The Financial Post reports in its Thursday, Feb. 29, edition that National Bank of Canada posted a first quarter profit of $922-million, up from $876-million a year earlier. A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post reports that profit amounted to $2.59 per diluted share for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up from $2.47 per diluted share a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter totalled $2.71-billion, up from $2.56-billion in the same quarter last year. National Bank's provisions for credit losses totalled $120-million, up from $86-million a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the bank says it earned $2.59 per diluted share for its most recent quarter, up from an adjusted profit of $2.54 per diluted share in its first quarter last year. The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of $2.36 per share. National Bank said its personal and commercial banking business earned $339-million in its first quarter, up from $326-million a year earlier, helped by higher revenues. The bank's wealth management business earned $196-million in its latest quarter, down from $198-million a year earlier, while its financial markets operations earned $308-million, up from $298-million in the first quarter of 2023.