BUSINESS BRIEF

First Defiance reports $5.2M 1st quarter profit

4/22/2014

DEFIANCE — First Defiance Financial Corp. on Monday reported a first-quarter profit of $5.2 million, or 51 cents a share, down 7 percent from the same period a year ago when the financial institution reported a profit of $5.6 million, or 55 cents a share.

First Defiance, the parent firm of First Federal Bank of the Midwest, said that its provisions for loan losses decreased to $103,000, down from $425,000 a year ago. A lower loan loss provision figure is an indicator of the strength of a bank’s loan portfolio.

The company’s net interest income, a key measure of a bank’s profitability, was $16.8 million, up from $16.5 million for the first quarter a year ago.

Also Monday, First Defiance issued a brief joint statement with First Community Bank, of Columbus, indicating the two institutions have terminated an agreement they signed in February under which the First Defiance would acquire First Community for $12.9 million.

First Defiance said that terminating the merger affected its first quarter results negatively, causing it to incur a $786,000 cost ($511,000 after taxes), which equated to 5 cents per share.