Malaga Financial Corporation Reports Earnings Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Ended December 31, 2017; Provides Earnings Guidance for 2018
Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 was $13,500,000 or $2.18 basic and $2.16 fully diluted earnings per share as compared to $11,559,000 or $1.89 basic and $1.88 fully diluted earnings per share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, a 17% increase. Net income for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017 included an $823,000 or $0.13 per diluted share decrease in income tax expense provision related to the re-measurement of deferred tax liabilities. Earnings for the twelve months ended December 31, 2017 resulted in a pre-tax return on average equity of 17.58%. For 2017, net interest income totaled $32,256,000, an increase of $1,685,000 or 6% from 2016. This increase reflected higher average interest-earning assets of $12.4 million, and an increase of 0.14% in the interest rate spread to 3.18%.
The company anticipates the lower tax rate will continue to have a positive impact on earnings in 2018 and future years.