amounted to $313 million, down from $919 million a year earlier.
“While TD did come in well ahead of expectations, the entire quantum of the beat can essentially be chalked up to lower than expected provisions,” Aiken wrote.
Currie said that customers have been paying down credit cards amid COVID-19 lockdowns, and that January tends to be a slow month for the credit card business.
The bank has a split of customers focused on travel and luxury cards and cash back and everyday spending cards, and Currie said TD is well-positioned for an economic rebound in its partnerships with Amazon and Air Canada, and a presence in the buy-now, pay-later market.
TD chief executive Bharat Masrani in a statement that the bank has been investing in training for thousands of workers during the pandemic.
“(We) also continue to work with governments to facilitate access to relief programs and introduce new initiatives to help those most impacted by the pandemic,” Masrani said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 25, 2021.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
