M&T Bank 1Q results beat expectations on higher interest income

Photo / Renee Cordes M&T Bank has 17 branches in Maine that were all previously People's United Bank branches, including this one in South Portland.

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By Renee Cordes

M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB), a Buffalo-based bank that acquired People's United Bank Financial Inc. last year, has 17 branches and around 130 employees in Maine.
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M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB), a Buffalo, N.Y.-based financial institution with 17 branches in Maine, on Monday posted first-quarter earnings and revenues that exceeded market expectations.

The company, which acquired People's United Bank Financial Inc. in an $8.3 billion deal last year, reported first-quarter diluted net operating earnings of $4.09 per common share, surpassing $3.98 per share consensus of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research. A year earlier, the figure was $2.73 per common share.

Diluted net income was $676 million, soaring 99% from the year-earlier period and well above the Zacks consensus estimate of $637.2 million.

Net interest income rose to $1.83 billion, up 102% from $907 million in the first quarter of 2022. The company said the improvement reflected a 33% jump in average earning assets, largely attributable to the acquisition of People's United as well as wider lending margins, thanks to rising interest rates.

Investors welcomed the news, pushing M&T Bank shares 7.8% higher on Monday to close at $125.66. That gives the stock a market value of around $21.1 billion. Barron's cited M&T Bank as Monday's "hot stock."

M&T Bank's 17 Maine branches, acquired through the People's United acquisition, stretch from Kittery to Brunswick and to Parsonsfield in western York County.

The company said that it incurred no merger-related expenses in the first quarter of 2023.

Commenting on the results, CFO Darren J. King said, "The strength of M&T's diversified community banking model and prudent management have positioned M&T to continue to deliver for our customers. First quarter net income nearly doubled from the year-earlier quarter. These results reflect loan growth, steady credit quality, a strong liquidity position and, as in past years, seasonally higher salaries and employee benefits expense."

M&T Bank had total assets of $203 billion on March 31, 2023, compared with $149.9 billion a year earlier and $200.7 billion on Dec. 31, 2022.

M&T Bank provides banking products and services in a dozen states across the eastern United States from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Trust-related services are provided in select markets in the U.S. and abroad by M&Ts Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and M&T Bank.