By Dean Seal

First Horizon recorded higher adjusted earnings than analysts had been bracing and said revenue could rise up to 4% in the year ahead.

The Memphis-based financial services company posted net income available to common shareholders of $158 million, or 29 cents a share, compared with $175 million, or 31 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago.

The fourth quarter included $71 million in one-off items. Excluding those, adjusted earnings were 43 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting 39 cents a share.

Shares rose 0.5% to $21.49 in premarket trading.

The company said net interest income rose 2% year-over-year to $634 million, and was up slightly from the third quarter as a reduction in interest-bearing deposit costs and the payoff of brokered certificates of deposit were partially offset by lower short-term rates on loan yields.

Noninterest income meanwhile fell 46% from a year ago, and 51% from last quarter, to $99 million due to losses associated with the company restructuring a portion of its securities portfolio.

Total revenue, which strips out a $4 million taxable-equivalent adjustment to net interest income, fell 8.9% to $729 million.

Noninterest expenses dropped slightly during the quarter to $508 million while average loan and lease balances came in flat.

Looking to 2025, First Horizon expects revenue, when adjusted for deferred compensation, to be between flat year-over-year and up 4% based on the quantity and pace of interest rate cuts. The company said it assumes three cuts of 25 basis points each in 2025.

Adjusted expenses are expected to rise between 2% and 4% this year, the company said.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 16, 2025 07:29 ET (12:29 GMT)

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