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Wintrust Financial Corp. reported a strong fourth quarter, surpassing analyst estimates.
Wintrust is the Rosemont, Illinois-based parent company of Hartland-based Town Bank and Pewaukee-based Foundations Bank.
The company’s fourth quarter net income was $54.6 million, or 94 cents per diluted share, up from $35.5 million, or 64 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2015. The profit beat the Seeking Alpha consensus analyst estimate by 3 cents.
Revenue was $276.1 million, up 18.8 percent from the fourth quarter of 2015. Sales surpassed analyst predictions by nearly $5.4 million.
Fourth-quarter net interest income was 190.8 million, up from $167.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, which the company attributed to earnings asset growth. The company increased its total loans by 13 percent, to $19.7 billion. The figure includes $79 million in acquisition-related loans obtained during the quarter.
Non-interest income was $85.3 million, up from $65.1 million in the same period a year ago, most of which came from mortgage banking.
Full-year profits were $206.9 million, or $2.66 per diluted share, up from $156.7 million, or $2.93 per share, in 2015.
In 2016, Wintrust increased its total assets to $25.7 billion, up from $22.9 million at the same time in 2015.
Both fourth quarter and full-year profits set records for Wintrust, said Edward Wehmer, president and chief executive officer.
“These results were driven by our continued strong asset growth throughout 2016 while maintaining our commitment to controlling operating expenses, with our net overhead ratio ending 2016 at 1.47 percent, which is below our previously stated goal of 1.5 percent,” Wehmer said. “The fourth quarter of 2016 was also characterized by continued deposit growth, strong performance from our mortgage banking activities, stable credit quality metrics and the acquisition of First Community Financial Corp.”