THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501180417
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Jefferson Bankshares Inc., parent of Jefferson National Bank, reported Tuesday that its net income for the Dec. 31 quarter rose 7 percent.
The Charlottesville-based banking company blamed higher noninterest expenses for a 4 percent drop in net income for the full year.
Meanwhile, Bank of Tidewater in Virginia Beach said its net income surged 46 percent for the fourth quarter and 34 percent for 1994 because of a wider spread between the cost of its liabilities and the yield on its earning assets.
Jefferson said it earned $5.78 million, or 38 cents a share, for the October-through-December quarter. In the comparable three months of 1993, it earned $5.4 million, or 36 cents.
Its results for the fourth quarter benefited from a smaller provision for troubled loans and a wider spread between the cost of funds and the yield on its earning assets, Jefferson said.
For all of 1994, the company's net income slipped to $22.6 million from $23.59 million in 1993. Net interest income - its biggest source of earnings - was up just 3.7 percent, while noninterest income increased 3.9 percent, Jefferson said.
In Virginia Beach, Bank of Tidewater reported fourth-quarter net income of $380,132, a sharp increase from $260,864 in the year-earlier period. Per-share earnings, fully diluted, were 28 cents, compared with 18 cents.
Its return on average assets for the recent quarter advanced to 1.27 percent from 0.86 percent in the 1993 fourth quarter.
However, the community bank cautioned that its earnings for the first half of 1995 will be flat or could decline because it is not making the refund-anticipation loans through income-tax preparers that it made in 1994.
Also, the opening of a new branch on Lynnhaven Parkway earlier this month will temporarily add to its overhead, Bank of Tidewater said.
The bank attributed much of the improvement in earnings for the recent quarter and the year to higher levels of net interest income, which rose 22 percent in 1994.
For all of 1994, Bank of Tidewater's net income amounted to $1.69 million, up from $1.27 million, the bank said. Per-share earnings fully diluted were $1.25, compared with 94 cents in 1993.
Separately, Commonwealth Bankshares Inc. in Norfolk said its net income for the October-through-December quarter declined 8 percent because of an unfavorable comparison with its year-earlier results. Its net income for the 1993 fourth quarter included a one-time gain from securities sales, something that did not occur in the recent quarter, the company said.
Commonwealth, parent of Bank of the Commonwealth, reported net income of $246,000 for the three months ended Dec. 31, which was down from $266,000 in the year-earlier period. Earnings per share were 29 cents, compared with 31 cents in the 1994 fourth quarter.
For the full year, net income climbed 26 percent because of strong loan growth, lower interest expense and smaller provisions for nonperforming loans, Commonwealth said.
The banking company said it earned a record $814,000, or 96 cents, in 1994. That compared with $647,000, or 77 cents, in 1993. by CNB