United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., reported little change in its fourth-quarter profit, as costs from its acquisition of Palmetto Bancshares ate into lending revenue and fee income.
The $9.6 billion-asset company's net income was little changed from a year earlier, at $18.2 million. Adjusted earnings per share, which exclude merger-related charges, rose 10% to 33 cents, meeting the average estimate of analysts polled by Bloomberg.
Noninterest expense rose 56% to $65.5 million, largely due to $9.1 million in merger-related costs. Salary and commission expenses also rose as United hired lenders and support staff for specialized lending and it gave higher commissions for growth in Small Business Administration loans, mortgages, commercial loans and core deposits. The efficiency ratio worsened by more than 1,000 basis points to 68.97%.
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The banking company is the latest to flirt with a threshold that promises added regulatory burden. But a pause from more acquisitions should also give management a chance to brush up on deal integration before making an even larger acquisition.
April 22 -
United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., has agreed to buy Palmetto Bancshares in Greenville, S.C.
April 22 -
Jimmy Tallent is leading an impressive comeback at United Community Banks in Georgia. But what's even more impressive is that he got the chance.
August 26
Net interest income after the provision for credit losses rose 31% to $73.5 million. The provision fell from $1.8 million to $300,000. The net interest margin widened by 3 basis points to 3.34%.
Fee income rose 44% to $21.3 million, on higher deposit service charges, mortgage income and gains from the sale of SBA loans.
United's results this year included three quarters of results from its acquisition of Palmetto, compared with one quarter of results in last year's quarter. United closed its