Increased net interest income and fewer loan losses boosted Chicopee Bancorp Inc.’s third quarter profits to $371,000, almost doubling the $183,000 in profits during the same period in 2010.

The holding company for Chicopee Savings Bank credited the increase to an increase in net interest income of $335,000, or 8 percent; a decrease in the provision for loan losses of $153,000, or 40.7 percent; and an increase in non-interest income of $94,000, or 15.6 percent. Gains were partially offset by an increase in non-interest expense of $335,000, or 7.7 percent, the bank said.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the company reported net income of $721,000, an increase of $461,000, or 177.3 percent, compared to the same period in 2010. The increase in net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was primarily due to the increase in net interest income of $762,000, an increase in non-interest income of $149,000 and a decrease in the provision for loan losses of $186,000, partially offset by an increase in non-interest expense of $600,000.

"We are very pleased with our operating results for 2011 thus far when considering these are very challenging times for the financial industry, which is faced with continued artificially low interest rates, increasing pressures on non-interest income and rising regulatory costs," the bank said in a statement. "This is the company’s sixth consecutive quarterly increase in earnings and it is exciting to see continued strong loan growth and core deposit growth, the cornerstones for enhancing the franchise value of the company."