First Business Financial Services Inc. in Madison, Wis., reported third-quarter earnings of $2.2 million, more than double its profit from a year ago, thanks to strong revenue and margin growth.
"Against the challenging national economic backdrop of the past three months, First Business delivered third-quarter profitability that is among our strongest ever," Corey A. Chambas, the president and chief executive, said in a press release Friday. "We've grown in-market deposits and continued to lower our deposit funding costs, while our asset quality continues to improve."
The $1.1 billion-asset company said that revenue rose 10.5%, to $31.7 million, for the first nine months of the year compared with the same period last year. Earnings per share totaled 83 cents for the third quarter and $2.32 for the first nine months.
The third-quarter net interest margin improved 28 basis points, to 3.40%, compared with a year ago, largely due to a 39 basis-point decline in the average rate paid on interest-bearing deposit balances.
Net interest income totaled $9.1 million, up 11.6% from a year ago, while noninterest income was $1.7 million, up 3.4 % from a year ago. The provision for loan losses totaled $435,000 for the quarter, down 78% compared with the same quarter last year.
First Business Financial's shares closed at $16.49 Friday, up 7.7%.
