Washington Federal, Inc. (WAFD), parent company of Washington Federal, Tuesday reported higher profit for the second quarter, as the firm earmarked no provision for loan losses.
Quarterly earnings advanced to $35.98 million or $0.34 per share from $34.07 million or $0.32 per share last year. On average, 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.33 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net interest income for the quarter fell to $93.0 million from $104.60 million in the prior year.
The provision for loan losses decreased to zero from $18.0 million.
Chairman, President & CEO Roy Whitehead said, ''Higher earnings during the quarter were largely due to improved asset quality driven by progress in housing and overall market conditions in our eight state territory. Still, consumers and businesses remain cautious and we expect earnings to be under pressure until loan demand improves or higher interest rates enable us to be more competitive with government mortgage sources."
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