Bar Harbor Bankshares reports record net income

Bar Harbor Bankshares, the parent of Bar Harbor Bank, reported a record net income in the first quarter of the year compared with last year, attributable in part to increased commercial lending.

The bank reported net income of $3.9 million, reflecting a 2.5 percent increase compared with the same quarter in 2014. Its annualized return on average shareholders’ equity was 10.57 percent for the quarter, compared with 12.06 percent in the first quarter of 2014, and the return on average assets amounted to 1.06 percent, compared with 1.11 percent.

“Our first quarter performance featured meaningful commercial loan growth, with the portfolio up $27.2 million, or 6 percent, compared with year end 2014,” Curtis Picard, president and CEO, said in a release. “We also generated a 4.2 percent increase in net interest income compared with the first quarter of 2014. This increase was attributed to average earning asset growth of $82.2 million, or 6.1 percent, compared with the first quarter of last year.”

The bank also reported declines in delinquent and other problem loans compared with the same quarter in 2014. The bank, headquartered in Bar Harbor, trades on the New York Stock Exchange as BHB.

Visa reports net income fell 3 percent in first quarter

Payment processing giant Visa Inc. says its net income fell 3 percent in the first three months of the year, hurt by the strengthening dollar and lower gas prices.

But its results still topped Wall Street expectations.

The world’s biggest payment network says it earned $1.55 billion in the period, down from $1.6 billion in the same period a year earlier. That amounted to 63 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue rose almost 8 percent to $3.41 billion.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected Visa to earn 62 cents a share on $3.34 billion in revenue in its fiscal second quarter.

The company processed $1.24 trillion in payments on its network in the quarter ending Dec. 31, up 11 percent from a year ago.

South Korean company settles trade secrets case

A South Korean company accused of stealing trade secrets involving Kevlar technology has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges and settled separate civil litigation filed by the DuPont Co.

In resolving the legal battles, Kolon Industries Inc. was sentenced to pay $85 million in criminal fines and agreed to pay $275 million in restitution to DuPont.

Federal authorities obtained an indictment in 2012 charging Kolon and five of its employees with engaging in a seven-year conspiracy to steal trade secrets involving high-strength synthetic fibers used in products such as Kevlar body armor.

— From staff and news services