PROVIDENCE – Bancorp Rhode Island Inc. (Nasdaq: BARI), the parent of Bank Rhode Island, today posted a full-year profit of $9.05 million, an increase of 17.3 percent from its 2006 total of $7.71 million, on total revenue that increased 7.29 percent to $96.86 million. Diluted earnings per common share increased to $1.84 from the year-ago $1.57 per share.
The full-year earnings were boosted by a $165,000 gain on the sale of securities, BankRI said. It also cited the previous year’s one-time charge of $558,000 related to the restructuring of the company’s investment portfolio.
The bank’s net interest margin narrowed to 2.96 percent last year from 3.06 percent in 2006. But that trend shifted in the fourth quarter, when the average interest margin widened to 2.98 percent from the third quarter’s 2.91 percent.
“We are pleased to report solid earnings growth in this economic environment,” Merrill W. Sherman, the company’s president and CEO, said in a 9 a.m. statement. “We also have made significant strides in controlling operating expenses while continuing to invest in our franchise,” she added.
For the fourth quarter, BankRI posted a profit of $2.4 million, a 5.6-percent decline from the 2006 period. Diluted earnings per common share declined to 50 cents from the year-ago 51 cents per share.
The company’s loan-loss provision for the fourth quarter was $210,000, down from the $240,000 from the previous quarter. For the year, the set-aside was $700,000, down from $1.2 million a year earlier.
But two key performance ratios – return on assets and return on equity – both declined in the fourth quarter. The company’s return on assets decreased to 0.65 percent in the quarter just ended from 0.69 percent in the 2006 fourth quarter, while its return on equity declined to 8.21 percent from the year-ago period’s 9.11 percent.
Bancorp Rhode Island Inc. (Nasdaq: BARI) is the parent of Bank Rhode Island, a state-chartered, FDIC-insured institution with 16 branches in Providence, Kent and Washington counties. Additional information about BankRI and its parent company is available at bankri.com.
