First Financial Bancorp reports Q2 adjusted EPS 74c, consensus 68c

Net interest margin on FTE basis of 4.05%; 17 bps increase from first quarter. Archie Brown, President and CEO, commented on the quarter, “I am thrilled with our performance this quarter. We achieved record revenue of $226.3 million, which represents a 5% increase over the same quarter one year ago. This drove adjusted earnings per share of $0.74, an adjusted return on assets of 1.54% and an adjusted return on tangible common equity of 20%. The company’s industry-leading profitability was once again driven by a robust net interest margin. Loan growth was 2% on an annualized basis, and we were pleased with broad-based growth in most portfolios, with the exception of commercial real estate, which declined due to accelerated payoffs. Payoffs have started to subside, and we expect higher loan growth in the second half of this year.”