Independent Bank Corp. increased net income 18 percent year-over-year during the second quarter, boosted by loan growth and gains in non-interest income.
Net income totaled $17.5 million in the second quarter compared with $9.5 million in the first quarter. The parent company for Rockland Trust noted, however, that the first quarter’s results included expenses related to its February acquisition of Peoples Federal Bancshares.
“Due to the teamwork and extraordinary efforts of my many colleagues, Rockland Trust has performed very well during the first half of 2015,” President and CEO Christopher Oddleifson said in a statement. “While loan growth remains challenging due to intense competition, our disciplined and focused approach has resulted in strong deposit growth and continued pristine asset quality. Rockland Trust is well positioned for sustained organic growth and ready to take advantage of market opportunities.”
Total assets stood at $7.2 billion, representing an increase of 4.1 percent from the prior quarter and $13.4 percent from the year-ago quarter.
Total loans increased 11.2 percent year-over-year to $5.4 billion. The commercial loan portfolio increased 11.1 percent over that period to $3.9 billion. The company attributed this increase to a pickup in business activity during the second quarter, coupled with strong market presence and origination efforts.
The company said in a statement that sustained promotional campaigns had boosted the home equity portfolio, but that those increases were also countered by a reduction in the residential mortgage portfolio due to higher refinancing volumes and attrition in the acquired Peoples portfolio.
Total deposits increased 12.7 percent year-over-year to almost $6 billion, inclusive of the Peoples acquisition.
Independent Bank Corp. also posted noninterest income totaling $20.3 million in the second quarter, representing a year-over-year increase of about 20 percent. In its earnings statement, the company noted a 13 percent increase in deposit account fees, interchange and ATM fees, mainly due to the resumption of normal activity after weather-related reductions in the first quarter, and an 8.2 percent increase in investment management income.
The provision for loan losses totaled $700,000 in the second quarter, compared with a negative provision of $500,000 in the first quarter. Net charge-offs totaled $220,000, or 0.02 percent of average loans on an annualized basis.
Nonperforming loans declined by $4.2 million to $26.2 million during the second quarter, and represented 0.48 percent of total loans at June 30, compared with 0.56 percent of total loans at March 31.
Nonperforming assets declined to $31.3 million at the end of the second quarter, from $40.3 million at the end of the prior quarter, reflecting the aforementioned reduction in nonperforming loans, as well as the sale of the company’s nonaccruing pooled trust preferred securities and a reduction in other real estate owned.
The allowance for loan losses totaled $55 million at June 30, compared with $54.5 million at March 31. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans was 1 percent at both June 30 and March 31, inclusive of the recently acquired Peoples portfolio.
Based on these results, the company said it anticipates its 2015 guidance for operating diluted earnings per share will be at the upper end of the range forecast earlier this year, 2.63 to 2.73 percent.
