The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, December 10, 2010

Article Excerpt

BANK OF MONTREAL, $61.74, Toronto symbol BMO, rose 4% this week after it reported earnings that matched the consensus estimate. In its 2010 fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2010, the bank earned $2.8 billion. That’s up 57.2% from $1.8 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 54.2%, to $4.75 from $3.08, on more shares outstanding. Unusual items, such as severance costs and writedowns of securities the bank holds, depressed its fiscal 2009 earnings. If you exclude these items, earnings per share would have risen 19.9%. Earnings at Bank of Montreal’s main retail-banking division rose 7%, while its wealth-management business’s earnings gained 31%. However, earnings at its capital-markets division fell 6%. That’s because volatile stock markets and concerns over European sovereign debt hurt trading volumes. Revenue rose 10.4%, to $12.2 billion from $11.1 billion. Thanks to the improving economy, Bank of Montreal is setting aside less money to cover bad loans. In fiscal 2010, loan-loss provisions fell 34.6%, to $1.05 billion…