CIT Group Reports Quarterly Earnings of $142.1 Million

CIT Group (CIT) reported that net earnings for the second quarter jumped to $142.1 million, or 71 cents per diluted share, from $97.3 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, in the previous quarter.

Net income rose thanks to gains on sales of assets and recoveries of pre-FSA (fresh start accounting) charged-off receivables, the company said in a statement. CIT's Corporate Finance unit completed sales of a joint venture and other assets for a total of about $890 million, proceeds of which were used to pay down debt.

Net interest revenue declined $31 million on lower financing assets. Reported net charge-offs rose to $106 million in the second quarter, compared with $42 million in the previous quarter.

"During the second quarter we continued to advance our key corporate initiatives," said CEO John A. Thain. "We improved our funding flexibility, repaid higher cost debt, streamlined our portfolio and largely completed the build-out of our senior management team."