Huntington Reports 1Q Net Income of $149.1M
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Huntington Bancshares Inc., parent of Huntington National Bank, Wednesday reported first quarter net income of $149.1 million, or 17 cents a share.
This compares to net income the preceding quarter of $158.2 million, or 18 cents a share, and first-quarter 2013 net income of $153.3 million, or 17 cents a share.
Huntington also reported its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $21.25 on its 8.50% Series A Non-Cumulative Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock. The directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $7.32 per share on its floating rate Series B Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock. Both dividends are payable July 15 to shareholders of record July 1.
On Huntington common stock, the directors declared a five-cent cash dividend payable July 1 to shareholders of record June 17.
Significant items that influenced Huntington’s earnings, the company said, were completion of the acquisition of Camco Financial Corp., Cambridge, Ohio, which depressed earnings $12 million pretax, or $8 million after-tax, which translates to a penny a share, and a $9 million pre-tax addition to the company’s litigation reserves, $6 million after-tax, which also depressed earnings a penny a share.
Total loans and leases increased from the first quarter 2013, $40.9 billion to $43.4 billion. The fourth-quarter figure was $43.1 billion.
Total earning assets were $55 billion, up from $53 billion at Dec. 31 and $51 billion at March 31, 2013. Commercial and industrial loans and indirect auto lending “continue to drive growth,” the company reported, while the commercial real estate portfolio fell $400 million, or 7% during the quarter.
Average noninterest bearing deposits were $13.2 billion, down $100 million from Dec. 31 but $1 billion above the year-ago figure of $12.2 billion, the bank reported. This is a reflection of Huntington Bank attracting new customers, a spokesman said, attributing it to Huntington’s “Fair Play Philosophy.” The consumer customer base has grown 10.2% since its inception, he added.
Noninterest expense -- which includes salaries and benefits, rents, outside data processing, insurance (including Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. premiums) and advertising -- was 4% higher than the first quarter a year ago, $460.1 million to $442.8 million. This was attributed in part to the $9 million addition to litigation reserves, a $3 million goodwill impairment, $2 million in onetime acquisition expense, and a 70% increase, or $5 million, for professional services.
“Most credit quality-related metrics in the first quarter reflected continued improvement that were partially offset by the addition of the Camco portfolio,” Huntington said. Nonaccrual loans and leases fell by $53 million, or 14%, from March 31, 2013, to $327 million, or 0.74% of total loans and leases. Nonperforming assets fell $50 million, or 12%, to $365 million, or 0.82%, other real estate owned (repossessed properties) and $12 million of Camco-related nonperforming assets.
The provision for credit losses fell $5 million, or 17%, since March 31, 2013, and net charge-offs decreased $9 million over the same period.
Key performance ratios for the quarters ended March 31 and Dec. 31 and March 31, 2013:
- Return on average assets, 1.01%, 1.09%, 1.12%.
- Return on average common equity, 9.9$=%, 10.5%, 10.7%.
- Net interest margin, 3.27%, 3.28%, 3.42%.
- Efficiency ratio, 66.4%, 63.4%, 62.9%.
At $248.5 million, noninterest income was slightly below the figure reported Dec. 31, $249.9 million, and $7.8 million, or 3%, below the $256.6 million reported March 31, 2013. Huntington noted its mortgage banking income was $23.1 million for the quarter compared to $45.2 million a year ago and $24.3 million for the fourth quarter.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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