BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. (AP) _ United Community Banks Inc. (UCBI) on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $59 million.

The Blairsville, Georgia-based bank said it had earnings of 66 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 68 cents per share.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 61 cents per share.

The bank holding company posted revenue of $197.4 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $186.8 million, also surpassing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $177.4 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $162.8 million, or $1.91 per share. Revenue was reported as $657.9 million.

United Community Banks shares have risen 11% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $31.67, a rise of 5% in the last 12 months.

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

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