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Territorial Bancorp Inc. doubled its net income in the first quarter and boosted its dividend 29 percent as it beat analysts’ estimates during what has been a difficult economic environment for Hawaii banks.
The holding company for Territorial Savings Bank said today it had earnings of $3 million, or 26 cents a share, compared with $1.5 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago. The consensus of three analysts was 24 cents.
“Our core earnings for the first quarter were good and we will continue to focus on maintaniing the quality of our mortgage loans in a still-difficult economic environment,” said Allan Kitagawa, chairman and CEO of Territorial, the state’s fifth-largest bank.
The company’s board increased the dividend to 9 cents from 7 cents, payable June 1 to stockholders of record as of May 18.
Shares of the company slipped 2 cents to $19.93 on the Nasdaq Stock Market before the earnings were announced after the market’s close.
