Community Bank System (CBU) Tops Q3 EPS by 3c

Community Bank System (NYSE: CBU) reported Q3 EPS of $0.81, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.78.

• Operating EPS of $0.81 up 17.4% over the third quarter of 2017
• Deposit funding costs of 0.13%
• Annualized net loan charge-offs of 0.11%
• Return on assets of 1.61%
• Return on tangible equity of 19.1%
• Non-banking noninterest revenues up 14.9% over the third quarter of 2017
• Dividend increase of $0.04 or 11.8%, the 26th consecutive year of increase

“Our solid third quarter and year-to-date operating results were again driven by productive loan origination activity in our business and consumer lending portfolios, a continuation of exceptional credit quality, disciplined expense management and continued growth in our non-interest income generation,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Tryniski. “We continued to successfully handle the blocking and tackling that is necessary to produce solid and consistent results in our markets. Our cost of funds has increased by only three basis points over the past 12 months while our earning asset yields have increased by 10 basis points during that same span. We continue to demonstrate a consistent commitment to sound underwriting processes as evidenced by a nonperforming loans ratio of 0.40% at quarter end and net charge-offs to average loans of just 0.11% for the third quarter. Our focus on continuing to grow our non-interest income sources produced noninterest revenues of $55.8 million, or nearly 40% of total revenue, for the quarter. The strength of our financial position was illustrated by our Board’s decision to increase our quarterly cash dividend by $0.04, or nearly 12%, to $0.38 per share. Clearly, the payment of a meaningful and growing dividend remains an important component of our commitment to provide consistent and favorable long-term returns to our shareholders. We remain well positioned for a strong finish to 2018 by continuing to focus on the activities which create value for our shareholders.”

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Community Bank System (CBU) click here.

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