First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Q1 2022 Earnings Conference Call April 26, 2022 10:00 AM ET
CompanyParticipants
Mark Hardwick - Chief Executive Officer
Mike Stewart - President
Michele Kawiecki - Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
John Martin - Chief Credit Officer
Conference Call Participants
Ignacio Gonzalez - Piper Sandler
Daniel Tamayo - Raymond James
Damon DelMonte - KBW
Daniel Thomas - Stephens, Inc.
Brian Martin - Janney
Operator
Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to First Merchants Corporation First Quarter Earnings.
Before we begin, management would like to remind you that today's call contains forward-looking statements with respect to the future performance and financial condition of First Merchants Corporation that involve risks and uncertainties. Further information is contained within the press release which we encourage you to review. Additionally, management may refer to non-GAAP measures which are intended to supplement but not substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measures. The press release available on the website contains financial and other quantitative information to be discussed today as well as a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures.
At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question-and-answer session and instructions would follow at that time. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded.
I would now like to introduce your host for today's conference, Mark Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer. Thank you. Please go ahead.
Mark Hardwick
Good morning and welcome to the First Merchants first quarter 2022 conference call. Blue [ph], thanks for the introduction and for covering the forward-looking statement on Page 2. We released our earnings this morning at approximately 8 A.M. Eastern Standard Time. And hopefully, you have the slide presentation. If not, you can access the slides by following the link on the second page of the earnings release.
On Page 3, you'll see today's presenters and our bios to include President, Mike Stewart, Chief Credit Officer, John Martin and Chief Financial Officer; Michele Kawiecki.
Page 4 is a snapshot of the First Merchants geographic footprint and some relevant financial highlights for your review. Our Q1 return on assets of 1.26% and return on tangible common equity of 15% continue to be reflective of a high-performing and sustainable business model.
Now, if you would turn to Slide 5. Net income totaled $48.6 million or $0.91 per share equaling the same total as Q1 of 2021. However, excluding PPP income, our Q1 2022 earnings per share totaled $0.88 compared to $0.78 from last year, an increase of nearly 13%. Loan growth, excluding PPP totaled 7.2% and deposit growth totaled 5.4% for the quarter. Our acquisition of Level One closed on April 1, 2022 and our system integration is planned for the third quarter of this year.