Synovus reports $66 million profit; CEO says bank is ‘energized’

Synovus Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kessel Stelling, saying his company is “energized about the opportunities” in the coming year, put 2016 behind it by reporting a solid fourth quarter.

The regional bank, headquartered in Columbus, said Tuesday it earned net income, or profit, of $66 million in the October-December period, which translates to 54 cents per diluted share. That’s up just over 18 percent from a profit of $55.8 million, or 43 cents per share, in the same three-month timeframe of 2015.

The quarterly profit came on revenues just topping $301 million, up just over 8 percent from net income of $273.7 million posted in the fourth quarter the year prior.

“We closed out 2016 with another quarter of improved profitability demonstrated by diluted earnings per share of 54 (cents), up 26 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2015,” Stelling said in a statement. “We also achieved strong earnings per share growth for the full year and returned more than $300 million in capital to our shareholders. We are energized about the opportunities in 2017 and beyond as we focus on exceptional and efficient service delivery, understanding and meeting customer needs, further balance sheet diversification, disciplined expense management, and investing in our communities.”

It was a rewarding quarter and year for investors in the parent company of Columbus Bank and Trust, which does business in five Southeastern states -- Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee. Synovus said it wrapped up a $300 million common stock repurchase program, buying back 9.9 million shares altogether. That reduced total share count by 7.6 percent.

The bankholding firm also said its board of directors have already approved yet another repurchase program in which up to $200 million more shares may be bought back and taken out of the active market. In theory, fewer shares on the open market make those remaining in investors’ hands that much more valuable.

On top of that move, Synovus said the directors also have approved a quarterly common stock dividend of 15 cents per share, which is up 25 percent from the previous dividends it had been paying out. The dividend is payable to shareholders in April.

Those owning stock in the company also watched on Friday as Synovus shares reached a 52-week high of $42.48 heading into Tuesday’s release of earnings information. The 52-week low is $25.48. After tipping into the high, the stock closed Friday at $41.29 per share and will open trading on the New York Stock Exchange again this morning with the solid financial report now under its belt and made public.

For all of 2016, Synovus reported net income, or a profit, of $236.5 million, or $1.89 per share. That compares to $215.8 million or $1.62 per share. Diluted earnings per share increased nearly 17 percent year over year, it said.

That full-year profit performance came on revenues of $1.14 billion, an increase of just over 6 percent from $1.07 billion in revenues for all of 2015.

Synovus saw improvement during the fourth quarter in most of the key categories it tracks. Total loans were up, including commercial and industrial, and retail. Commercial real-estate loans were down. Average deposits were higher, while non-performing loans were lower.

On the expense side of its ledger for all of 2016, total non-interest expense came in at just under $756 million, which was a little more than 5 percent higher than the $717.6 million. Personnel, by far the lion’s share of that expense, climbed 5.5 percent from $380.8 million to $402 million. Net occupancy and equipment expenses also were up, as were third-party processing and advertising.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 8:33 AM with the headline "Synovus reports $66 million profit; CEO says bank is ‘energized’."