THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 25, 1995 TAG: 9501250449
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
In its first report as a publicly traded company, Life Bancorp Inc. said Tuesday it earned $2.74 million, or 27 cents a share, for the three months ended Dec. 31.
In the comparable quarter of 1993, Life posted a $1.94 million net loss after setting aside $4.7 million for losses on three foreclosed hotels.
The Norfolk holding company for Life Savings Bank also reported Tuesday that its 1994 net income jumped 41 percent from what it earned in 1993.
In addition, Life said its board declared a quarterly dividend of 11 cents per share to be paid Feb. 28 to shareholders of record Feb. 6.
For both the fourth quarter and the full year, Life said it benefited from an increase in net interest income, which had been generated from the proceeds of its stock offering last fall.
As part of its conversion from a mutual thrift to a stock institution last year, Life issued 10.91 million common shares.
The company said its 1994 net income totaled $6.48 million, or 27 cents a share. That compared with $4.59 million in 1993 when Life was a mutual savings bank and had no shares.
However, Life also reported that its gains on the sales of mortgages during 1994 plunged to $95,000 from $1.44 million in 1993 because of rising interest rates.
In addition, the company suffered a $691,000 loss last year on the sales of investments and mortgage-backed securities after posting a $495,000 gain on securities sales in 1993.
But with the sale of three Williamsburg hotels and some smaller foreclosed properties last year, Life reduced its nonperforming assets to $2.48 million, or 0.25 percent of assets. by CNB