NBT Bancorp Q1 profit edges up, excluding merger expenses

NORWICH — NBT Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NBTB) reported it earned core net income of $14.3 million in the first quarter, excluding merger expenses it incurred from the acquisition of Alliance Financial Corp. That’s up 8.5 percent from the $13.2 million the banking company earned in the year-ago period.

NBT reported core diluted earnings per share of 39 cents in the latest quarter, unchanged from the first quarter of 2012.

NBT completed its acquisition of Alliance Financial, a $1.4 billion financial holding company headquartered in Syracuse, on March 8. When $10.7 million in merger-related expenses are factored  in, NBT’s net income for the first quarter totaled $7.6 million, down from $13.7 million for the same period in 2012.

Earnings per share at NBT fell to 21 cents in the first quarter from 41 cents in the same quarter in 2012.

NBT’s net interest income increased 5.6 percent and noninterest income gained 9.4 percent in the first quarter compared to the year-earlier period. Insurance and financial-services revenue increased 12 percent.

NBT Bancorp shares were trading down 63 cents, or 3 percent, at $20.60 per share as of 3:10 p.m. this afternoon.

Norwich–based NBT Bancorp, the parent of NBT Bank, had total assets of $7.6 billion as of March 31. The company has 161 locations, including 121 NBT Bank offices in upstate New York, northwestern Vermont, and western Massachusetts; 35 Pennstar Bank offices in northeastern Pennsylvania; and 5 Hampshire First Bank offices in southern New Hampshire.

NBT also operates two financial-services companies. EPIC Advisors, Inc., based in Rochester, is a  401(k) plan-recordkeeping firm. Mang Insurance Agency, LLC, is based in Norwich.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com