Birmingham & Clarke THE BANK of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited (BNS) and its subsidiaries earned net profits after tax of $3.2 billion for the year ended October 31, 2001.
This was 26 per cent above the record earnings the year before according to chairman of BNS, Bruce Birmingham and managing director William Clarke, in their joint report to shareholders, contained in the Bank's 2001 annual report.
Total assets came in at approximately $100 billion, up significantly on 2000's figure of $88.4 billion. The period under review was characterised by a soft demand for commercial loans.
The success in the period under review can be attributed to "prudent interest-rate risk management along with continued growth in the company's business volumes," the chairman and managing director stated. They added that, "We also experienced increased market share in our main business lines."
Net interest income, which remains the company's "chief source of revenue", increased to $7.8 billion in 2001, they said. This was a 14 per cent increase over the net interest income recorded in the previous year.
Significant growth in BNS's electronic commercial services to corporate customers, which translated into a 23 per cent or $120 million increase in revenue from commercial fees, was the main contributing factor to the company's 21 per cent increase in other income to $1.7 billion.
BNS shareholders benefited from the increased interest in the stock market and the gradual reduction of income tax on dividends paid by listed companies, which began in June 2000 and is scheduled to end with the full removal of the tax in June 2002. The average month end price for the share during 2001 was $14.62 compared with $11.20 in 2000. Shareholders enjoyed a rise in share price from $12.92 at October 31, 2000 to $15.28 at October 31,2001. Dividend yield for 2001 was 6 per cent compared with 9 per cent for 2000.
A full company report follows in this week's Financial Gleaner.
