Camden National posts 11 percent hike in earnings

CAMDEN – Camden National Corp. has announced earnings for the year ending Dec. 31, 2001, of $15.4 million, representing an increase of 11.25 percent over 2000. Earnings per diluted share were $1.89 for 2001 compared with $1.69 in 2000, an increase of 11.83 percent, according to Robert W. Daigle, president and CEO of CNC.

Fourth quarter 2001 earnings of $3.3 million, which included an additional provision for loan losses of $495,000, after taxes, matched fourth-quarter 2000 results of $3.3 million. Earnings per diluted share were $0.41 for the fourth quarter 2001 compared with $0.40 for the fourth quarter 2000.

During the fourth quarter of 2001 a corporate risk management division was created to oversee credit risks of the corporation and its subsidiaries, and the company purchased the remaining 49 percent minority interest in Trust Company of Maine Inc., a provider of trust and employee benefits services located in Bangor.

Loan growth, when adjusted for the effects of converting $57 million of residential mortgages to investment securities, was 12.3 percent in 2001, while deposits grew 2.6 percent, according to Daigle. An additional provision for loan losses recorded in the fourth quarter also brought the company’s reserve for loan losses as of Dec. 31 to $13.5 million or 1.87 percent of total loans, compared with $10.8 million or 1.54 percent of total loans the previous year.

Camden National Corp., headquartered in Camden and listed on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol CAC, is the holding company for a family of four financial services companies: Camden National Bank, UnitedKingfield Bank, Acadia Trust N.A., and Trust Company of Maine Inc.