First South Bancorp Inc. reported a 53.2 percent surge in third-quarter net income, boosted by strong loan growth.

The company reported third quarter net income of $1.9 million, a compared with net income of $1.2 million the same period last year, mainly due to a rise in net interest income.

Net interest income for the quarter increased to $8.3 million from $7.4 million the same period last year.

Earnings per diluted common share stood at 20 cents, up from 13 cents in the same quarter a year ago. There are no analysts following the bank..

“The expansion of our deposit franchise and strong loan growth, leveraging our mortgage servicing infrastructure and our success in Small Business Administration lending are having a positive impact on the rate at which earnings are increasing compared to prior year’s quarters,” said Bruce Elder, president and chief executive officer of the company, in a statement.

Headquartered in Washington, North Carolina, the bank currently has 30 branch offices located throughout eastern and central North Carolina.

Shares of First South Bancorp closed at $9.56 on Thursday, a 3.6 percent decrease compared with the previous trading day. After hour shares were traded at $9.75.