First Merchants: 4Q Earnings Snapshot

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) _ First Merchants Corp. (FRME) on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net income of $41.7 million.

The bank, based in Muncie, Indiana, said it had earnings of 85 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 82 cents per share.

The bank posted revenue of $127.8 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $107.1 million, which fell short of Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $107.4 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $159.1 million, or $3.22 per share. Revenue was reported as $415.3 million.

First Merchants shares have risen 8 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has decreased 14 percent in the last 12 months.

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