Franklin-based Benjamin Franklin Bancorp Inc., the holding company for Benjamin Franklin Bank, reported net income of $591,000 for the first quarter of 2007.
In the same quarter the previous year, the company reported net income of $1.3 million.
The company also announced that its board of directors had declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per common share, a 50 percent increase over the amount paid the fourth quarter of 2006.
The company said its first quarter results included three non-recurring items.
The first was costs of $176,000 related to the issuance of $9 million in subordinated debt.
The company paid out $125,000 in employee severance and operational expenses related to its ATM cash management business, Creative Strategic Solutions, which may be sold, the company said.
The company also saw a gain of $187,000 by selling nine bank branches earlier this year.
Earlier this month, Thomas R. Venables, bank president, testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
He said the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires annual verification of the adequacy of internal controls by auditors, cost his bank $420,000 and over 2,200 man hours in 2006.
