An earnings boost from wider margins helped push up shares of EQ Bank owner Equitable Group Inc. by more than 12 per cent Wednesday.
Earnings got a boost from a adjusted net interest margin of 1.94 per cent that was higher than any quarter in the bank's history and 0.13 of a percentage point higher than the last quarter.“I think perhaps we were a touch cautious in projecting that to the Street until we actually saw it manifest," said Andrew Moor, chief executive, on an earnings call.
Earnings for the quarter ending Sept. 30 worked out to $2.22 per diluted share, up from $2.07 per share last year, while adjusted diluted earnings were $2.35 per share.