EDMONTON -- CWB Financial Group raised its dividend as it reported a third-quarter profit of $71 million.

The Edmonton-based bank says it will now pay a quarterly dividend of 28 cents per share, up a penny from its previous rate.

The increased payment to shareholders came as the bank said its latest profit amounted to 81 cents per share, up from a profit of $62 million or 70 cents per share a year ago.

The bank's adjusted cash earnings per share amounted to 82 cents per share for the most recent quarter, up from 75 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Analysts on average had expected a profit of 80 cents per share, according to financial markets data from Refinitiv.

CWB chief executive Chris Fowler says the results came as the bank continued to make significant progress on its strategic transformation.

"Investment in capabilities to broaden our client relationships is clearly yielding results, and we are excited about our tremendous growth potential," he said in a statement.

"Going forward, further development of our differentiated full-service client experience will bring in highly scalable digital capabilities and an increasingly focused, team-based personal service model."