Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE American: BHB), the parent company of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, posted a 10% increase in fourth-quarter core earnings as the bank reduced funding costs, increased fee-based revenues and grew commercial loans.
The company reported fourth quarter net income of $9.8 million or 65 cents per diluted share, up from $8.6 million or 58 cents a share in the same quarter a year ago.
“Once again, our team is proud to deliver strong results, reporting a 10% increase in core earnings per share in the fourth quarter 2021 over the prior year’s quarter,” said President and CEO Curtis Simard.
“Throughout 2021 we maintained an annualized core return on assets of over 1% and a core return on tangible common equity of over 13% in each quarter. This level of performance reflects the progress toward our strategic objectives to reduce funding costs, increase fee-based revenues and grow commercial loans while maintaining exceptional credit quality. We also grew tangible book value per share, which is up 2% from the prior quarter and 6% over the prior year,” Simard said.
Total assets were $3.7 billion at the end of the fourth quarter.
Founded in 1887, Bar Harbor Bank & Trust provides community banking services in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Shares of Bar Harbor Bankshares traded at $30.50, down 50 cents, or 1.6%, in morning trading.
