First of Long Island's earnings rise

The parent of the First National Bank of Long Island said its earnings rose by 8 percent in the first quarter of the year, mostly on a rise in interest income.

The First of Long Island, Corp., based in Glen Head, said it earned $5.2 million in the quarter ended March 31, up from $4.8 million in the same quarter last year.

Earnings per share for the quarter rose by 7.4 percent from a year earlier, the bank said, to 58 cents from 54 cents.

First National Bank of Long Island has 35 branches, all but three of them in Nassau and Suffolk counties. It opened two new ones last year, in Point Lookout and Massapequa, and plans to open another in Lindenhurst later this year.

The parent attributed the earnings increase mostly to a 6.3 percent increase in net interest income on a tax equivalent basis, to $993,000, partly offset by a $269,000 increase in the provision for loan losses from a year earlier.

Also contributing to earnings growth were expense control measures, the bank said.

The year-over-year increase in net interest income resulted from a 19.3 percent growth in average interest-earning assets, to $324.4 million, mostly in residential and commercial mortgage loans, the company said.

The company's total assets were $2.1 billion.

First of Long Island's shares closed Tuesday at $27.25, down 28 cents on the Nasdaq stock market.