Park National in Ohio Reports $20.7 Million Profit in 1Q

Aided by improved asset quality, lower expenses and increased fee income, Park National in Newark, Ohio, said Friday that it earned $20.7 million, or $1.34 per share, in the first quarter, easily beating consensus analysts' estimates.

Though overall profits were down year over year, last year's results were skewed by the sale of its troubled Florida bank subsidiary, Vision Bank. Excluding the impact of that sale, earnings rose 21% from the first quarter of 2012, Park National said in a news release Friday.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg had projected earnings of $1.17 per share.

Absent proceeds from the sale of Vision Bank, Park National's noninterest income rose 3.4% from a year earlier, to roughly $40.9 million. Also, noninterest expense fell roughly 5% year over year, to $46 million.

The company's loan portfolio barely budged year over year, but net interest income fell 10.2%, to $55.4 million, and net interest margin compressed 27 basis points, to 3.7%, because of lower yields. More significantly, chargeoffs fell 97% year over year, to $551,000, as it continued to resolve problem loans related to Vision Bank.

"The local expertise and dedication of our bankers across Ohio, combined with substantial reduction of troubled assets retained from the Vision Bank business, were key drivers in our successful first quarter," C. Daniel DeLawder, Park National's chairman, said in a press release.