Writedowns weigh on Scotiabank

Article Excerpt

Bank of Nova Scotia $45 (Toronto symbol BNS Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 985.0 million; Market cap: $44.3 billion; SI Rating: Above average) Bank of Nova Scotia is down from $55 a year ago, mainly due to writedowns of illiquid asset-backed securities. The rising Canadian dollar has also hurt the performance of its international operations, which supply about a third of its earnings. In its first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2008, earnings fell 18.8% to $0.82 a share (total $835 million) from $1.01 a share ($1.0 billion) a year earlier. The latest quarterly earnings included $238 million in pre-tax writedowns and other charges. Revenue fell 9.7%, to $2.8 billion from $3.1 billion. However, lower interest rates should spur demand for new loans. The bank is also doing a good job controlling non-interest costs. Bank of Nova Scotia is a buy. buy…