(Lévis) Desjardins Group posted Thursday a surplus before patronage refunds of 478 million for its third quarter, down 41.4% from that of 816 million achieved during the same period last year.
Posted at 3:51 p.m.
The cooperative attributed this decline in particular to an increase in claims incurred in the property and casualty insurance sector, which reflected, among other things, the impact of inflation and the increase in the frequency of claims. In this regard, the most recent quarter was marked by an episode of heavy rain in Quebec and by the passage of Hurricane Fiona in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec.
But the decrease in surpluses was also explained by the increase in provisions for credit losses resulting mainly from the deterioration of the macroeconomic outlook, the acceleration of investments intended for the projects of the strategic orientations and the increase in personnel costs. , continued Desjardins.
The decline in surpluses was, however, mitigated by an increase in net interest income and other operating income.
Operating income stood at 5.295 billion, which represented an increase of 0.9% compared to those of 5.250 billion in the same quarter in 2021. Net interest income, for its part, increased by 11.7 % to 1.649 billion, and other operating income climbed 3.5% to 899 million.
The provision for patronage refunds reached 106 million in the third quarter, an increase of 17.8% compared to the same quarter a year earlier.
Desjardins Group’s total assets stood at $408.1 billion as at September 30, up $11.0 billion, or 2.8%, from December 31.