OFG Bancorp reports $23.1M in net income in 4Q18
OFG Bancorp reported net income of $23.1 million, or $0.45 per fully diluted share, compared to $19.6 million during the third quarter of 2018, or $0.42 per share and the same year-ago quarter, when it made $13.6 million or $0.30 per share.
For the year ended Dec. 31,
2018, the financial institution reported net income available to shareholders
of $72.4 million, or $1.52 per fully diluted share, compared to 2017’s $38.8
million or $0.88 per share. The numbers for 2017 included a $32.4 million
pre-tax loan loss provision related to the hurricanes, the bank reported.
During the last quarter of last
year, Oriental Bancorp originated loan growth of 3 percent from the preceding
quarter to $3.66 billion, with new loan production of $323 million, continuing
to exceed $300 million for the fourth consecutive quarter, the bank reported.
“OFG achieved strong core
growth in 4Q18 and 2018 based on the continued success of our strategy of
differentiation — providing superior customer service, convenience and
technology — coupled with Puerto Rico’s emerging economic rebound,” OFG Bancorp
President José Rafael Fernández.
“Our plan is working. For the
year as a whole, we generated impressive results across the board, with
originated loans up 17.3 percent, average deposits up 6.4 percent, customer
count up 4.6 percent, and stockholders’ equity up 5.8 percent, as well as
achieving improved credit quality, converting our Series C preferred, and
increasing our quarterly dividend,” he said.
Looking ahead, Fernández said Oriental
Bancorp “will continue to focus on growth capitalizing on our momentum,” and “continue
to generate loan and deposit growth.”
The financial institution plans
to continue “to make our services better – easy, fast, done – and develop fresh
ways to employ digital technology to the benefit of customers,” he said.
During a conference call to
discuss the latest results, Fernández expressed optimism about Puerto Rico’s
economy, saying specific industries and sectors are transitioning from recovery
to emerging growth.
However, he also said the
island “needs to catch up to the rest of the region and the world and become
more competitive.”
For that to become a reality, “we
need to fix the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority problem, resolve the
island’s fiscal and financial challenges, execute on a long-term plan for
economic growth and reduce regulation, taxes and electricity costs.”
“All these will especially
benefit small businesses and entrepreneurs, the sustainable and traditional
engine of economic growth in many states of the union and the world,” he said
during the call transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
