Bank Holding company KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) reported worse-than-expected revenue and earnings for the first quarter of 2019. Total revenues declined 2% to $1.52 billion compared to the same period last year. Net income attributable to common shareholders fell to $386 million, or $0.38 per share, from $402 million, or $0.38 per share, in the prior-year period.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 42 cents per share on revenues of $1.59 billion.
CEO Beth Mooney said, “We continued to execute against our continuous improvement plans across the company, driving a meaningful reduction in our expenses, down 7%, excluding notable items, from the year-ago period.”
KeyCorp shares ended its last trading session 1% higher on Wednesday. The stock has gained 14% since the beginning of this year.
Taxable-equivalent net interest income grew 3.5% to $985 million, reflecting benefits from higher interest rates and higher earning asset balances. Noninterest income, meanwhile dropped 11% to $536 million.
Average loans grew 3.1% to $89.6 billion from last year while average deposits rose 5% to $107.6 billion. The growth in average loans reflected broad-based growth in commercial and industrial loans and the growth in average deposits reflected growth in higher-yielding deposit products along with strength in the retail banking franchise and growth from commercial relationships.