Farmers earnings improve

Staff report

canfield

Farmers National Banc Corp., the parent company of Farmers National Bank, reported improved third-quarter earnings Friday.

The company posted a net income of $2.85 million, or 21 cents per share, for the third quarter of 2010, compared with $1.55 million, or 12 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2009.

Farmers’ earnings also are up from the second quarter of this year, when the company reported a net income of $2 million, or 15 cents per share.

Nonperforming loans totaled $9.5 million last quarter, down from $12.6 million in the third quarter of 2009. Bad loans made up only 1.52 percent of the bank’s loan portfolio, the lowest percentage since the fourth quarter of 2008, the company said.

The bank provided $1.5 million in loan-loss provisions in the third quarter, down $50,000 from the same quarter last year. The allowance for loan losses was down $100,000 from the previous quarter.

The bank has implemented a strategy to “earn” its way through the economic downturn through increased income from assets and fees, chief executive John Gulas said in a statement.

“Our third-quarter 2010 net-income results reflect the improving trend in profitability we have been experiencing during the second and first quarters of 2010,” Gulas said. “We continue to see the benefits of this strategy through our increased earnings power and improving asset-quality trends.”