TORONTO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada RY.TO , the country's biggest lender, reported a better-than-expected increase in first-quarter profit benefiting from a strong performance across all of its business divisions.
Earnings per share rose to C$1.97 per share, compared with C$1.58 a year earlier. Analysts on average had forecast earnings of C$1.77, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.