THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 22, 1995 TAG: 9504220282
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
CENIT Bancorp Inc., the Norfolk-based thrift holding company, reported a 5 percent increase in first-quarter net income.
However, its earnings for the January-through-March period were held down by a narrowing spread between its cost of funds and the yield on loans and investments, CENIT said Friday.
Separately, TFC Enterprises Inc., the Norfolk-based parent of The Finance Company, said its net income for the March 31 quarter rose 11 percent because of a higher volume of finance contracts, lower funding costs and improved productivity.
CENIT, parent of CENIT Bank, said it earned $656,000 in the three months ended March 31, compared with $627,000 in the year-earlier period. Its per-share earnings were 51 cents, up from 49 cents in the 1994 first quarter.
CENIT's net interest income, its principal source of earnings, rose only 2 percent to $3.52 million, while its non-interest income declined 11 percent from the year-earlier period to $427,000.
CENIT's shares, which jumped 1 3/4 Thursday to 37 3/4, closed Friday at 37, off 3/4.
Meanwhile, TFC said it earned $1.82 million in the January-through-March period, compared with $1.64 million in the year-earlier quarter. Earnings per share were 16 cents versus 15 cents.
Its net income for the comparable quarter of 1994 included a one-time, pre-tax gain of $500,000.
TFC, whose subsidiary specializes in financing auto purchases by high-risk borrowers, said its first-quarter earnings were helped by a 46 percent increase in earning assets. by CNB