The Bank of Bermuda has reported record third quarter earnings, bringing the total for the financial year so far to $77.4 million, up 45 percent on the same time last year.

The third quarter earnings per share also went up 32 percent to $1.29, from 98 cents in the same quarter last year. Earnings per share for the nine months ended 31 March 2000 were $3.28.

Chief financial officer at the bank, Edward Gomez, said: "Our nine-month earnings have now surpassed last year's record full-year results.

The net income was $30.8 million for the quarter, also a record, and brought year-to-date earnings to $77.4 million, up from $53.4 million in the same period during the prior year.

Net income up 45 percent Return on Equity improved to 21.5 percent for the quarter compared with 19.2 percent a year earlier.

Mr. Gomez added: "On a year-to-date basis, net income is up by 45 percent from the same period in fiscal 1999.

"Fee based revenues grew by 23 percent, led by sustained strength in Global Fund Services and, on the Private Clients side, the success of our flagship All Points Multi-Manager investment vehicle.

"Interest earnings were also up, reflecting volume and margin improvements across all geographical regions.'' Mr. Gomez said: "Our growth in revenue has been achieved against the backdrop of carefully managed costs as our efforts to achieve operating efficiencies continue to bear fruit. The Bank's worldwide efficiency ratio has improved by a full five percentage points compared with the same period last year.

"This quarter's performance helped boost our trailing twelve-months return on equity to 18.6 percent, versus the year ago level of 15.7 percent.'' President and chief executive officer Henry Smith said: "We are extremely pleased by this excellent performance, spanning all of our businesses and global network. Looking forward, we see exciting opportunities for all of our key businesses and believe that the heightened focus provided by our new strategic plan will help to direct us towards ongoing success.'' In the quarter, total revenue grew 20 percent to $113.1 million, from $94.3 million in the third quarter of last year, as a result of improved interest earnings and strong fee revenue growth across all business lines.

Net interest earnings increased 36 percent to $49.8 million, while fee-based revenues rose to $64.6 million, a 30 percent improvement.

Fees earned by Global Fund Services increased 25 percent to $26.3 million versus $21.1 million in the same quarter last year with over half of the year to year improvement reported in the Far East where the bank benefited from sustained improvement in financial markets.

The bank's offices in Europe and the Americas also reported significant increases, assisted by substantial new fund launch activity.

Private trust fees grew modestly relative to the bank's other business sectors, rising 10 percent to $7.7 million for the current quarter with increases in the Americas and Far East partly offset by a decline in some European offices.

Fees from investment services roared ahead of last year, increasing 82 percent to $13.7 million driven by the growth of the All Points Multi-Manager investment vehicle and strong results from equity execution services in the quarter, with March being one of the strongest months on record. Foreign exchange earnings increased to $10.8 million from $8.7 million.