First Republic Beats Estimates on Strong Revenue Growth

Profits at First Republic Bank fell slightly in the third quarter as increased salary and benefits costs and a decline in noninterest income could not offset strong growth in loans, deposits and wealth management assets.

Overall, though, it was a strong quarter for the San Francisco bank as core revenue climbed nearly 15% year over year, to $459 million.

The $55.4 billion-asset company said Thursday that it earned $134.8 million in the quarter that ended June 30, down about 1% from the same period last year. Most of the decline could be attributed to a roughly 16% increase in noninterest expenses and a sharply lower gain on sales of loans and investment securities.

Still, while earnings per share fell 5%, to 82 cents, they beat the average estimates of analysts by a penny. Loans outstanding, excluding those held for sale, climbed nearly 16% year over year, to $42.4 billion, while wealth management revenues increased 13.4%, to $50.7 million. Meanwhile, deposits surged nearly 25%, to $44.3 billion and wealth management assets climbed nearly 15%, to $58.8 billion.

First Republic’s shares were trading at $62.47 early Thursday and are up roughly 23% for the year.

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