Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO, BNS) was at last look down 1% in U.S. premarket trade Tuesday as it kicked off the fourth-quarter earnings season for Canada's big banks with an adjusted earnings miss, although the bank said it is "on track" to achieve previously announced targets.

Adjusted net income for the quarter ended Oct. 31 was $2,119 million and adjusted diluted EPS came in at $1.57, compared to $1.23 last year. National Bank Financial in a Nov. 19 note said it expected adjusted EPS of $1.59 versus a consensus around $1.60. Analysts polled by FactSet expected $1.60.

Among other highlights, revenue rose 3% to $8.53 billion compared with $8.27 billion. Adjusted revenue rose 8% to $8.53 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $8.63 billion. Adjusted return on equity was 10.6% compared to 8.7% a year ago.

The provision for credit losses fell to $1.03 billion from $1.26 billion. The provision for credit losses ratio decreased 11 basis points to 54 basis points.

Scotiabank announced a $1.06 per share dividend payable Jan. 29 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 7.

Among divisions, Canadian Banking delivered adjusted earnings of $4.28 billion in 2024, up 7% from the prior year. The bank said revenue was supported by double digit growth in net interest income from volume growth and margin expansion. It added expenses were "well managed", resulting in positive operating leverage for the year.

International Banking generated adjusted earnings of $2.86 billion in 2024, up 11%. It said solid revenue growth, driven by margin expansion, continued expense discipline and the favorable impact of foreign exchange, were partly offset by higher provision for credit losses. Strong positive operating leverage of 5% reflected the significant impact of productivity initiatives in the region, it added.

Global Wealth Management adjusted earnings rose 10% to $1.61 billion. Scotia said the business delivered strong revenue growth driven by fee revenue from assets under management of $373 billion, up 18% year-over-year, and higher net interest income across our Canadian and International Wealth businesses.

The Bank reported a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) capital ratio of 13.1%, up from 13.0% last year and continued to maintain strong liquidity metrics.

"2024 was a foundational year for Scotiabank as we launched and made early progress against our new strategy. The Bank delivered solid revenue growth and positive full year operating leverage, while redeploying capital to our priority markets across the North American corridor," said Scott Thomson, president and chief executive of Scotiabank. "While I am encouraged by our strategic progress to date, there is significant work ahead as we focus on client primacy initiatives to drive enhanced profitability across our businesses. I am confident that we are on track to achieve the targets we laid out at our Investor Day for 2025."