BMO posts higher profit

Bank of Montreal reported a higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, benefiting from growth in its US personal and commercial banking unit, and it increased its quarterly dividend. The lender, Canada's fourth-largest bank, said it would lift its dividend to 84 Canadian cents per share this quarter, a 2 percent rise from the previous period.
Net income for the fourth quarter ended October 31 was C$1.21 billion, or C$1.83 per share, compared with C$1.07 billion, or C$1.56 per share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, earnings were C$1.90 per share. Analysts on average had expected C$1.74 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.