First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call January 27, 2023 10:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Ramon Rodriguez - Corporate Strategy and IR Officer

Aurelio Aleman - President & CEO

Orlando Berges - EVP & CFO

Conference Call Participants

Timur Braziler - Wells Fargo

Kelly Motta - KBW

Alex Twerdahl - Piper Sandler

Brett Rabatin - Hovde Group

Operator

Good morning. Thank you for attending today’s First BanCorp 4Q 2022 financial results conference call. My name is Alexis, and I'll be your moderator for today’s call. [Operator Instructions].

I'll now like to pass the conference over to the Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations Officer. Ramon Rodriguez. You may proceed.

Ramon Rodriguez

Thank you, Alexis. Good morning, everyone and thank you for joining First Bancorp's conference call and webcast to discuss the company's financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2022. Joining you today from First Bancorp are Aurelio Aleman, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Orlando Berges, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Before we begin today's call, it is my responsibility to inform you that this call may involve certain forward-looking statements, such as projections of revenue, earnings and capital structure, as well as statements on the plans and objectives of the company's business. The company's actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements made due to the important factors described in the company's latest SEC filings. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made during the call. If anyone does not already have a copy of the webcast presentation or press release, you can access them at our website at fbpinvestor.com.

At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to our CEO, Aurelio Aleman.

Aurelio Aleman

Thanks, Ramon. Good morning to everyone and thanks for joining our earnings call today.

Please turn to page four to discuss the highlight for the quarter. We got a solid return of 158%. We earned $73.2 million or $0.40 per share in net income achieve, or $122.2 million in pretax provision income and reached an efficiency ratio of 48% even lower than the prior quarter.

The margin expanded by 6 basis points, while on the other hand, net interest income decreased by $2.3 million primarily related to increasing in the interest expense portion.

A stable credit trends continue, supporting asset quality improvement with non-performing assets decreasing by $14.1 million to $129.2, which is a decade low at 69 basis point of total assets. Also good news from the early delinquency side which also improved during the quarter and still below pre pandemic levels.