TORONTO — TD Bank Group reported its fourth-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as it took a restructuring charge related to job cuts and put aside more money to cover potential bad loans.

The bank also raised its dividend as it said it would now pay a quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share, up from 96 cents.

TD said Thursday it took a $363-million restructuring charge in its latest quarter as it worked to reduce costs and cautioned that it expects to incur additional restructuring charges in the first half of 2024.

The bank said the restructuring charge primarily related to employee severance and other personnel-related costs as well as real estate optimization and asset impairments.

TD said it is reducing its workforce by three per cent through attrition and targeted actions.

"In a complex operating environment, we continued to adapt, invest in new capabilities and take important steps to deliver efficiencies and drive growth across the bank," TD chief executive Bharat Masrani said in statement.

In reporting its fourth-quarter results, TD said it earned $2.89 billion or $1.49 per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, down from a profit of $6.67 billion or $3.62 per diluted share a year earlier.

TD reported revenue totalled $13.12 billion, down from $15.56 billion in the same quarter last year, while its provision for credit losses amounted to $878 million, up from $617 million a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, TD says it earned $1.83 per diluted share, down from an adjusted profit of $2.18 per diluted share a year ago.

Analysts on average had expected an adjusted profit of $1.90 per share, according to estimates compiled by financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

TD said its Canadian personal and commercial banking segment earned $1.68 billion in its latest quarter, down from $1.69 billion in the same quarter last year, as higher provisions for credit losses and non-interest expenses were partially offset by revenue growth.

In the U.S., TD's retail business earned $1.28 billion in the most recent quarter, down from $1.54 billion a year earlier.

TD's wealth management and insurance business earned $501 million, down from $516 million a year ago, while its wholesale baking operations earned $17 million, down from $261 million in the same quarter last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 30, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)

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