Banner: 4Q Earnings Snapshot

WALLA WALLA, Wash. (AP) _ Banner Corp. (BANR) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net income of $37.5 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Walla Walla, Washington-based company said it had profit of $1.09.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.05 per share.

The regional bank posted revenue of $150.4 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $139.2 million, which also topped Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $134.2 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $136.5 million, or $4.15 per share. Revenue was reported as $512 million.

Banner shares have risen 6 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $56.71, a fall of 1 percent in the last 12 months.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BANR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BANR