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Washington Federal Reports Record Earnings Per Share Increase of 42% For 2022
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Washington Federal, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAFD) (the "Company"), parent company of Washington Federal Bank ("WaFd Bank"), today announced
About this update from Wafd, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":" SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--\nWashington Federal, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAFD) (the \"Company\"), parent company of Washington Federal Bank (\"WaFd Bank\"), today announced record annual earnings of $236,330,000 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, an increase of $52,715,000 from earnings of $183,615,000 for the year ended September 30, 2021. After the effect of dividends on preferred stock, net income available for common shareholders was $3.39 per share for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, a $1.00 or 41.8% increase from $2.39 for the prior fiscal year. Return on common shareholders' equity for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 was 11.70% compared to 8.69% for the year ended September 30, 2021. Return on assets for the year ended September 30, 2022 was 1.17% compared to 0.95% for the prior year.\n\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer Brent J. Beardall commented, \"Fiscal year 2022 was the best year for WaFd Bank in our 105-year history. We broke records for net income, earnings per share, loan growth, total loans, loan production, book value per share, and tangible book value per share. Over the last several years, we worked to execute our strategic plan to position the bank to prepare for and actually benefit from rising interest rates, all while maintaining a conservative credit posture. I thank our clients and the almost 2,200 employees of WaFd Bank that made these results possible, but I also must acknowledge the role market interest rates have played. We remained patient and withstood earnings pressure as we experienced near-record low net interest margins following the Federal Reserve Bank taking interest rates to zero at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we are benefiting from the 300 basis point increase in rates over the last seven months as the Federal Reserve Bank works to regain price stability.\n\n\"With the Fed’s moves this year, we experienced significant expansion of our net interest margin. One year ago, the Bank’s margin was 2.88% and by the end of the fourth quarter, it reached 3.64%, a 26% increase in a single year. Compounding the margin improvement, we grew loans outstanding from $13.8 billion to $16.1 billion, a 17% year over year increase. The 3.64% margin is the highest we have experienced since 2005, which bodes well for future performance.\n\n\"We learned through the years that ...