First California reports record 2011 earnings of $23.4M
Westlake Village-based First California Financial Group reported profits of $23.4 million in 2011, a company earnings record.
A year earlier, it had earned $1.4 million.
“Our record breaking performance in 2011 was driven by the combination of continued successful execution of our strategic plan that focuses on organic growth and opportunistic acquisitions,” the bank’s CEO and president, C. G. Kum, said in a statement. First California entered the San Luis Obispo County market in February 2011 with the acquisition of failed San Luis Trust Bank in downtown SLO. The company also acquired the electronic banking division, a prepaid debit card operation, of Palm Desert National Bank.
Net income available to common shareholders for 2011 was $20.8 million, or 71 cents per share, compared with $160,000, or 1 cent per share, a year earlier. Preferred dividends were $2.6 million in 2011, compared with $1.3 million the year before.
First California said net interest income, the money it makes from loans, rose 33 percent to $59.5 million during the year. Deposits increased $269 million to end the year at $1.4 billion, it said.
First California’s shares had climbed 1.9 percent to $4.25 in late afternoon trading following the earnings release.
