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The fourth quarter of 2014 capped a year of continued investment
WSFS Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:WSFS), the parent company of WSFS Bank, reported net income of $12.7 million, or $1.32 per diluted common share for the final quarter of 2014 compared to net income of $11.4 million, or $1.23 per share for the third quarter of 2014 and net income of $12.1 million, or $1.33 per share for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Results for both the third and fourth quarter of 2014 included significant corporate development costs primarily related to the merger integration of The First National Bank of Wyoming (FNBW).
Net income for the full year of 2014 was $53.8 million, up from $46.9 million for 2013. Earnings per share were $5.78 per diluted common share in 2014, 14% greater than the $5.06 per share reported for the full year 2013.
Highlights for the fourth quarter of 2014:
– Core(o) net revenues increased $4.5 million, or 8% above the fourth quarter 2013.
– Net interest margin increased by five basis points to 3.78% from 3.73% in the third quarter of 2014, and improved ten basis points from 3.68% in the fourth quarter 2013. This improvement resulted from fundamental positive trends in pricing and mix, together with the margin impact of the acquisition of FNBW.
– Major credit quality statistics showed continued strong improvement during the quarter including classified assets which decreased by $46.5 million or 29% and stood at 21.5% of Tier 1 capital plus allowance for loan losses.
Notable items:
– WSFS recorded $1.0 million (pre-tax), or $0.07 per diluted common share (after-tax) in expenses related to corporate development activities. The majority were attributable to the acquisition of FNBW (no additional material integration costs are expected from the FNBW transaction in future periods). This compares to $2.6 million, or $0.18 per share in corporate development expense in the third quarter of 2014 and $525,000, or $0.04 per share in the fourth quarter of 2013.
– WSFS recorded $565,000 (pre-tax), or $0.04 per diluted common share (after-tax) adjustment in benefit expense for its post-retirement health plan obligations, which was the result of a number of factors, including changes in assumptions to expected lower long-term interest rates (affecting the discount rate) and longer life expectancy of participants from a recent actuarial update to mortality tables. These updates are evaluated on an annual basis.
– WSFS realized $58,000 (pre-tax), or less than $0.01 per diluted common share (after-tax) in net gains on securities sales during the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to $36,000 (pre-tax), or less than $0.01 per share (after-tax) in in the third quarter of 2014 and $660,000, or $0.05 per share in the fourth quarter of 2013.
