WESTERLY – Washington Trust Bancorp. Inc. (Nasdaq GM: WASH), parent of The Washington Trust Co., today posted a first-quarter profit of $6.0 million diluted share, a decline of 1.6 percent from the year-ago $6.1 million.
Per-share performance mirrored the 2006 first quarter at 44 cents per diluted share. but fell short of the consensus estimate of 46 cents per share reported by SNL Financial LC.
The company posted a first-quarter return on average equity of 13.66 percent, compared with the year-ago 15.09 percent, and a return on average assets of 1.00 percent, compared with 1.01 percent in the first quarter of 2006.
Net interest income declined 3.5 percent to $14.9 million, $545,000 less than in the first quarter of 2006, as the bank “continued to experience a shift in the mix of deposits … into higher-cost money market accounts and certificates of deposit.”
Non-interest income increased 17.9 percent to $11.2 million, $1.7 million more than in the year-ago quarter. Excluding net gains on securities sales of $1.0 million in the first quarter and $59,000 in the year-ago quarter, non-interest income increased 8 percent.
The company credited higher revenue from wealth-management services, which produced a 6.7-percent increase to $430,000. At the same time, assets under administration rose 3 percent to $363 million as the financial markets surged and the bank attracted new business.
Total assets declined 1.3 percent year-over-year to $2.4 billion on March 31, but were “essentially unchanged” from Dec. 31.
Total loans increased 3.6 percent year-over-year to $1.47 billion, driven by growth in commercial lending.
Total deposits increased 1.38 percent year-over-year to $1.68 billion on March 31.
“The first-quarter results were solid and were achieved in the face of a difficult banking environment highlighted by unfavorable interest rates and soft consumer and residential loan demand,” said John C. Warren, Washington Trust’s chairman and CEO.
The bank’s net interest margin declined 4 basis points year-over-year to 2.81 percent, though it remained 4 points above its level in final quarter of 2006. Excluding a one-time credit of $322,000 for money recovered on a previously charged-off loan, the net interest margin was 9 basis points below its year-ago level but 1 basis point above its fourth-quarter level.
The company declared a first-quarter dividend of 20 cents per share, compared with the year-ago dividend of 19 cents per share.
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Washington Trust Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq Global Market: WASH) is the parent of The Washington Trust Co., a Rhode Island-chartered bank founded in 1800 that has offices in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and southeastern Connecticut. Additional information is available at www.washtrust.com.
