SME lessor Marlin reports 22% income hike

Marlin Business Services, an equipment financing specialist in the SME market, has reported second quarter 2016 net income of $4.5 million, up 22% compared to the prior quarter and 8% year-over-year.

“I am very pleased with Marlin’s second quarter results that included accelerating origination volume, excellent credit quality and solid net income growth,” commented Jeffrey Hilzinger, Marlin’s president and chief executive officer. “Total originations increased 30.3% year-over-year to $121.5 million, and we have now achieved new records for origination volume in each of the last three quarters.”

Combined equipment finance and funding stream production for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016 of $121.5 million was the third consecutive quarter of record originations for the company. Equipment finance production of $113.6 million in the second quarter was up 11.3% compared to $102.1 million in the prior quarter and increased 22.6% from $92.7 million in the second quarter of 2015.

Hilzinger concluded, “I look forward to building on the fundamental strengths of our business to take Marlin to the next level of growth and profitability. Our management team is energized, excited and working with a sense of urgency to capitalize on the significant opportunities we see as a provider of credit products and services to small businesses nationwide.”

New hires

Hilzinger, a commercial lending and equipment leasing industry veteran, joined Marlin as chief executive officer in June 2016. He was previously president of EverBank Commercial Finance, where he was responsible for a nationwide business focused on the equipment finance, asset-based lending and lender finance markets, and headed up the lender’s growth into a $4 billion diversified commercial finance platform.

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, the company announced the promotion of Edward Siciliano to chief operating officer. He has been Marlin’s chief sales officer since 2007 and served as interim chief executive officer from October 2015 until June 2016.

In addition, David Herring joined as the vice president of sales of its transportation finance group. In his position, Herring is responsible for national development of partnerships with heavy-duty truck dealerships. Prior to joining Marlin, he was senior vice president for GE Capital transportation finance.

Marlin said its business outlook for the full year ending December 31, 2016 predicted origination volume (including both loans and leases) to be in the range of $460 million to $480 million. It expects credit quality to remain strong with a continuation of recent positive trends, while net interest margin is expected to move slightly lower in 2016 with the roll-off of higher yielding legacy leases, partially offset by expected growth in the company’s higher yielding funding stream loan product.