Downey Financial 6-Month Net Income Up 58%

Downey Financial Corp., the Newport Beach-based parent of Downey Savings and Loan Assn., reported strong gains in net income for the second quarter and first six months.

Net income for the three months totaled $15 million, or 53 cents a share, which included a pretax gain of $3.2 million from settling litigation involving a former joint venture partner. A year ago, Downey earned $8.3 million, or 30 cents a share.

For the first six months, net income totaled $32.6 million, or $1.15 a share, up 58% from $20.6 million, or 74 cents a share, for the same period last year. The 1998 first-half results included a pretax gain of $8.3 million from the settlement.

Total assets declined 2% to $5.8 billion from $5.9 billion.