Sallie Mae reported higher income in 2015
Sallie Mae reported a sharp increase in net income in the fourth quarter and 2015.
The company is based near Newark.
In 2015, the company increased diluted earnings per share 40 percent year-over-year to $.59 (including $.20 attributable to gains on sales of loans), grew private education loan originations 6 percent to $4.3 billion, and expanded its private education loan portfolio size 28 percent to $10.5 billion. All comparisons are with 2014.
“We met or exceeded all of our goals in 2015, our first full year of operation. Even more gratifying, we helped 333,000 students make college happen. With infrastructure investments and service enhancements in place to improve our customers’ experience, we are better positioned than ever to serve families as they save, plan, and pay for college, and remain on an upward growth trajectory,” said Raymond Quinlan, CEO. “Concerns about capital market conditions and regulatory issues continue to weigh on our market valuation. We strongly believe those concerns are exaggerated and will clear up over the course of 2016.”
For the fourth-quarter 2015, GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net income was $90 million, up from $20 million in the year-ago quarter. GAAP net income attributable to the company’s common stock was $85 million ($.20 diluted earnings per share) in the fourth-quarter 2015, up from $15 million ($.03 diluted earnings per share) in the year-ago quarter.
