“Bank of America Corp. reported a jump in first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates as lower mortgage banking income slowed the firm’s turnaround. The shares dropped 3.3 percent in early New York trading.
Net income advanced to $2.62 billion, or 20 cents a share, from $653 million, or 3 cents, a year earlier, according to a statement today from the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company. The consensus of 25 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted 23 cents a share. Last year’s first-quarter profit was reduced by $4.8 billion in pretax-accounting charges.
Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan, 53, has sold more than $60 billion in assets, settled more than $40 billion in mortgage claims and repaired the bank’s balance sheet since taking over in 2010. He’s now focused on trimming $8 billion in annual expenses and adding revenue, which climbed 5.5 percent to $23.5 billion.
“Lower mortgage banking income and lower net gains on the sales of debt securities” weighed on results, the bank said in the statement. Excluding the impact of accounting charges, adjusted total revenue fell 8.4 percent from a year earlier to $23.9 billion.
The net loss at consumer real estate services widened to $1.31 billion from $1.14 billion a year earlier. Adjusted revenue slipped at the unit while noninterest expenses climbed 4.5 percent to $4.06 billion and margins narrowed, the bank said.
