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Believe it or not, the online-only bank’s profitability is getting even better.
*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.
Online-only bank BofI Holding (BOFI 0.01%) reported earnings of $0.61 per share and revenue of $101.31 million for its fiscal second quarter. Both metrics handily beat analysts' expectations.
As of 10:30am EST on Wednesday, BofI was up by 13% to a new all-time high.
BofI's online-only business model is certainly translating into profits. Image source: Getty Images.
The real story here isn't the headline numbers (which were excellent). Instead, the bank's growth during the quarter was extremely impressive. The bank's loan portfolio grew by 19% year-over-year, and the $0.61 EPS represented phenomenal 22% year-over-year growth, excluding a one-time charge related to tax reform.
Additionally, BofI has started buying back shares at a rather aggressive pace. During the quarter, the bank repurchased roughly one million shares, representing about 1.6% of the total.
And believe it or not, the bank is actually getting more profitable. Excluding tax reform, the quarter's return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA) were 18.54% and 1.87%, respectively, above the 17.49% and 1.66% figures a year ago and nearly double the industry benchmarks.
Going forward, BofI expects an effective tax rate in the 28%-30% range, high for the banking sector, but a welcome change from the 41%-42% the bank has historically paid. BofI's efficiency ratio is expected to be around 40% going forward -- about 20 percentage points better than the average bank -- and the company's ROE is expected to stay around 18%.
With impressive growth, strong profitability, and an upbeat forecast, it's clear that investors are quite pleased with BofI's earnings report.