Cavanaughs’ Earnings Up

Cavanaughs Hospitality of Spokane said Thursday that net income totaled $3.01 million for the three months ended June 30, a 42 percent increase over the same year-ago period.

Total revenues during the company’s second quarter were $27.97 million, a 32 percent gain over the $21.06 million posted during the comparable period in 1998.

Earnings per share totaled 24 cents, an increase of 3 cents compared with 1998’s second quarter.

Occupancy rates fell 3.2 percent from the year-ago period, mainly due to elimination of room contracts with other companies.

Cavanaughs also reported its real estate division had a strong quarter and is seeing the effects of downtown Spokane retail interest due to the River Park Square shopping center, which will open next month.

In other reports:

Two Spokane-based financial institutions reported sharply higher earnings for the second quarter.

Sterling Financial Corp. reversed a loss during the 1998 period, while income at United Security Bancorporation jumped 46 percent. Six-month results also boomed.

Sterling’s net income reached $3.2 million, or 40 cents per share, compared with a loss if $873,000, or 11 cents per share, for the same three-month period a year ago.

For the first six months of the year, Sterling earned $6.1 million, or 74 cents per share, compared with $2 million, or 24 cents per share, for the 1998 period.

The thrift also made substantial improvements in return on average common equity - 10.69 percent for the quarter - and return on average assets - 0.54 percent.

Chairman Harold Gilkey said completing the conversion of former KeyBank and Big Sky Bancorp branches eliminated those expenses from the comparison.

And net interest income increased 38 percent based on a bigger earning asset base - $2.2 billion at the end of the quarter, he said.

At United Security, President Richard Emery noted excellent return on assets and equity, as well as a much-improved efficiency ratio, a closely watched industry yardstick.

Net income for the quarter rose 46 percent to $2.9 million, or 42 cents a share, compared with $2 million, or 28 cents a share last year.

For the six-month period, net income increased to $5 million, or 71 percent per share, compared with $4.1 million, or 58 cents per share, a year earlier.

United Security is the holding company for five banks with 32 branches.

Return on average equity reached almost 18 percent; return on average assets exceeded 2 percent, and efficiency fell - the desirable direction - to just under 55 percent.