BB&T second-quarter profits up 19 percent on deals

BB&T on Thursday said profits grew 19.2 percent from the second quarter a year ago as acquisitions by the Winston-Salem-based bank boosted revenue.

BB&T reported $541 million in net income available to common shareholders, compared with $454 million for the same quarter last year. Earnings per share were 66 cents, four cents higher than the same quarter last year.

Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 71 cents per share. This topped Wall Street expectations of 65 cents per share.

Recent purchases by BB&T of other banks helped push its revenue to $2.8 billion, up 18 percent from the same period a year earlier. Over that period, BB&T completed acquisitions of National Penn and London-based Swett & Crawford.

BB&T largely credited its acquisitions with pushing its net interest income to a record $1.8 billion in the quarter, a $309 million increase compared to a year ago.

“We are pleased to report record revenues and total assets for the second quarter,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kelly King. “Our strategic acquisitions and strong organic growth have allowed us to expand our footprint and achieve record results.”

But these purchases also increased expenses. Noninterest expenses were up 9 percent from a year ago. The bank attributed this largely to an additional 1,900 employees from recent acquisitions.

King also said the bank will increase dividends by 7 percent and start a share repurchase program.

Though the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed slightly more than 6 percent since the beginning of the year, BB&T shares have dropped almost 4 percent in that time. In pre-market trading Thursday, the bank’s shares were down 0.5 percent at $36.44.

BB&T is the third largest bank in the Charlotte metro area by deposits and employs about 1,900 in the area.

The Associated Press contributed

This story was originally published July 21, 2016 at 10:04 AM with the headline "BB&T second-quarter profits up 19 percent on deals."