Profit at Sterling in N.Y. Aided by Provident Acquisition

Shares for Sterling Bancorp in Montebello, N.Y., rose after the company posted stronger quarterly income tied to its merger with Provident New York Bancorp.

The $7.3 billion-asset Sterling said Monday after the market closed that net income for the period that ended June 30 rose 135%, to $15 million, from a year earlier. Earnings per share of 18 cents fell a penny short of the estimates of analysts polled by Bloomberg. Sterling's shares were trading at $11.93 Tuesday midday, up almost 2% from Monday's closing.

Net interest income for the company's fiscal year third quarter was up 106%, to $58.5 million, mainly because of higher average loans and investment securities balances. The company's net interest margin increased 38 basis points, to 3.84%, from the same period a year ago.

Total loans, including loans held for sale, nearly doubled from a year earlier, to $4.6 billion. Commercial loan balances accounted for $3.7 billion of this total volume.

The results were for the second full quarter since Sterling merged with Provident last year. Provident acquired Sterling in October for $344 million but the new company retained the Sterling name.

"We continue to focus on diversifying and improving our revenue mix," Jack Kopnisky, chief executive of Sterling Bancorp, said in a press release. "We have a significant opportunity to grow our specialty lending business, which we anticipate will allow us to grow fee income and increase the proportion of fee income."

Noninterest income rose 105%, to $13.5 million. This increase was attributed to higher fees from service charges on deposits and from the factoring and payroll finance businesses. Mortgage banking income soared by 349%, to $1.9 million.

Noninterest expenses increased 106%, to $44.9 million, due to compensation and benefits as well as occupancy costs more than doubling year over year because of the Provident merger. Professional fees were up 220%, to $1.7 million.

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