| Firstbank Corporation Announces Third Quarter and Year-to-Date 2007 Results
ALMA, Mich., Oct. 25, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Thomas R. Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Firstbank Corporation (NasdaqGS:FBMI - News), announced earnings per share of $0.33 for the third quarter of 2007 compared to $0.41 in the third quarter of 2006. Net income was $2,415,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2007, compared to $2,717,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2006. Returns on average assets and average equity for the third quarter of 2007 were 0.71% and 8.2%, respectively, compared with 0.99% and 11.2%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2006. A loss of $104,000 after tax on the final disposition of Firstbank's interest in the real estate brokerage company C.A. Hanes was included in third quarter results. This factor, combined with the stabilized but low net interest margin and continuing weak mortgage activity, led to the decline in earnings and profitability compared to year-ago periods.
Banks And Hotels, We Stand Together | Jerry Cedicci & Robin Trehan
Hotel lending has undergone cyclic changes as the economy rises and falls. Booms follow busts as the occupancy rates of hotels rises and falls. Many financial institutions, including commercial banks, have become conservative in their lending practices to the hospitality industry in the wake of the economic crisis of the 1980s to the early 1990s. Tighter lending practices has served to stabilize the hospitality industry in terms of the number of newcomers into the market. This translates to fewer hotels competing for a recently growing number of clients, reducing the exposure of those banking institutions that have enabled the establishment or repositioning of new or existing hotels. At the same time, the number of lenders available for ideal projects has affected the current hotel lending market as more aggressive lenders compete for loans to solid properties, encouraging the return to hotel investment on projects with yields on equity of about 7.5 to 11 percent.
StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2007 Earnings
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- StanCorp Financial Group, (Nachrichten) Inc. today reported net income for the third quarter of 2007 of $1.29 per diluted share, compared to $1.01 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2006. Net income for the same periods was $66.6 million and $54.7 million, respectively. After-tax net capital losses were $0.2 million for the third quarter of 2007, compared to after-tax net capital gains of $1.4 million for the third quarter of 2006. Net income excluding after-tax net capital gains and losses increased 31.6% to $1.29 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2007, compared to $0.98 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2006 (see discussion of non-GAAP financial measures below). The increase in net income per diluted share for the third quarter of 2007 compared to the same period of 2006 reflected premium growth, comparatively favorable claims experience for the group and individual disability insurance businesses and a 2.6 million reduction in diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
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