Ameris Bancorp reported net income of $39.9 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2019, compared with $26.7 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, for Q1/2018.

The reported adjusted net income was $42.6 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, for the quarter, compared with $27.8 million, or $0.73 per diluted share, for the same period in 2018. Adjusted net income excluded after-tax merger and conversion charges, restructuring charges related to recently announced branch consolidations, loss on sale of bank premises and expenses related to Hurricane Michael.

Dennis J. Zember Jr., Ameris president and CEO, commented, “We started the year with solid growth in deposits and an impressive increase in net interest margin. Compared with the same quarter a year ago, we have held the line on operating expenses while we have grown revenues over 37%. Loan growth was not at the level we were budgeting, but our control of expenses and solid financial results within our lines of businesses almost made up the entire difference. Looking ahead, I see pipelines and unfunded commitments that should move loan balances higher in the coming quarter.”

Highlights from Q1/2019 included:

• Increase in tangible book value per share to $19.73, or a 16.7% increase, at March 31, 2019, compared with $16.90 at March 31, 2018
• Net interest margin expansion of 3 basis points to 3.95% against the same period in 2018, despite reduction in loans to deposits from 96.0% at March 31, 2018 to 86.5% at March 31, 2019
• Increase of $2.7 million in noninterest income from mortgage banking activities to $13.8 million for the first quarter of 2019, compared with $11.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $11.9 million in the first quarter of 2018
• Adjusted return on average assets of 1.51%, compared with 1.44% in the first quarter of 2018
• Adjusted return on average tangible common equity of 18.82%, compared with 17.09% in the first quarter of 2018

Loan production in the banking division during Q1/2019 totaled $613.5 million, with weighted average yields of 5.78%, compared with $604.9 million and 5.74%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $365 million and 5.19%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2018. Loan production in the lines of business (including retail mortgage, warehouse lending, SBA and premium finance) amounted to an additional $1.9 billion during the first quarter of 2019, with weighted average yields of 5.47%, compared with $1.8 billion and 5.56%, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2018 and $1.6 billion and 4.96%, respectively, during the first quarter of 2018.