Tuesday, FirstMerit Corp. (FMER), the bank holding company for FirstMerit Bank, reported a decline in third quarter earnings hurt by higher loan loss provisions and a decrease in interest income.
The Akron, Ohio-based company's third-quarter net income applicable common shares dipped to $22.76 million or $0.27 per share from $29.75 million or $0.36 per share in the prior year period. On average, ten analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.27 per share for the quarter.
Net interest income for the recent quarter declined to $87.38 million from $91.12 million a year ago, while total other income increased to $51.57 million from $47.03 million in the prior-year period. Analysts were looking for revenues of $139.43 million.
Interest and fees on loans, including held for sale, slipped to $84.28 million from $107.93 million a year ago.
Average loans during the quarter decreased by $225.3 million or 3.09% from the comparable year ago period, while average deposits increased by $58.1 million or 0.79% from a year ago.
For the quarter, the company made a provision for loan losses amounting to $23.89 million, compared to $15.53 million a year ago.
Year-to-date, the company reported net income applicable to common shares of $61.32 million or $0.73 per share, down from $90.35 million or $1.10 per share in the corresponding period last year.
Net interest income for the nine-month period was $261.39 million, down from $262.95 million last year. Total non-interest income rose to $157.6 million from $148.64 million in the prior year period.
FMER is trading at $19.87, up $0.45 or 2.32%, on a volume of about 507 thousand shares.
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