BBT BB and T Corporation

By Lisa Beilfuss 

BB&T Corp. said profit in its latest quarter declined as the lender took in less fee income, set aside more money to cover potential loan losses and booked higher merger-related expenses.

Revenue increased thanks in part to recent acquisitions, but results fell shy of Wall Street expectations.

The Winston-Salem, N.C.-based lender reported earnings of $542 million, down from $603 million a year earlier. Per-share profit fell to 64 cents from 75 cents; excluding certain items, earnings per share were 68 cents. Revenue grew 6.9% to $2.56 billion.

Analysts projected adjusted profit of 69 cents a share on $2.57 billion in revenue, according to Thomson Reuters.

The regional bank said its results were buoyed by its acquisition of Susquehanna Bancshares, which BB&T closed in August, the latest in a string of recent deals for the lender. That deal boosted net interest income, which rose to $1.54 billion from $1.37 billion a year earlier, though a key rate of lending profitability edged down modestly from a year earlier. That gauge, which is closely tied to interest rates, came in at 3.35%, flat from the third quarter.

BB&T's latest acquisition, a $1.8 billion purchase of Pennsylvania-based National Penn Bancshares Inc., is expected to close April 1, the company said.

While interest income improved during the quarter, revenue from fees dipped 0.7% to $1.02 billion as the bank saw declines in its insurance, mortgage banking and investment banking businesses. Expenses, meanwhile, ticked up because of a jump in merger-related expenses, driving the bank's efficiency ratio up to 58.8% from 55.6%. The ratio, where lower is better, measures costs as a percentage of revenue.

A higher provision for potential loan losses also bit into the bottom line. BB&T set aside $128 million for credit losses, up from $84 million a year earlier. Some lenders have been increasing loan loss reserves as the sharp decline in energy prices threatens some loans.

Shares in the company, down 13% since the start of the year, were inactive premarket.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 21, 2016 07:09 ET (12:09 GMT)

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