Brookline Bancorp sees 16% profit gain in 2015

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Brookline Bancorp Inc. on Thursday reported 2015 profit grew 15.5 percent to $52.4 million, or 71 cents per diluted share, compared with $45.3 million, or 62 cents per diluted share, in 2014.
President and CEO Paul Perrault attributed the strong earnings in part to a shift in strategy last year on the lending side.
“During the year we exited the indirect auto business to focus our resources and capital on serving our commercial real estate, commercial and consumer relationships,” Perrault said in a statement.
The Brookline, Mass.-based parent company of Bank Rhode Island also released fourth-quarter earnings, reporting net income increasing 23.8 percent to $14.1 million compared with the same period in 2014. No detail on Bank Rhode Island operations was released
Total interest and noninterest income grew 3.5 percent to $247.1 million in 2015 compared with 2014. Fourth-quarter revenue grew 6.9 percent to $64.5 million compared with the same period the year prior.
Total assets increased 4.2 percent to $6 billion, thanks largely to loans and leases, which increased 3.6 percent to $5 billion in 2015.
Total deposits grew 8.8 percent to $4.3 billion by the end of the year, according to the report.
“Excluding the indirect auto business, we grew loan balances over 10 percent and our demand deposits grew over 7 percent,” Perrault said.
Nonperforming assets for the year grew 36.3 percent to $20.7 million, or 0.34 percent of total assets, compared with $15.2 million, or 0.26 percent of total assets, in 2014.
Allowance for loan and lease losses grew 5.7 percent to $56.7 million, or 1.14 percent of total loans and leases, compared with $53.7 million, or 1.11 percent of total loans and leases, in 2014.
The bank’s net interest margin fell to 3.54 percent for the year from 3.61 percent in 2014.

Return on average assets grew 7 basis points to 0.85 percent for the year, while the bank’s efficiency ratio fell to 58.44 percent compared with 61.73 percent in 2014.
“Our asset quality remains strong and our company continues to be well-capitalized,” Perrault said.
Brookline bank declared a dividend of 9 cents per share for the quarter compared with 8.5 cents per share in the same period in 2014.
“I am grateful to all our employees who have demonstrated dedication and commitment to accomplishing those outstanding results,” Perrault continued. “Our company is solidly positioned to achieve continued success in 2016.”

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