Stock Alert: Bancolombia Dips Following Q4 Earnings

(RTTNews) - Friday, shares of Bancolombia S.A. (CIB) declined $4.19 or 7.7% after the bank's fourth-quarter earnings missed estimates. The stock closed Friday's trade at $50.21 and has traded in the range of $44.66- $56.10 in the last one year.

Net earnings per ADR in the fourth quarter decreased 53.2% to $0.60 per share on increased expenses. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of$1.02 per share.

Net interest income for the quarter, however, increased 0.8% year-over-year to COP 2.842 trillion.

"During the fourth quarter, we had three main reasons that impacted expenses. Average FX was higher during the quarter and the year. There was an increase in expenses associated to foreclosed assets due to our strategy to improve the collection process. And personnel expenses increased because of adjustments to bonus plan payments due to higher earnings generated during the year," said Juan Carlos Mora Uribe, Chief Executive Officer.