First BanCorp reports Q2 EPS 46c, consensus 41c

“We closed the first half of the year with another quarter of solid operating performance across most franchise metrics and remain highly encouraged by our growth prospects throughout the rest of the year. Once again, we delivered a strong return on assets of 1.61%, grew our net interest margin, registered organic loan growth across all businesses, grew core deposits and returned 100% of earnings to shareholders in the form of buybacks and common stock dividends. We continue to generate top quartile financial results through our proven business model, ongoing operational efficiency, and commitment to preserve shareholder value. Core deposits, other than brokered and government deposits, were up by $132 million reflecting growth in all regions. More importantly, this growth includes a $47 million increase in non-interest-bearing deposits, further expanding our low-cost and well diversified funding base while reducing our exposure to higher-cost funding sources. Even though overall asset quality remained stable, as we have previously mentioned we have continued to see early-delinquency and charge-off trends within the consumer lending segment returning to historical levels.”