PORTLAND – Banknorth Group Inc. on Tuesday posted record fourth-quarter net income of $62.4 million, an increase of 8 percent over the same period the year before.

The former Peoples Heritage Financial Group said earnings for the three months ended Dec. 31 came to 43 cents per diluted share. The company earned $58.8 million, or 40 cents per diluted share, in the same quarter of 1999.

Net income for all of 2000 was $191.7 million, or $1.32 per diluted share, a 3 percent drop from 1999, due mostly to merger-related costs, the company said.