Premier Financial Bancorp Inc. in Huntington, W.Va., reported that its fourth-quarter profit rose 5% from a year earlier, to $2.4 million, as operating expenses declined.
The $1.1 billion-asset company said Tuesday that operating expenses fell 8% from a year earlier, to $8 million. The company's loan-loss provision declined almost 14% from a year earlier, to $480,000.
Noninterest income declined more than 6% from the fourth quarter of 2010, to $1.7 million, as service charges on deposit accounts fell 10% and secondary market mortgage income plunged 50%. Net interest income for the fourth quarter totaled $10.9 million, down almost 4% from a year earlier.
Premier reported that its 2011 earnings fell 25% from a year earlier, to $5.9 million, because of added expenses tied to data processing and converting to a new operating system. Net overhead costs for 2011 rose almost 8% from 2010, to $29.6 million, because of a $1.6 million increase in conversion expenses.
Robert Walker, the company's president and chief executive, said in a press release that the company would focus on reducing operating costs, increasing its customer base and growing performing assets. In February, the company said it would
