CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Shares of BB&T Corp. soared Friday after the regional bank reported it met Wall Street's expectations with third-quarter earnings of $328.16 million, or 68 cents a share.<br>
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The Winston-Salem-based bank's earnings were 48 percent higher than the $222 million, or 48 cents a share, it earned in the July-September quarter last year.<br>
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Excluding charges related to BB&T's acquisition of AREA Bancshares Corp. and MidAmerica Bancorp, earnings were $336 million, or 70 cents per share, in the third quarter, compared with $283.5 million, or 62 cents a share, in 2001.<br>
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Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call predicted the bank would earn 70 cents per share in the July-September quarter.<br>
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Shares of BB&T were up $2.04, or more than 6 percent, to $35.08 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.<br>
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"We are pleased with our overall financial results, particularly in light of the challenging economic conditions," chairman and chief executive officer John Allison told analysts on a conference call after the results were released.<br>
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"The economy is clearly slower than we expected it to be. We expected the recovery to begin after the first quarter," he said. "Places like Washington D.C. and Florida are booming while markets in the rural southeast are very slow."<br>
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Allison said the bank's outlook for the fourth quarter was for it to earn 71 cents per share. That's just short of Wall Street's prediction of 72 cents.<br>
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"If we make 71 cents, that means our earnings (per share) for the year will be $2.75," Allison said. Analysts predicted the bank's annual EPS to be $2.76, he said.<br>
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For 2003, the bank expects to earn between $3 and $3.10 per share, which is in line with Wall Street's current forecast of $3.06 percent share. "It all depends on the economy," he said. "That will be the big driver in the level of activity."<br>
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Like other U.S. banks, BB&T has benefited from increased deposits as consumers move money out of the stock market and into bank accounts. The bank also has seen increased mortgage business as long-term rates have fallen to 40-year lows.<br>
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The economy has been marked by slower commercial loan growth, increased levels of credit losses and nonperforming assets, and record volumes of mortgage refinance activity, he said.<br>
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Nonperforming assets and loan charge-offs increased during the third quarter, he said.<br>
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For the first nine months of the year, BB&T's earnings were $965.75 million, or $2.04 per share, compared with $695.7 million, or $1.77 a share, in 2001.<br>
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BB&T has $78.2 billion in assets and operates more than 1,100 banking offices in the Carolinas, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Maryland, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Indiana and Washington, D.C.<br>
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