Huntington 1Q Profit Dips on Lower Loan Sales

Profit fell slightly at Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) on fewer gains from loan sales last quarter.

The Columbus, Ohio, company said Wednesday that it earned $152 million in the first quarter, down 1% from a year earlier. Per-share profit of 17 cents exceeded by 1 cent the expectations of analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Noninterest income dipped 12%, to $252.2 million, largely because of a $24 million decline, to $2.6 million, in gains from the sale of loans. Huntington had benefited from a large securitization of auto loans in the first quarter of 2012.

Huntington also recorded an 18% decline in miscellaneous noninterest income, to $33.4 million, reflecting the bank's acquisition of the failed Fidelity Bank in Dearborn, Mich., which had allowed Huntington to record a bargain-purchase gain in the first quarter of 2012.

Huntington's net interest income rose 2%, to $430.1 million, as total interest-earning assets rose by $1.2 billion and its net interest margin widened by 2 basis points, to 3.42%.

Huntington, which has assets of $56 billion, reported significant improvement in credit quality since the first quarter of 2012. Its provision for credit losses fell 14%, to $29.6 million, and net chargeoffs declined 38%, to $51.7  million. Total nonperforming loans and leases fell 18%, to $380.3 million.

Huntington also announced that it would raise its dividend to 5 cents a share, a 1-cent increase, and repurchase up to $227 million in common stock, a 25% increase over its last repurchase program.