PROVIDENCE – Citizens Financial Group Inc. reported a 25.9 percent increase in profit in the first quarter, and a 7.6 percent increase in assets, driven by loan and lease growth.
“We are off to a solid start in 2015. We are executing well on our strategy, and our financial performance continues to meet expectations,” Citizens Chairman and CEO Bruce Van Saun said in a statement.
“We also had a successful [Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review] result and supported the successful secondary offering of our common stock which, combined with our April share repurchase, reduced the Royal Bank of Scotland Group’s ownership level to 41 percent,” Van Saun said. “We continue to set ambitious goals for ourselves, and remain focused on execution and improving how the bank is operating.”
Van Saun also noted the appointments of Eric Aboaf as chief financial officer and Don McCree as vice chairman and head of commercial banking, both of which were announced in the first quarter.
Profit was $209 million, or 38 cents per diluted share, in the first quarter compared with $166 million, or 30 cents per diluted share, during the prior-year period. Earnings beat average analyst estimates of 34 cents per share.
Interest income and non-interest income combined totaled $1.29 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 3 percent compared with $1.25 billion during the prior-year quarter. Total assets increased 7.6 percent to $136.5 billion in the first quarter, from $126.9 billion a year ago. Loans and leases grew 8.5 percent to $94.5 billion, driven by higher commercial, auto, student and residential mortgage balances.
Period-end total deposits were $99 billion, or 13.2 percent higher, than the prior year quarter, driven by growth in money market, term deposits and checking with interest.
The bank also noted that its first-quarter results were negatively affected by a $6 million after-tax charge related to restructuring charges and special items, including costs associated with rebranding and separation from RBS. Citizens’ fourth-quarter results were trimmed by $20 million after tax for similar charges.
