Updating Fortis Inc. and Bank of Nova Scotia

Article Excerpt

FORTIS INC. $38 (www.fortisinc.com) earned $14 million in the three months ended September 30, 2014, down 70.8% from $48 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings fell at a faster rate of 73.9%, to $0.06 from $0.23, on more shares outstanding. The drop is mainly due to unusual costs related to the company’s recent $4.5 billion U.S. purchase of UNS Energy, which operates power plants and distributes electricity and natural gas in Arizona. Without these items, earnings per share rose 43.5% to $0.33. The new operations raised revenue by 30.8% in the latest quarter, to $1.2 billion from $915 million. Buy. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $64 (www.scotiabank.com) earned $1.32 a share in its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter, which ended October 31, 2014. That figure excludes several unusual items, mainly severance costs related to the closure of 120 branches at its international division and the consolidation of some Canadian offices. The latest earnings are also up 2.3% from $1.29 a year earlier…