DATE: Saturday, July 19, 1997               TAG: 9707190257

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TOM SHEAN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   36 lines

3 REPORT 2ND QUARTER EARNINGS

Virginia Beach Federal Financial Corp., helped by strong loan growth and additional fee income, reported a 58 percent jump in second-quarter net income.

Separately, James River Bankshares Inc. in Suffolk said its earnings for the April-through-June quarter rose 9 percent, and Resource Bank in Virginia Beach said its net income was up 7 percent.

Virginia Beach Federal, parent of the thrift First Coastal Bank, said it earned $987,000 for the June 30 quarter, which was up sharply from $625,000 in last year's second quarter. Earnings per share rose to 20 cents from 13 cents.

The company credited the improvement to several factors, including a 69 percent rise in income from retail banking fees and tighter control of non-interest expenses.

James River Bankshares, parent of Bank of Suffolk and three other community banks, reported net income of $908,000, or 37 cents a share. That was up from $832,000, or 33 cents in the 1996 second quarter.

James River attributed the higher earnings partly to a 17 percent increase in net interest income, but its earnings were restrained by a drop in non-interest income and a 17 percent rise in non-interest expenses.

In Virginia Beach, Resource Bank reported net income of $433,953 for the recent quarter, compared with $406,663 for the year-earlier period. Earnings per share were flat at 42 cents because of an increase in the number of shares.

Resource said it benefited from growth in its earning assets, which generated a 28 percent increase in net interest income.

The bank's second-quarter results included a $223,000 provision for income taxes. In last year's second quarter, Resource had a tax-loss carryforward, which eliminated the need for a tax provision.

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