Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. reported a 2 percent increase in its third-quarter profit, spurred by an increase in appraisal management fee income and interest rates, the company said in a filing Monday.

The Newton-based company reported net income of $3.6 million, or 61 cents per share, up from net income of $3.5 million, or 57 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Non-interest income increased by more than 20 percent to $4.7 million compared to the year-ago quarter due to an increased volume of appraisals, and net interest income rose 2.7 percent to $11.4 million due to higher interest rates on deposits.

The provision for loan losses jumped 283 percent in the third quarter to $422,000 compared to $110,000 for the year-ago quarter. The increase is attributable to a $58.9 million increase in loans to $845.6 million, according to the company.

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina is the parent company of Peoples Bank. The company operates 20 banking offices in six North Carolina counties.

Shares of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina were trading at $30.89 on Tuesday, down 6 cents.

The filing can be found here.