By Adriano Marchese 



  Bank of Nova Scotia on Tuesday reported a 27% fall in third-quarter profit, as its retail banking business in Canada and international markets was hit by the pandemic. 


  For the quarter ended July 31, the Toronto-based bank reported net profit of 1.36 billion Canadian dollars (US$1.03 billion), or C$1.04 a share, compared with C$1.86 billion, or C$1.50, for the same period last year. 


  Excluding items, Bank of Nova Scotia reported an adjusted profit of C$1.04 a share for the quarter, missing analysts forecasts of C$1.11, polled on FactSet. 


  However, total revenue rose to C$7.73 billion from C$7.66 billion. Return on equity was 8.3% in the quarter, down from 11.5%. 


  The bank said its retail banking business in Canada as well as in international markets was negatively influenced by the pandemic, but that its performance was helped by strong results in its global-banking and markets and wealth-management businesses. 


  Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com