Pittsfield-based Berkshire Hills said its first quarter profit jumped to $5.8 million from $2.8 million in the previous quarter.
First-quarter results included the operations of New York-based Rome Bancorp (acquired on April 1, 2011) and Vermont-based Legacy Bancorp (acquired on July 21, 2011). Most first-quarter categories of income and expense increased from year-to-year due to these acquisitions.
The core return on assets increased to 0.94 percent in the most recent quarter from 0.93 percent in the prior quarter.
Total net revenue increased by $1.0 million to $40.1 million in the most recent quarter, compared with the prior quarter. This growth was due to an increase in fee income, including the benefit of increases in mortgage secondary market income, insurance income, and wealth management income.
Net interest income was stable compared with the prior quarter, and the net interest margin increased slightly to 3.62 percent.
The provision for loan losses decreased to $2.0 million in the most recent quarter from $2.3 million in the prior quarter. Net loan charge-offs totaled $1.8 million during the quarter.
Expense growth included the impact of office expansion in retail and commercial banking. The efficiency ratio remained unchanged at 59 percent. Net non-recurring and merger related expense totaled $2.9 million after-tax, and included merger related expenses for the Legacy and CBT acquisitions, disposition costs of excess offices in Pittsfield following the Legacy integration, and systems conversion costs related to the core systems conversion planned for later in 2012. Additionally, the company recorded a $600,000 after-tax non-core charge related to the divestiture of four New York branches in January.
Total assets increased at a 4 percent annualized rate during the first quarter to slightly more than $4 billion. That increase includes 11 percent annualized loan growth. The $82 million increase in loans primarily resulted from increased bookings of Massachusetts residential mortgages relating to the partnership with Massachusetts-based Greenpark Mortgage during the transition period prior to the planned acquisition in the second quarter.
