Evansville-based Old National Bancorp on Monday reported a third quarter profit of $11.9 million, nearly triple the amount from the year-ago period.

Profit per common share was 13 cents, beating analysts’ estimates by 2 cents.

“We are quite pleased with our third quarter results as they clearly demonstrate our strong focus on reducing non-interest expenses, maintaining strong capital ratios and holding credit metrics stable,” Old National President and CEO Bob Jones said in a prepared statement.

The bank’s earnings also compared favorably to the previous quarter, when it reported profit of $10.5 million, or 12 cents per common share.

Total loan demand, however, continued to present a challenge for the financial services holding company, which has $7.5 billion in assets and operates banks in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

Total loans were $3.7 billion as of Sept. 30, a decline of $30.3 million from the second quarter.

The company said lending activity fell from the previous quarter in three important areas. Consumer loans decreased $36.2 million, commercial loans $25.9 million, and commercial real estate loans $20.9 million.

Old National’s allowance for loan losses as of Sept. 30 was $72.1 million, or 1.95 percent of total loans. That’s up slightly from the previous quarter’s allowance of $71.9 million, or 1.93 percent of total loans.

Bank directors declared a dividend of 7 cents per share payable on Dec. 15.

Old National ranked fifth on IBJ’s most recent list of the largest Indianapolis-area banks, with 432 local employees.