BAR HARBOR- Bar Harbor Bankshares, parent company of Bar Harbor Banking and Trust Co. and BTI Financial Group, has announced earnings of $1,215,000, or $0.37 per share of capital stock, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, and $2,687,000, or $0.81 per share of capital stock for the nine month period to that date.

The third quarter net income represents a 6.1 percent increase over the same quarter last year. Net interest income before loan loss provision increased $367,000, or 8.3 percent. The provision for possible loan losses was $87,000 more in the third quarter of 2001 than in the same quarter last year to establish the reserve at a level that is expected to be adequate to absorb possible future loan losses. In the second quarter of 2001, the bank had an additional provision of $1 million, or $660,000 after taxes, which is reflected in the nine month financial results.

Noninterest income increased $204,000, or 10.6 percent during the third quarter of 2001 compared with the previous year, and $936,000, or 19.8 percent for the first nine months of 2001 compared with the same period in the previous year. Noninterest expenses increased 4.9 percent in the first nine months of 2001 as compared with the same period last year.

Loan growth continued with a $14.6 million increase between periods while the total assets of the company decreased $7 million to $466.3 million as of Sept. 30, principally due to early pay-downs in the investment portfolio and a decrease in the borrowings to support these investments. Total deposits increased by $3.4 million, or 1.2 percent. Capital remains strong with an 11.4 percent ratio of capital to total assets.