VIST Financial Q2 net income down 41%

INQUIRER STAFF

VIST Financial Corp. (formerly Leesport Financial Corp., Wyomissing, reported that net income for the quarter just ended was $1,468,000, a 41.3 percent decrease over net income of $2,502,000 for the same period in 2007.

Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2008, of $3,027,000, a 4.3 percent increase over net income of $2,903,000 for the same period in 2007the company said in a release.

Total revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2008, was $42,500,000, compared with $41,132,000 for the same period in 2007, a 3.3 percent increase. Total revenue for the quarter just ended was $21,083,000, compared with $22,233,000 for the same period in 2007, a 5.2 percent decrease.

Earnings per share for the six months just ended were $0.53, a 3.9 percent increase over $0.51 in the comparable period last year. Earnings per share for the quarter just ended were $0.26, a 40.9 percent decrease over $0.44 in last year's comparable period.

Diluted earnings per share for the six months ended June 30, 2008 were $0.53 on average shares outstanding of 5,696,650, a 3.9% increase as compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.51 on average shares outstanding of 5,711,683 for the six months ended June 30, 2007. Diluted earnings per share for the three months ended June 30, 2008 were $0.26 on average shares outstanding of 5,705,042, a 40.9% decrease as compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.44 on average shares outstanding of 5,712,368 for the three months ended June 30, 2007.

Included in the operating results for the six and three months just ended were pretax re-branding costs of approximately $595,000 associated with the company's name change and additional expense charged to the provision for loan losses

The provision for loan losses for the quarter just ended was $1,650,000 compared to $148,000 for the same period in 2007.

"Our commercial loan growth, a key driver of our commercial- client strategy, remains strong," Robert D. Davis, president and chief executive officer, said in a release. However, in the context of regional economic conditions and the quality of our loan portfolio at June 30, 2008, we felt it prudent to increase our allowance for loan loss. Absent the increase in our loan loss coverage, we are pleased with our quarterly performance."