Earnings

CMP Group Inc. has reported earnings of $1.63 per share of common stock for calendar year 1998, including earnings of 57 cents per share in the fourth quarter.

CMP Group’s principal subsidiary is Central Maine Power Co., which provided 99 percent of CMP Group’s revenues in 1998. Comparable year-ago figures reported by Central Maine Power were $0.16 per share for calendar year 1997, and $0.12 for the fourth quarter of 1997.

CMP Group chief financial officer David E. Marsh said major factors in the improved 1998 results were a net benefit of $25 million related to expiration of a high-cost nonutility power contract; a $27.5 million decrease in purchased-power capacity costs, chiefly due to the closing of the Maine Yankee nuclear plant; and a $4 million decrease in fuel costs for Central Maine Power generation, reflecting lower oil prices. The overall effect was a $47.7 million increase in net income over 1997.

Central Maine Power is under legal mandate to sell its generation assets as part of Maine’s transition to retail electric-supply competition March 1, 2000. At that time, CMP Co. will no longer sell electricity, but will operate as a state-regulated transmission and distribution utility.

David I. Dorsey, president and CEO of First Citizens Bank of Presque Isle, has announced net income of $746,940 for 1998. The 1998 earnings figure is a new income milestone for the bank and represents a 26 percent increase over 1997 earnings.

“This is the second consecutive year that our earnings have increased by more than 25 percent,” said Dorsey. “Our pretax income for 1998 surpassed the $1 million mark for the first time, which is another milestone that we are proud to report for our northern Maine bank.”

Total assets of First Citizens Bank reached a new high of $108.2 million at the end of 1998. During the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 1998, total deposits also increased $7.3 million, reaching a record $92.5 million at year end. The bank’s loan portfolio also grew by approximately $2 million for the year.

First Citizens Bank is the only independent community bank with headquarters in Aroostook County. The bank provides financial services to thousands of customers in northern Maine through five full-service offices located in Presque Isle, Caribou, Lincoln, Fort Kent and Houlton.

Mid-Coast Bancorp Inc., the holding company for The Waldoboro Bank F.S.B., recorded net income for the third quarter ending Dec. 31, 1998, of $73,678 or 10 cents basic and diluted earnings per share of common stock. This compares to $129,521 or 18 cents basic and diluted earnings per share for the fiscal quarter ending Dec. 31, 1997.

“Our expansion during this fiscal year continues to have a significant effect on earnings,” said Wesley E. Richardson, president and chief executive officer. The new Belfast and Jefferson branches have either met or exceeded loan and deposit projections, said Richardson.

Net interest income for the quarter increased $38,926 compared to Dec. 31, 1997. Noninterest income for the quarter increased $32,737 compared to Dec. 31, 1997.

Mid-Coast Bancorp Inc. has headquarters in Waldoboro, with additional full-service branches in Belfast, Rockland and Jefferson. The Waldoboro Bank F.S.B. is a federally chartered SAIF-insured savings bank with total assets of $70.9 million, total deposits of $53.2 million, and total stockholder equity of $5.3 million at Dec. 31, 1998. Mid-Coast’s common stock is quoted on the NASDAQ SmallCap System under the symbol “MCBN.”