THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260418
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
Helped by a higher volume of loans and mortgage-backed securities, Life Bancorp Inc. reported a 23 percent rise in third-quarter net income.
The Norfolk-based parent of Life Savings Bank said it earned $2.35 million, or 23 cents a share, for the July-through-September period, up from $1.92 million in the third quarter of 1994.
The thrift holding company said it expected comparable financial results for the current quarter, which ends Dec. 31.
Life's board also declared a quarterly dividend of 11 cents payable Nov. 30 to shareholders of Nov. 17.
Life Savings converted in October 1994 from a depositor-owned thrift to a stock institution. In the process, its parent raised almost $98 million from a public offering of 10.91 million common shares.
The primary source of Life's third-quarter earnings - its net interest income - jumped 39 percent to $7.15 million from $5.13 million in the year-earlier period. Life attributed the improvement largely to the growth of earning assets since its stock conversion.
The company's noninterest income for the recent quarter declined 14 percent to $800,000 from $930,000. Meanwhile, its noninterest expenses rose 35 percent to $4.08 million.
For the nine months through September, Life earned $7.01 million, or 69 cents a share. That was up 88 percent from $3.74 million for the comparable three quarters of 1994. by CNB