First Financial Bancorp.(FFBC) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - For Q4 2024, First Financial reported net income of $64.9 million, or$ 0.68 per diluted share, compared to $52.5 million, or$ 0.55 per diluted share in Q3 2024[3] - The return on average assets for Q4 2024 was 1.41%, and the return on average tangible common equity was 19.08%, up from 1.17% and 16.29% in Q3 2024, respectively[4] - For the full year 2024, adjusted earnings were $249 million, or$ 2.61 per share, with a record revenue of $853.8 million, a 2% increase over 2023[7] - Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was$ 64,885 thousand, an increase from $52,451 thousand in the previous quarter, representing a 23.3% growth[22] - Diluted earnings per share increased to$ 0.68 for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $0.55 in the previous quarter, reflecting a 23.6% rise[22] - Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2023, was$ 64,885 thousand, a 14.4% increase from $56,732 thousand in the same period of 2022[24] - Net income for the fourth quarter increased to$ 64,885,000, representing a 23.7% increase year-over-year[26] Loan and Deposit Growth - Total loans increased by $208.7 million, representing a 7.2% annualized growth rate, while average deposits surged by$ 543.1 million, or 15.7% on an annualized basis[5] - Total loans for the year increased by 7.6% to $11.8 billion, and total deposits rose by 7.2% to$ 14.3 billion[7] - Total deposits reached $14,339,653 thousand, an increase from$ 13,796,504 thousand in the previous quarter, indicating a 3.9% growth[22] - Total loans reached $11,761,778 thousand, reflecting a 1.8% increase compared to the prior quarter[30] - Total deposits grew to$ 14,329,138 thousand, marking a 2.7% increase from the previous quarter[30] - Total deposits rose to $14.34 billion, compared to$ 13.80 billion in the prior quarter, indicating a growth of approximately 4.0%[32] Asset Quality and Credit Losses - The total allowance for credit losses was $173.7 million, with a ratio to total loans of 1.33%, which declined by 4 basis points from Q3 2024[8] - Asset quality remained stable, with nonperforming assets flat at 0.36% and net charge-offs at 0.30% for the full year[7] - The allowance to ending loans ratio was 1.33% for the three months ended December 31, 2024, slightly down from 1.37% in the previous quarter[22] - The allowance for credit losses increased to$ 156,791 million as of December 31, 2024, compared to $141,433 million at the beginning of the year, reflecting a provision for credit losses of$ 49,211 million for the full year 2024[40] - Total net charge-offs for the full year 2024 were $33,853 million, a slight decrease from$ 34,618 million in 2023, with a net charge-off rate of 0.40% for the fourth quarter[40] - The total nonperforming assets amounted to $66,037 million, an increase from$ 65,859 million at the end of 2023[40] Noninterest Income and Expenses - Noninterest income reached $69.9 million, with a record wealth management income and strong results from foreign exchange and leasing businesses[6] - Noninterest income increased by 48.6% to$ 46,993 thousand for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to $31,610 thousand in the same period of 2022[24] - Total noninterest expenses rose by 24.1% to$ 147,907 thousand, up from $119,137 thousand in the prior year[24] - Total noninterest expenses rose to$ 147,907,000, marking a 17.6% increase compared to the previous quarter[26] Capital and Equity - The tangible book value per share increased from $12.38 to$ 14.15, marking a 14.3% increase[7] - The common equity tier 1 ratio was reported at 12.16% for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to 12.04% in the previous quarter[22] - Total shareholders' equity increased to $2,438,041,000 from$ 2,267,974,000 year-over-year, representing a growth of 7.5%[42] - Common equity tier 1 capital rose to $1,709,422,000, up from$ 1,568,815,000, reflecting an increase of 8.9%[42] - The leverage ratio improved to 9.98%, up from 9.70% in the previous year[42] Market Expansion and Strategy - First Financial expanded into Grand Rapids, MI, at the beginning of 2025, continuing its growth strategy in new markets[7] - The company plans to focus on market expansion and new product development in the upcoming quarters[32]