M&T Bank Fourth Quarter Adj Profit Tops View

(RTTNews) - Financial services firm M&T Bank Corp. (MTB) reported Tuesday a profit for the fourth quarter that grew 25 percent from last year, reflecting lower provisions for credit losses and a decline in expenses. Operating earnings per share also topped analysts' expectations by a penny.

"Results for this past year's final quarter were solid. We had improved revenues, healthy loan growth, stable expense levels and excellent credit experience. Overall, 2014 represented a year of considerable investment in our infrastructure," CFO Rene Jones said in a statement.

Buffalo, New-York based regional bank reported net income available to common shareholders of $254.24 million or $1.92 per share for the fourth quarter, higher than $203.45 million or $1.56 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, net operating income for the quarter was $281.93 million or $1.95 per share, compared to $227.80 million or $1.61 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.94 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Taxable-equivalent net interest income grew 2 percent to $687.85 million from $672.68 million in the year-ago quarter.

Non-interest income also increased 6 percent to $452 million from $446 million last year, reflecting higher residential mortgage banking revenues associated with loan servicing activities.

Fifteen Wall Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.13 billion for the quarter.

Net interest margin for the quarter, a key measure of lending profitability, narrowed 46 basis points to 3.10 percent from 3.56 percent in the prior-year quarter.

Provision for credit losses declined 21 percent to $33 million from $42 million last year. Net charge-offs of loans were $32 million or 0.19 percent, compared to $42 million or 0.26 percent in the year-ago quarter.

Noninterest expense for the quarter totaled $680 million, down from $743 million in the prior-year quarter.

"Significant progress was made on our BSA/AML, compliance, risk management and technology initiatives that will position us well moving forward. In a year of substantial resource commitment, we further strengthened our already formidable balance sheet by raising our capital and liquidity levels," Jones added.

In Tuesday's regular trading session, MTB is currently trading at $115.83, up $0.80 or 0.70% on a volume of 3,617 shares.