Commercial lending solutions provider Marlin Business Services announced net income of $8.4 million in Q4 2019, a rise of 31% compared to the year before.
Jeffrey Hilzinger, president and chief executive officer at Marlin, explained: “Marlin concluded 2019 with strong performance in the fourth quarter highlighted by record origination volume, disciplined expense management and excellent earnings growth.
“Total origination volume of $236.5 million increased 9.3% year-over-year, driven by increasing customer demand for both our equipment finance and working capital loan products, as well as solid growth in our direct origination channel.”
In addition to this surge in origination volume, net investment in leases and loans totalled $1 billion in Q4 2019, and total managed assets ended the fourth quarter at $1.3 billion, up 15.7% from 2018.
Hilzinger added: “For the full year, total origination volume of $877.9 million grew 18.7% year-over-year, more than double the prior year’s growth rate. We also delivered solid earnings growth despite an increase in provisions for credit losses driven by higher delinquencies and charge-offs. We continue to closely monitor the portfolio and are making appropriate adjustments to ensure optimal risk-adjusted portfolio performance.
“While the origination growth we experienced demonstrates the significant demand that exists for our financing products, market conditions during the quarter created both an increasingly competitive pricing environment and a favourable capital markets environment. These market conditions allowed us to offset continued yield compression with exceptionally strong capital markets execution.”
Established in 1997, Marlin Business Services primarily offers commercial lending solutions to small businesses in the US. It also provides property insurance coverage for its financed equipment and operates a commercial bank that provides SME loans.
For 2019, Marlin achieved net income of $27.1 million, an increase of 8.6% from $25 million the year before.
“Overall, I believe that the fundamentals of our business remain strong as we enter 2020 and that Marlin is well-positioned for another year of profitable growth,” Hilzinger said.