Park National Corp. in Newark, Ohio, said Monday that it earned $23 million in the first quarter, up 9.1% from the year earlier.
Earnings per share grew 10.7%, to $1.65, beating by 65 cents the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
The $6.8 billion-asset, multibank holding company reported that net loan chargeoffs had nearly tripled from the year earlier, to $8.6 million, and that its loan-loss provision was $7.4 million, compared to $2.2 million the year before.
Park said that its lone Florida subsidiary, Vision Bank in Panama City, accounted for 64% of the chargeoffs.
Jeff Davis, an analyst at First Horizon National Corp.'s FTN Midwest Securities, said Park beat estimates because analysts were expecting the loss provision to be much higher. In the fourth quarter, the company took a provision of $18.6 million, due primarily to loan troubles at Vision Bank, which it bought in March 2007.
Park chairman C. Daniel DeLawder said in a press release that Vision Bank is managing its loan portfolio to minimize future losses.
"We are encouraged that Vision Bank increased loan balances in the first quarter utilizing loan underwriting practices consistently employed by other Park affiliate banks," he said.
Park's shares closed at $70.75 Monday, up 1.4%.
