THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, April 11, 1995 TAG: 9504110306
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Blaming weaker demand for consumer loans and the rising cost of deposits, First Virginia Banks Inc. reported a 6 percent decline in first-quarter net income.
The Falls Church-based banking company said Monday that its net income for the quarter ending in March dropped to $27.2 million from $28.82 million in the same three months of 1994. Per-share earnings were 80 cents, down from 89 cents.
First Virginia's net interest income - the primary source of its earnings - rose 6 percent from last year's first quarter. However, the company's earnings from non-interest sources dropped 3 percent, while its non-interest expenses climbed 10 percent from the comparable quarter last year.
First Virginia's net loans at the end of March totaled $4.92 billion, a hefty 19 percent increase from one year earlier. However, the banking company said its net interest margin narrowed to 5.12 percent in the recent quarter from 5.28 percent in the 1994 first quarter.
The net interest margin is a measure of the difference between the cost of funds and the yield on loans and assets.
First Virginia's return on average assets - a standard yardstick of bank profitability - slipped from 1.64 percent in the year-earlier quarter to a still-respectable 1.41 percent for this year's first quarter.
After buying back 1.7 million common shares, or 5 percent of its stock, during 1994, First Virginia said it did not repurchase any shares during the recent quarter. Its share repurchase program is still authorized to buy 1 million shares, and the company said it intends to buy these shares ``as market conditions permit.'' by CNB