Brookline Bancorp Announces Fourth Quarter EPS of $.11

Brookline Bancorp, Inc. BRKL announced today its earnings for the 2010 fourth quarter and year and approval by its Board of Directors of a regular and quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share payable on February 15, 2011 to stockholders of record on January 31, 2011. The Company earned $6,398,000, or $0.11 per share on a basic and diluted basis, for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 compared to $5,836,000, or $0.10 per share on a basic and diluted basis for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. Included in the 2010 fourth quarter was expense of $587,000 in professional fees associated with the previously announced acquisition of First Ipswich Bancorp. The completion of the acquisition, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions, is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2011. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $26,872,000, or $0.46 per share on a basic and diluted basis, a 40% increase over net income for the year ended December 31, 2009 of $19,200,000, or $0.33 per share on a basic and diluted basis. Operating highlights included: