Financial Institutions (FISI) Tops Q4 EPS by 18c

Financial Institutions (NASDAQ: FISI) reported Q4 EPS of $0.79, $0.18 better than the analyst estimate of $0.61.

President and Chief Executive Officer Martin K. Birmingham stated, “We are pleased to report strong results in the fourth quarter, capping a solid year of performance for the Company. 2019 was a year of accomplishment with record-breaking net income and strengthening capital ratios. Our efforts to reposition the balance sheet through the rotation of securities into loans and reducing the size of our consumer indirect portfolio were successful and contributed to improved profitability. We also continued to invest in our customers, communities and associates. Community engagement was highlighted by volunteer activities, financial investments and product offerings, including the expansion of our program to provide debt and equity financing for affordable and special needs housing in our markets.

“We also took steps to position our organization for the future and look forward to the 2020 launch of two new major initiatives. The first relates to the execution of our enterprise standardization program. We have been working with proven advisers who specialize in implementing standardization-based improvements and have identified opportunities to improve Company operations, deliver enhanced customer experience, and improve operational efficiency while enhancing customer and employee experiences.

“The second is Five Star Bank Digital Banking. We are proud of our commitment to provide education, advice and solutions to improve our customers' financial well-being, and we believe this new platform will allow us to significantly improve the user experience across all devices and offer many new features. This is an important step in the development of our omni channel distribution platform, enhancing capabilities across retail and commercial loan, deposit and cash management services.”

Chief Financial Officer Justin K. Bigham added, “We generated positive operating leverage in the quarter and for the year. NIM was 3.33% for the quarter, an increase of four basis points from the linked quarter. This expansion was primarily the result of the Company’s balance sheet repositioning, as loans became a higher percentage of earning assets, combined with the impact of commercial prepayments received during the quarter. The TCE ratio also increased by six basis points in the quarter, from 7.99% to 8.05%.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Financial Institutions (FISI) click here.

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