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Sky Financial Group Nets $194.4M for 2004
"BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- Net income for 2004 at Sky Financial Group Inc.was $194.4 million, or $1.93 per diluted share, up 24.1% and 11.6%, respectively, from 2003, officials reported earlier today. Fourth-quarter net income of $49.3 million, or 46 cents per diluted share, compares to $41.5 million, or 45 cents per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2003.Return on average assets and return on average equity were 1.43% and 15.75%, respectively, for 2004, versus 1.29% and 17.23% for the prior year. Annualized return on assets and return on equity for the fourth quarter were 1.33% and 13.55%, respectively, compared with 1.28% and 16.82% for the year-ago quarter."Our solid performance for 2004 reflects another successful year for Sky," stated Marty E. Adams, president, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our focus on our strategic priorities produced strong results and strengthened our growing franchise. Organic growth in our targeted loan and deposit portfolios was solid throughout the year. Sky's fee-based businesses made excellent progress, while our expenses for both operations and credit losses remained well managed."During the second quarter of this year, the recently acquired Belmont Bancorp and its wholly owned subsidiary, Belmont National Bank, will be merged into Sky's Ohio Valley Region, Adams added. Belmont operates 12 branches in Belmont, Harrison and Tuscarawas counties in Ohio and Ohio County in West Virginia. Upon completion of the merger, the combined companies will have approximately $15.2 billion in total assets, and $10.6 billion in total deposits.Core operating earnings, which reflect net income adjusted to exclude merger-related expenses and discontinued operations that are not representative of ongoing operations, were $49.1 million for the fourth quarter, up 21.9% versus $40.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2003. Core operating earnings for the year 2004 were $178.2 million, or $1.77 per diluted share, up 14.5% and 2.9%, respectively, from $155.7 million, or $1.72 per diluted share, for the prior year. Average earning assets increased 21.7% over the fourth quarter of 2003 from a combination of organic growth and acquisitions. Average loans for the quarter increased 21.7% from 2003's volume during the same quarter, with organic growth, excluding indirect lending and sold loans, contributing 8.3% in addition to the acquisitions. Average deposits grew 19.2% from the fourth quarter of 2003, which included organic growth of 2% in addition to the acquisitions. Non-interest bearing deposits, Sky's highest growth priority, were up 29.5% for the fourth quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2003. This included organic growth of 14.5%.For this year, Chief Financial Officer Kevin Thompson projects diluted earnings per share on a core operating basis, excluding merger related expenses, of $1.85 to $1.91. Sky Financial Group is a $14.9 billion diversified financial holding company that ranks among the 50 largest publicly held bank holding companies in the nation based on asset size. Sky's financial service affiliates include Sky Bank, Sky Trust and Sky Insurance.Visit Sky Financial Group Inc.: www.skyfi.com"