LANCASTER, PA — Fulton Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: FULT), recently announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2024, evident of a slight decrease but with stable operations. The corporation has reported a net income of $59.4 million, translating to $0.36 per diluted share, indicating a drop of $2.3 million or 3.8% compared to the previous quarter of 2023. The corporation’s operating net income for the first quarter amounted to $65.4 million or $0.40 per diluted share, a decrease of $3.5 million or 5.0%.
Despite the elements of decrease, Chairman and CEO of Fulton Financial Corporation Curtis J. Myers shared an optimistic overview. He expressed satisfaction with Fulton’s Q1 results, highlighting the positive start to the year with solid operating earnings. In addition, he noted that deposit growth outpaced loan growth during the quarter, with the net interest margin aligning with their expectations. Asset quality also remained stable, a promising indicator of financial health.
Detailed in the report, the net interest income for Q1 2024 was $206.9 million, a decrease of $5.1 million compared to Q4 2023. This was largely due to marginal decreases in both average interest-earning assets and the net interest margin. Interestingly, the total average interest-bearing liabilities rose to $18.9 billion in Q1 2024, an increase of $347.9 million compared to Q4 2023.
Despite a dip in net interest margin from 3.36% to 3.32%, interest income saw a rise of $1.5 million to $339.7 million buoyed by higher loan yields and an increase in the average balance of net loans. However, interest expense on interest-bearing liabilities increased by $6.6 million to $132.7 million.
Compared to the first quarter of 2023, net interest income for Q1 2024 saw a decline of $8.7 million, or 4.0%. Yet, interest income showed an increase of $49.8 million due to rising interest rates, resulting in an increase in interest income from net loans.
A highlight of these results is the asset quality of the corporation. The report cited a provision for credit losses of $10.9 million in Q1 2024 primarily due to net charge-offs of $8.6 million and loan growth. Non-performing assets were $156.4 million, representing 0.57% of total assets, compared with $154.2 million or 0.56% of total assets at the end of 2023.
Non-interest income, before investment securities gains or losses, for Q1 2024 was $57.1 million, showing a decrease of $3.0 million from the previous quarter. Despite the slight decrease, the year over year comparison showed a promising increase of $5.4 million from Q1 2023.
In terms of non-interest expense, there was a decrease of $3.0 million compared to Q4 2023, with the figure standing at $177.6 million for Q1 2024. This decrease was predominantly due to a decrease in FDIC insurance expense, offset by an increase in FultonFirst implementation costs and loss on asset disposals.
Finally, the effective tax rate for Q1 2024 was 18% in comparison to last year’s full-year effective tax rate of 18.5%. This slight shift demonstrates the corporation’s adherence to fiscal regulations and its efficient tax structure.
These financial results represent an intriguing start to the financial year for Fulton Financial Corporation. Despite the slight decrease in certain areas, the company maintains a robust operational performance, characterized by solid earnings, steady deposit growth, and stable asset quality. The corporation’s focus and progress on strategic initiatives, coupled with the resilient performance, shows promise for the upcoming quarters of 2024.
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