Gibraltar Financial Corp. Posts 27% Drop in Profit

Gibraltar Financial Corp. said Tuesday that its earnings fell 27% in the first quarter of 1986, a marked contrast to many of its large California competitors, which are reporting record profits.

Gibraltar Financial, parent company of Gibraltar Savings, said first-quarter earnings were $8.78 million, compared to the $12 million that it earned in the first three months of 1985.

Company officials blamed the drop in net income on higher expenses and problems in the company’s real estate loan portfolio. However, Gibraltar Chairman Herbert J. Young said he still expects the financial company to post record earnings for the entire year.

Meanwhile, another large Southern California savings and loan company, GlenFed Inc., said its earnings from January through March reached a record $21.3 million, 86% higher than they were a year earlier.

The earnings, which are for GlenFed’s fiscal third quarter, included an extraordinary tax benefit of $3.76 million, the company said. The assets of GlenFed, which is the parent of Glendale Federal Savings, rose 30% to $15.5 billion from the level of March 31, 1985.

In recent days, record earnings have been reported by a number of large California savings and loans, including the parent companies of Home Savings of America and Great Western Savings.