According to Statistics Canada, operating profits for Canadian corporations were up 9% to $71.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter.
This marks the highest level of profits since the economic downturn in late 2008. However, it was $6.1 billion below the peak in the third quarter of 2008.
In the fourth quarter, 15 of 22 industries across the country reported higher profits.
In the non-financial sector, operating profits in the fourth quarter increased 5.3% to $53.5 billion, following a 3.2% gain in the previous quarter.
Much of this growth came from the manufacturing industry, with its profits increasing 19.9% to $14.2 billion.
In the financial sector, operating profits increased 21.8% to $17.9 billion, following a 10.9% decline in the third quarter.
Most of the fourth-quarter growth came from the insurance industry, where profits increased by $2.3 billion to just over $1.9 billion. This reversed a $325 million loss recorded in the third quarter.
On a year-over-year basis, operating profits for Canadian corporations were 13.6% higher in the fourth quarter of 2011 than in the same quarter of 2010.
Profits increased 13.0% in the non-financial sector and 15.6% in the financial sector.
