BBT BB and T Corporation

By Allison Prang 

Profit rose slightly at BB&T Corp. but fell at SunTrust Banks Inc. in the first quarter, as both regional banking firms recorded merger-related expenses for the quarter ahead of combining their operations.

BB&T's earnings per share were 97 cents, up from 94 cents a share. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting earnings of $1.03 a share.

The company said it had $80 million in merger and restructuring-related charges in the first quarter. BB&T reported adjusted earnings, which excludes those charges, of $1.05 a share. Analysts were still expecting $1.03 a share.

SunTrust reported earnings of $1.24 a share, down from $1.29 a share. Analysts were expecting $1.30 a share. SunTrust said it had $45 million in merger-related costs, or 9 cents a share.

BB&T and SunTrust announced in February that they would merge in a stock deal that has been valued at $28.2 billion. Together, they would become the sixth-largest retail bank in the country. A large reason for the deal is to be able to scale more with technology.

BB&T is based in Winston-Salem, N.C., while SunTrust is based in Atlanta. The combined company would be based in Charlotte, N.C.

Total taxable-equivalent revenue at BB&T rose 3% to $2.92 billion, slightly less than analysts anticipated.

At SunTrust, fully taxable equivalent revenue rose 4.2% to $2.35 billion, which beat estimates from analysts.

Write to Allison Prang at allison.prang@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 18, 2019 06:55 ET (10:55 GMT)

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