Lower overhead costs and a sharply reduced provision for loan losses helped Synovus Financial Corp. of Columbus, Ga., narrow its loss for the fifth consecutive quarter.
The $28.3 billion-asset company said Thursday that it lost $53.5 million in the second quarter, a marked improvement over the $93.7 million it lost in the first quarter of this year and the $242.6 million it lost in the same period last year.
On a per-share basis it lost seven cents, in line with the estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.
President and Chief Executive Officer Kessel D. Stelling said in a statement Thursday that Synovus is on track to start making money again. The company had been battered by defaults on real estate and construction loans,
"Credit improvement, a continued focus on efficiency and balance sheet stabilization will drive our return to sustainable profitability, which we continue to believe will occur in 2011," Stelling said.
Though its nonperforming assets remain elevated at $1.2 billion, or 5.85% of total assets, they declined 22.5% year over year.
As a result, Synovus was able to lower the amount it set aside for loan losses by nearly 60% from last year's second quarter, to $120 million.
Synovus also has been cutting expenses with a goal of saving $75 million in 2011.
Since the end of 2010, the company has reduced its workforce by nearly 12% and closed 31 branches.
