PORTLAND, Maine — TD Banknorth Inc.'s first-quarter profit fell 53%, as a result of charges and balance-sheet adjustments for the March 1 merger of Banknorth Group Inc. and TD Bank Financial Group.
In a press release Monday, TD Banknorth said its earnings are preliminary as it awaits a ruling from the Securities and Exchange Commission on the appropriate accounting method for the merger.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive William Ryan said in a statement, "TD Banknorth's earnings exclusive of the amortization of identifiable intangible assets will not be materially impacted by the decision one way or the other."
First-quarter net income fell to $42.3 million, or 23 cents a share from $90.3 million, or 54 cents a share, a year earlier.
Excluding merger and consolidation costs, as well as deleveraging losses, earnings rose to $106.9 million, or 58 cents a share, from $91.4 million, or 55 cents a share.
Wall Street, on average, expected the company to earn 58 cents a share in the latest quarter.
TD Banknorth's provision for loan and lease losses decreased to $2.1 million from $9.5 million.
Total assets climbed to $28.32 billion from $26.88 billion a year earlier. Total assets for the latest period stood at $32.13 billion after fair-value adjustments.
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