BMO profit hits $1.1B

Profit at Bank of Montreal (BMO-T) rose 34 percent in the first quarter, as lower credit losses and the addition of Midwestern U.S. bank Marshall & Ilsley Corp. made up for falling profits at its Canadian retail banking and capital markets operations.

BMO, Canada's fourth-largest bank by assets made $1.11 billion, or $1.63 a share in the quarter. That compared to profit of $825 million, or $1.34 a share, during the same period last year.

Revenue rose 18.7 percent to $4.12 billion.

The results beat the expectations of analysts, who were predicting profit of $1.36 a share on average. Adjusted for one-time items, BMO made $1.42 a share.