ABJ - Aug 23 - For the third quarter ending July 31, BMO Financial Group reported net income of $793 million, or $1.27 per share. On an adjusted basis, net income was $843 million or $1.36 per share.

"BMO continues to perform well, with adjusted earnings of $843 million for the quarter and more than $2.4 billion for the first nine months of the year,” said Bill Downe, President and CEO, BMO Financial Group. “The investments we are making continue to contribute to top-line growth and this remains our priority as we steadily introduce new initiatives that further enhance the experience of our customer.”

During the quarter, BMO completed the acquisition of Marshall & Ilsley Corporation (M&I). Over 26 days, M&I’s operations added $117 million of revenue to BMO’s third quarter results and $32 million of adjusted net income, excluding integration and related costs.

“This purchase is transforming our U.S. presence by adding scale and providing a strong entry into attractive new markets,” said Mr. Downe. “We have more than doubled our U.S. branch count to 688 branches and are competing from a position of strength in a contiguous six-state area with a population and GDP greater than Canada’s. The closing process was on time and efficient. Integration efforts are moving forward as planned as we welcome M&I shareholders as shareholders of BMO.

“In addition, the transaction almost triples the size of our U.S. wealth businesses as measured by assets under management and administration, and our U.S. private banking presence now operates from twice as many outlets.

Concurrent with the release of results, BMO announced a fourth quarter dividend of $0.70 per common share, unchanged from the preceding quarter and equivalent to an annual dividend of $2.80 per common share.