BANK OF N.T. BUTTERFIELD & SON LTD (NTB) Tops Q4 EPS by 2c, Revenues Beat

BANK OF N.T. BUTTERFIELD & SON LTD (NYSE: NTB) reported Q4 EPS of $0.87, $0.02 better than the analyst estimate of $0.85. Revenue for the quarter came in at $135.9 million versus the consensus estimate of $131.93 million.

Financial highlights for the fourth quarter of 2019:

• Net income of $43.9 million, or $0.82 per share and core net income1 of $46.2 million, or $0.87 per share
• Return on average common equity of 18.0% and core return on average tangible common equity1 of 21.1%
• Net interest margin of 2.59%
• Board declares a dividend for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 of $0.44 per share
• Completed the previously announced 2.5 million common share repurchase program and authorized a new repurchase program of up to 3.5 million common shares

Michael Collins, Butterfield's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer commented, "2019 was an important year for Butterfield in terms of operational and financial achievements. We successfully acquired the ABN AMRO (Channel Islands) banking business, which significantly increased our presence in Guernsey. With a relatively small market share in the Channel Islands, we are now pursuing growth to complement and balance our profitable and well-established banking franchises in Bermuda and Cayman. With the acquisition, we now have a larger and more diversified balance sheet supported by investment grade credit ratings from S&P, Moody's and KBRA.

"It was a more challenging US Dollar interest rate environment in the latter half of 2019 and we were able to achieve strong and stable core net income1. Continued share repurchases helped achieve a core net income per diluted share improvement of 5% and core return on average tangible common equity1 remained at industry-leading levels. Throughout the year, we continued to emphasize cost management initiatives and furthered our plans to leverage Group service centers, which helped us achieve a core efficiency ratio1 of 62.2% in 2019.

"I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Butterfield team in Cayman for the successful opening of the new Camana Bay Banking Centre in Grand Cayman earlier this week. Camana Bay is a fantastic location and a great start to the roll out of our updated Butterfield brand. We are confident that this investment will solidify and grow our retail and mid-market corporate banking market share in the Cayman Islands for years to come. Our investment in this new branch signals our confidence in Cayman and the desire to further enhance our offerings in this important market.

"As we enter 2020, Butterfield's strong balance sheet, capital efficient fee businesses, thoughtful capital management, and selective acquisition strategy should continue to provide long-term value for our shareholders. Finally, I would also like to thank our existing and new customers for their business and partnership with Butterfield during 2019 and to all Butterfield Group employees for their commitment to excellent customer service."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on BANK OF N.T. BUTTERFIELD & SON LTD (NTB) click here.

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