LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Hope Bancorp Inc. (HOPE) on Monday reported fourth-quarter profit of $51.6 million.

The Los Angeles-based bank said it had earnings of 43 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 41 cents per share.

The bank holding company posted revenue of $158.3 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $146.4 million, also surpassing Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $142.2 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $204.6 million, or $1.66 per share. Revenue was reported as $556.4 million.

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HOPE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/HOPE

Copyright by Automated Insights, Inc. All rights reserved., source Associated Press News