Lower Provision Boosts Profits at NASB Financial

Shares of NASB Financial Inc. rose more than 6% Wednesday after the Grandview, Mo., thrift company said it earned $4.9 million in the quarter that ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $3 million in the the same period in 2010.

The results were driven primarily by improved asset quality. The $1.2 billion-asset parent of North American Savings Bank said it set aside $2.5 million for loan losses, or $8 million less than it provisioned in the same quarter in 2010. The company was forced to restate earnings in the 2010 quarter after it was ordered by its regulator to reclassify certain loans as troubled. The Dec. 31 quarter was the first quarter in NASB's fiscal year.

Though its total loans declined by more than 13% year over year, net interest income rose 8.3% due in large part to lower funding costs. Its noninterest expense declined by 14% year over year, to $14.1 million.

The company also said that income from fees rose by more than 16%, to $10.5 million.

NASB's shares climbed as high as $13.57 Wednesday before closing at $13.26.