Fourth-quarter slide doesn’t derail record full-year earnings at Chemung Financial

ELMIRA — The acquisition of Fort Orange Financial Corp. in the second quarter of last year helped push earnings at Chemung Financial Corp. to record levels in 2011 despite a sluggish fourth quarter.

Chemung reported net income of $2.96 million, or 64 cents per share, down 2.8 percent from $3.05 million, or 84 cents, a year earlier when the company released a $2.4 million benefit from the settlement of a large estate.

For the year, Chemung’s net income rose 4.3 percent to a record $10.54 million, or $2.40 per share, up from $10.1 million, or $2.80, in 2010. Included in the 2011 numbers were one-time acquisition costs of $2.26 million. Excluding acquisition costs, the Fort Orange acquisition boosted net income at Chemung by an estimated $3.3 million, company officials said in a Feb. 10 press release. For the fourth quarter, Fort Orange contributed $994,000 to net income.

Chemung acquired Fort Orange and its banking subsidiary, Capital Bank, with five branches offices in the Albany area, on April 8.

“We have been extremely pleased with this transition to a new market which has had a very positive impact on our 2011 results, with this acquisition being immediately accretive to earnings when you exclude one-time transaction costs,” Chemung President and CEO Ronald M. Bentley said in the release. “We continue to see many new loan opportunities coming from this region.”

Headquartered in Elmira, Chemung Financial Corp. (www.chemungcanal.com) is the holding company for Chemung Canal Trust Co., which has $1.2 billion in total assets and 28 offices in eight New York counties as well as Bradford County, Pa. CFS Group, Inc., a financial-services subsidiary, offers services including mutual funds, annuities, brokerage services, tax preparation, and insurance.

Contact DeLore at tgregory@tmvbj.com