First Niagara Financial Group, which is scheduled to complete its acquisition of New Haven-based NewAllinace Bank this spring, reported a quarterly profit that beat market expectations by a cent, and the lender increased its quarterly dividend for the second straight quarter, Reuters reports.
New York-based First Niagara will pay a dividend of 16 cents a share on Feb. 22, it said in a statement.
Fourth-quarter net income was $45.9 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $28.9 million, or 16 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding items, the company earned 24 cents a share.
Net interest income rose 48 percent to $167.5 million, offsetting the $2.5 million increase in provision for bad loans. Provisions for the quarter stood at $13.5 million.
