Fee Income, Loan Growth Fuel 9.5% 1Q Rise at Centura

Propelled by a surge in fee income and continued strong loan growth, first-quarter earnings at Centura Banks Inc. reached $16 million, up 9.5% from a year earlier.

Centura earned 68 cents per share, beating consensus estimates by a penny.

The upbeat performance at the Rocky Mount, N.C.-based bank was spurred by a 39% increase in noninterest income, to $18.9 million. The company, which reported its results April 3, cited "significant" contributions from its brokerage operation, Centura Securities Inc., as well as higher mortgage and deposit servicing fees.

The overall earnings gain was significant in light of Centura's continuing heavy investment in technology and a fall in the net interest margin to 4.5% from 5.03% in the same period a year ago.

Centura, which has $5.5 billion of assets, spent $14 million on sales and technology improvements last year, including a branch automation system that became operational last month. First quarter noninterest expense rose 22% to $47.8 million.

"We're just beginning to see the payoffs on the spending initiatives that have been ongoing for the last two years," said analyst John Coffey, with the Robinson-Humphrey Co. in Atlanta. "Hopefully we'll see a stabilization on the expenses."

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