Sandy Spring Bancorp Reports Record Net Income of $15.1 Million for the First Quarter
OLNEY, Md., April 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sandy Spring Bancorp, Inc., (Nasdaq:SASR) the parent company of Sandy Spring Bank, today reported net income for the first quarter of 2017 of $15.1 million ($0.63 per diluted share) compared to net income of $10.8 million ($0.45 per diluted share) for the first quarter of 2016 and net income of $13.3 million ($0.55 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter of 2016.
“Higher net interest income driven primarily by strong loan growth over the preceding year was the main driver of our record first quarter earnings. Continued strong credit quality, the execution of efficient funding strategies and disciplined expense control were also contributing factors to our performance for the quarter,” said Daniel J. Schrider, President and Chief Executive Officer.
First Quarter Highlights:
- Total loans increased 12% compared to the first quarter of 2016 and 2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. These increases were driven primarily by year-over-year growth of 16% in the commercial loan portfolio.
- Total deposits grew 11% from the prior year period and 6% from the prior quarter.
- The net interest margin was 3.51% for the first quarter of 2017, compared to 3.44% for the first quarter of 2016 and 3.52% for the fourth quarter of 2016.
- Return on average equity increased 38% to 11.45% as compared to 8.29% from the prior year.
- The Non-GAAP efficiency ratio was 54.78% for the current quarter as compared to 61.84% for the first quarter of 2016 and 57.54% for the fourth quarter of 2016.
- Pre-tax, pre-provision income increased 33% compared with the first quarter of 2016.