First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call January 24, 2024 11:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Ramon Rodriguez - IR Officer

Aurelio Aleman-Bermudez - President & CEO

Orlando Berges-Gonzalez - EVP & CFO

Conference Call Participants

Timur Braziler - Wells Fargo

Alexander Twerdahl - Piper Sandler

Kelly Motta - KBW

Operator

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to First Bancorp's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2023 Financial Results. All lines have been placed on mute during the presentation portion of the call, with an opportunity for question and answer at the end. [Operator Instructions]

I would now like to turn this conference call over to our host, Ramon Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investment (ph) Relations. Please go ahead.

Ramon Rodriguez

Thank you, Candice. 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 2023. 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-Bermudez

Thanks, Ramon. Good morning to everyone and thanks for joining our earnings call today. I will begin by briefly discussing our business performance for the fourth quarter first, then we'll move on to provide some high level highlights for the full year, and then share with you some of our priorities for 2024.

Our fourth quarter results were highlighted by strong profitability and loan growth. We earned $79.5 million or $0.46 (ph) per share and generated a 1.7% return on assets. Our expenses for the quarter were impacted by $6.3 million FDIC special assessment expense. Excluding the special item, the adjusted efficiency ratio was 52.2% for the quarter. The quarter also reflected higher provision expense and some incremental operating expenses which Orlando will cover both in detail later.