WARREN, Ohio -- First Place Financial Corp. reports net income for the third fiscal 2004 quarter of $3.79 million compared to $4.41 million reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2003. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2004 was $12.63 million compared to $11.73 million reported for the same period last year, an increase of 7.6%.Diluted earnings per share for the third quarter were 30 cents compared to 34 cents reported last year. On a year- to-date basis, the company achieved a 10% increase in diluted earnings per share to 99 cents for the prior period. Year-to-date per share results were additionally affected by share repurchase activity, which decreased average diluted shares outstanding by 1.9%. Earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2004 were impacted by lower mortgage banking income and lower revenues from the company's non-bank affiliates."We feel we have positioned First Place to perform well under a variety of economic scenarios," comments Steven R. Lewis, president and chief executive officer. "This past quarter, however, we faced a soft economy and volatile interest rates which affected real estate activities. While revenue for the third quarter was impacted by these ongoing challenges, we also experienced several important trends that will have a long-term favorable impact on our earnings. Commercial and consumer loan growth was strong as we continue to achieve success at diversifying our balance sheet. We maintained residential mortgage originations at normalized levels due to the geographic expansion of our mortgage loan production offices for in-house originations and the added wholesale production of our correspondent network. Expense growth was controlled in the midst of our numerous expansion initiatives and matched our growth in assets. Asset quality remains solid and continues to improve. These positive trends can all be attributed to strategic changes we have made at First Place over the last several years."We anticipate our pending acquisition of Franklin Bancorp Inc., a $519 million bank holding company located in Southfield, Mich., to be completed during the quarter ended June 30, 2004," Lewis continues. "This acquisition will move us significantly ahead as we evolve into a diversified financial services organization, providing us with a higher mix of loans and deposits from business relationships. Additionally, the Financial Center we opened in Solon, Ohio, in the previous quarter is off to a strong start. Our targeted clientele -- executives, entrepreneurs and professionals -- have been receptive to the center's integrated approach to providing a full range of commercial and private financial services."Annualized returns on average equity and average assets for the third quarter were 8.08% and 0.93%, respectively, compared to 9.94% and 1.20% for the third quarter of fiscal 2003. Annualized ROE and ROA for the first nine months of fiscal 2004 were 9.07% and 1.02%, respectively, compared to 8.65% and 1.01% for the prior-year nine-month period.Total revenue (net interest income plus noninterest income) for the quarter ended March 31 was $15.8 million compared to $16.8 million reported in the prior-year third quarter. Net interest income increased 4.2% to $11.4 million as a result of a 9.5% increase in average earning assets, partially offset by a 15 basis point decline in the net interest margin to 3.14%."We are pleased with our initiatives to grow and diversify our earning assets; our efforts to increase business and consumer relationships should favorably impact revenue over the longer term," says Lewis. "Near- term, however, the $30 million of trust preferred securities we issued in December of 2003 to partially fund our acquisition of Franklin Bancorp lowered our net interest margin by ten basis points and lowered earnings per share by one cent in the quarter."Nonperforming assets, including nonperforming loans and real estate owned, totaled $14.5 million at March 31, down from $15.5 million at Dec. 31, 2003, and $16 million at March 31, 2003. The loan loss allowance ratio was 1.04% at March 31 compared to 1.05% at March 31, 2003. Assets totaled $1.7 billion at March 31, an increase of 9.2% from March 31, 2003. Portfolio loans totaled $1 billion at the end of the first quarter, up 11.8% from the year-ago period. Commercial loans grew $57.1 million to $164.8 million; consumer loans grew $32.7 million to $192.3 million and mortgage loans held in the portfolio increased by $17.6 million to $659.5 million. Deposits increased $41.9 million to $1.1 billion at March 31, up 3.9% from March 31, 2003. As part of its capital management strategy, the First Place repurchased 171,600 shares during the last 12 months and recently announced another program to repurchase up to 750,000 shares over the next 12 months. At its regular meeting April 20, directors declared a per share cash dividend of 14 cents for the fourth fiscal quarter, representing a 12% increase over the year-ago quarter. The dividend is payable on May 13 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 29.First Place Financial Corp., a $1.7 billion financial services holding company, includes First Place Bank, with 22 retail locations and 13 loan production offices throughout Ohio. Other operating subsidiaries include First Place Insurance Agency Ltd.; Coldwell Banker First Place Real Estate Ltd.; TitleWorks Agency LLC and APB Financial Group Ltd.Visit First Place Financial Corp.: www.firstplacebank.net "