MOULTRIE, Ga. (AP) _ Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $61.2 million.

The Moultrie, Georgia-based bank said it had earnings of 88 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and costs related to mergers and acquisitions, came to 96 cents per share.

The results met Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 96 cents per share.

The bank posted revenue of $249.2 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $210.5 million, which missed Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $213.8 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $161.4 million, or $2.75 per share. Revenue was reported as $703.3 million.

Ameris Bancorp shares have increased almost 1% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Thursday, shares hit $42.83, an increase of 21% in the last 12 months.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ABCB at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ABCB

Automated Insights, source Associated Press News