Cathay General Bancorp Q1 Profit Rises

(RTTNews) - Cathay General Bancorp (CATY) Monday reported first-quarter net income of $73.4 million or $0.92 per share, up from $46.9 million or $0.59 per share last year.

Net interest income before provision for credit losses increased 1.1% to $141.8 million from $140.3 million last year, driven primarily by a decrease in interest expense from deposits, offset, in part, by a decrease in interest income from loans and securities.

Net interest margin was 3.20% for the third quarter compared to 3.34% last year.

Non-interest income was $10.0 million for the first quarter, an increase 72.4% from $5.8 million last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.77 per share and revenues of $151.59 million. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.