Synchrony Earnings Send Stock to New High

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: January 23, 2015 9:45 am

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 5:43 am

Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2014 results before markets opened Friday. The white-label credit card issuer reported diluted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.64 on net interest income of $2.98 billion. In the same period a year ago, Synchrony reported net interest income of $2.85 billion. Fourth-quarter results compare to the consensus estimates for EPS of $0.60 on revenues of $2.95 billion.

For the full year, Synchrony reported EPS of $2.78 on net interest income of $12.22 billion, compared with net interest income of $11.3 billion in 2013. Analysts were expecting EPS of $2.74 on revenues of $11.26 billion.

This is Synchrony’s second quarter as a publicly traded company. It was spun out of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) in July. GE continues to hold an 85% stake in Synchrony.

Synchrony reduced its provision for loan losses by 2.6% to 797 million and posted a 23.3% rise in pretax earnings to $853 million from $692 million in the year-ago quarter. Net earnings for the quarter rose 19.9% and were up 6.6% for the full year.

Margaret Keane, the company’s president and CEO, said:

The fourth quarter successfully concluded an eventful year for Synchrony Financial. We continued the strong momentum across business platforms as our differentiated business model delivered significant value to our partners and customers and helped drive strong receivables, deposit, and revenue growth. … We concluded 2014 with healthy business activity levels and strong fundamentals. As we enter 2015, we are excited about our future growth prospects and the opportunity to expand our market-leading position in the private label credit card space.

To that end the company also announced Friday morning that it had signed a multiyear agreement with BP PLC (NYSE: BP) to provide the energy company’s private-label credit cards and other co-branded credit programs in the United States.

Synchrony’s tangible common equity per share rose from $6.68 in December of 2013 to $10.81 at the end of December 2014.

ALSO READ: The Bullish and Bearish Case for GE in 2015

Shares closed at $29.05 on Thursday, down fractionally from Wednesday’s close, in a post-IPO range of $22.60 to $30.64. Shares traded as high as $32.00 shortly after the opening bell.

The shares are up about 30% since the initial public offering. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of $31.40 before the results were announced.

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