Glacier Bancorp Inc. in Kalispell, Mont., reported higher earnings after it purged bad loans off its books.
The $7.2 billion-asset company said Thursday that its fourth-quarter earnings rose 49.6% from a year earlier, to $14.3 million. At 20 cents a share, the results were in line with the average analysts' estimate, according to Thomson Reuters.
Mick Blodnick, the company's chief executive, said in a press release that the company has focused on reducing nonperforming assets. Nonperforming assets at Dec. 31 fell 21% from a year earlier, to $213.5 million. The full-year loan-loss provision fell 24% from 2010, to $64.5 million.
Net interest income rose 3.3% in 2011 compared to a year earlier, to $58.5 million.
