Center Bancorp, the parent company of Union Center National Bank, has reported a net income of $799,000, or $0.05 per fully diluted common share, for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009, as compared with earnings of $1.2m, or $0.09 per fully diluted common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
At March 31, 2009, non-performing assets totaled $9.1m, or 0.81% of total assets, as compared with $4.7m, or 0.46%, at December 31, 2008 and $1.7m, or 0.17%, at March 31, 2008.
The corporation recorded net interest income on a fully taxable equivalent basis of $6.6m for the three months ended March 31, 2009 as compared to $6.1m for the comparable quarter in 2008. On a linked quarter basis, the net interest spread and margin decreased by 13 basis points and 20 basis points, respectively.
Anthony Weagley, president and CEO of Center Bancorp, said: I am pleased to report that the company’s core earnings performance continues to remain strong. During the first quarter, the corporation recorded an increase in its loan loss provision of $1.3m coupled with higher FDIC insurance assessments of $345,000 due primarily to changes in the premium rates. Taken together, these increases reduced first quarter earnings by approximately $0.08 per fully diluted common share.
