Popular Inc. earns $1.1B in ’22, up from prior year
Popular Inc. reported earnings of $1.1 billion in 2022, fueled by the acquisition of certain assets formerly under Evertec Inc., and higher interest income, among other factors. The most recent numbers are up from the $934.9 million for the year 2021.
The bank also reported net income of $257.1 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2022, compared to the $206.1 million for the same year-ago quarter. The bank earned net income of $422.4 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2022.
Excluding the effects of the partial release of $68.2 million of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, the net income for the fourth quarter was $188.9 million. The net income for the third quarter was $195.8 million after excluding the impact of the completed Evertec transactions and related accounting adjustments.
“During the summer, we completed the acquisition of key customer facing channels from Evertec and made important changes to our contractual relationship with them. Leveraging these transactions, we have embarked on a broad based multiyear technological and business process transformation,” said Popular Inc. CEO Ignacio Álvarez during an earnings call with analysts.
“The needs and expectations of our clients as well as the competitive landscape has evolved, requiring us to make important investments in our technological infrastructure and adopt more agile practices,” he said.
“We ended 2022 with a solid performance in the fourth quarter helping us achieve record earnings of $1.1 billion for the year,” he said. “Our record annual earnings are the product of focusing on long-term customer relationships and sustainable growth strategies.”
“During the quarter, we continued to see broad-based loan growth and strong credit quality metrics, although our net interest income was impacted by higher deposit costs, primarily related to our portfolio of Puerto Rico public deposits,” he said.
During 2023, Popular Inc. said it will continue to leverage the benefits of the Evertec transaction and will focus on growing and deepening our strong commercial and retail franchise in Puerto Rico as it continues to look for appropriate opportunities in the U.S. mainland market, Álvarez said.
“While we are aware of the macroeconomic headwinds related to inflation and geopolitical risks, we are confident that given the amount of stimulative support from federal funds, Puerto Rico will continue its growth path, albeit perhaps at a slower pace,” he said.
