Westfield Financial Inc., the holding company for Westfield Bank, said it turned a $1.5 million profit in the fourth quarter, compared to $1.3 million in the same period a year ago.

For the year, the bank reported a $5.9 million profit compared to $3 million in the prior year.

The bank said a $7.7 million decrease in its yearly provision for loan losses was responsible for the increased earnings. The bank ended the year with a $1.2 million allowance for loan losses. The $7.7 million loan loss provision made in 2010 was the result of a $7.2 million charge-off on a single commercial real estate loan, the bank said in a statement.

Net interest income increased to $7.5 million for the quarter from $6.9 million a year ago. For the year, it increased $1.1 million to $30.5 million from the year-ago total.

The sale of securities helped the bank boost its non-interest income to $1.1 million in the fourth quarter from $982,000 a year earlier. For the year, non-interest income was $3.8 million, a decrease from $7.4 million in 2010.

The bank finished the year with a return on average assets of 0.47 percent compared to 0.25 percent a year ago. It claimed total assets of $1.3 billion as of Dec. 31.