NBT earnings edge higher in first quarter

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Apr 27, 2007

NORWICH - Earnings at NBT Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB) rose in the first quarter on increases in both interest and noninterest income, according to the bank holding company.

Net income for the quarter was $14.1 million, up 4 percent from the first quarter of 2006. The bank earned 41 cents per diluted share in the quarter, compared with 40 cents a share last year.

NBT is the parent company of NBT Bank, N.A. and Pennstar Bank. The banks have 119 locations in New York and Pennsylvania. The company also owns an insurance agency and 401 (k) record-keeping firm.

"Despite the challenges we face in the current interest-rate environment, I am pleased with our earnings performance for the first quarter," Martin A. Dietrich, president and CEO, said in a statement on NBT's earnings. "...We have been able to reduce our reliance on interest income by continuing to post strong noninterest income results.

"While 2007 promises to be a challenging year for the financial-services industry, I am encouraged by our results for the first quarter."

Unfavorable interest rates are squeezing profits at banks throughout the upstate region and nation.

Net-interest income at NBT was up 1.3 percent in the quarter to $40.6 million from last year's $40.1 million. The income growth resulted largely from an 8.3-percent rise in average-earning assets.

That increase was driven by organic-loan growth, particularly consumer loans, as well as NBT's acquisition of CNB Bancorp, Inc. in February 2006, according to the bank.

NBT also indicated that if the current interest-rate situation continues, net-interest income would remain relatively flat throughout 2007.

Total assets at quarter's end were $5.1 billion, up from $4.9 billion at the end of the first quarter in 2006. Loans and leases increased 4.5 percent over the past year from $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion, mainly on growth in consumer-loan products, according to the bank.

NBT's total deposits were $4 billion on March 31, up 9.6 percent from a year ago, due mainly to increasing balances in time-deposit accounts, money-market accounts, and savings accounts, the bank said.