Lakeland Bancorp of Oak Ridge, N.J., announced Thursday that the second quarter was its best ever.
Net income was $5.1 million, 38% more than a year earlier. Earnings for the six months ended June 30 rose 33%, to $9.7 million.
Lakeland's loan portfolio grew 37%, to $1.2 billion. But the company - which acquired the $309 million-asset Newton Trust Co. of Newton, N.J., in July 2004 - said its net interest margin fell 3 basis points over the past year, to 3.77%, as higher funding costs negated a higher yield on its earning assets.
Lakeland, which is 36 years old and has assets of $2.1 billion, has kept Newton a separate subsidiary. But it said Thursday that it planned to fold the nine-branch bank into its lead bank, which would give Lakeland Bank 49 branches and $1.7 billion of deposits.
The company did not say when it expects to complete the integration of Newton into Lakeland Bank.
