Another Strong Quarter for Chesapeake Bank

By WYDaily Staff Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Chesapeake Financial Shares, Inc., which experienced a record 2009, has posted a strong second quarter.

Chairman and CEO Jeffrey M. Szyperski reported second quarter earnings of $1,329,850, representing a 14.7 percent increase over second quarter 2009 earnings.

Chesapeake Financial Shares is the parent company of both Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Investment Group. The reported earnings per share were $.484 fully diluted as compared to $.414 in 2009. Szyperski said for the first six months of 2010, CFS reported earnings of $2,491,219, or a 19 percent increase over the first six months of 2009.

The first quarter of 2010 saw the company post earnings of $1.6 million, a 24 percent increase over 2009's first quarter.

“CFS ended June 30, 2010 with total assets of $604,301,650, an increase of 3.0% from December 31, 2009," said Szyperski. "We have shown a net increase in loans of $2.1 million over the same period. We continue to have money to lend.”

The Board of Directors voted to increase the dividend to $.11 per share payable on or before September 15, 2010 to shareholders of record as of September 1, 2010. Currently CFS’s dividend yield is over 3 percent and the stock is trading at less than a 7.5 times price/earnings multiple despite consistently strong performance.

“We are pleased to be able to increase our dividend to shareholders," Szyperski said, adding the company has shown a 10-year history of consistently higher dividends.

The Board of Directors also approved a $186,000 pool of funds allotted to repurchase shares of CFS on the open market. “Given our current stock price, this is a good thing for long-term shareholder value,” Szyperski said.