SunTrust Q3 Earnings Top Expectations

reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the third quarter on Friday. The Atlanta, Georgia-based bank reported a quarterly profit of $537 million, or $1 per share, compared to $576 million, or $1.06 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the bank's profit climbed to $1 per share from $0.81 per share. Its revenue rose 1.3 percent to $2.06 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.84 per share on revenue of $2.04 billion. The average estimate among 31 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.85 per share and revenue of $2.04 billion. Fee revenue gained 4 percent to $811 million for the quarter. Average client deposits surged to $145.2 billion for the current quarter, from $132.2 billion in the year-ago quarter. Average performing loans rose 2 percent year-over-year to $132.4 billion. Its net interest margin shrank to 2.94 percent, from 3.03 percent in the year-ago period. Noninterest income climbed to $811 million for the current quarter, from $780 million for the year-ago quarter. Trading income slipped to $31 million from $46 million, while investment banking income surged to $115 million from $88 million. During the quarter, SunTrust repurchased $175 million of common stock. At September 30, 2015, SunTrust had total assets of $187.0 billion. At September 30, 2015, total nonperforming assets shrank 43 percent year-over-year to $532 million. "SunTrust delivered solid earnings performance in the third quarter, driven by continued loan and deposit growth, improved efficiency, and strong asset quality trends," said William H. Rogers, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of SunTrust Banks, Inc. "Our fundamentals are strong and, despite the challenging operating environment, I am confident in our ability to deliver further value to our clients and shareholders as we continue to execute against our key strategies." SunTrust shares gained 2.62 percent to close at $39.51 yesterday.