Camden National posts 17% first-quarter earnings increase

Photo / Tim Greenway Gregory Dufour, president and CEO of Camden National Bank.

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Camden National Corp. (NASDAQ: CAC) followed its 2016 record year with strong first-quarter earnings.

Results that came out on Tuesday showed that first-quarter net income rose by 17% to $10.1 million over the same period last year.

Total revenues for the first quarter rose by 2% to $36.4 million. Non-interest income of $8.6 million was 8% above last year, driven mainly by increases in income from mortgage banking and bank-owned life insurance

Diluted earnings per share rose by 14%, to $0.64 a share, just shy of the $0.66 Zacks Investment Research consensus forecast. The first-quarter results followed a 91% earnings jump in 2016, the first full year following Camden National’s acquisition of the Bank of Maine to expand in southern parts of the state.

“Last year was a record year for Camden National as we were able to deliver on the financial commitments made and report record earnings,” Gregory A. Dufour, the company’s president and CEO, said in a statement, adding that “the start to 2017 is shaping up to be no different.”

First-quarter loan growth was led by commercial real estate, which increased by 4% since the end of 2016 to $45.7 million, and a 2% rise in residential real estate since the end of last year. Those gains were offset by decreases in the Healthcare Professional Funding Corp. loan portfolio as it continues to be run-off, and in its consumer loan portfolio.

In a recent interview with Mainebiz, Dufour said that Camden National sees growth potential in other parts of Maine, including Bangor, Lewiston-Auburn and the Augusta-Waterville-Gardiner area. But he underscored that the company is “very methodical” in its strategy, saying, “We don’t just want to grow for growth’s sake.”