Western Financial Group today reported a 43% increase in profit for the year ended December 31, 2005.

Net income for the year was $4.8 million, or 17¢ a share, compared with $3.4 million, or 18¢ a share, a year ago.

EPS was modestly lower, as WFG absorbed the short-term impact of issuing over 10 million new shares in the first quarter of 2005 while deployment of the company’s capital was carried out though the entire year.

Revenue for the year was $63.6 million, up more than 50% from the $42.2 million reported last year.

“We are pleased to report that the 2005 year end results were slightly ahead of our budget target for the year,” said WFG CEO Scott Tannas, in a release.

The WFG Agency Network achieved same store sales growth of 6.8% in 2005, mainly through achieving additional revenue from existing customers, and partially the result of the addition of new customers.

Bank West’s loan book more than doubled to $90.9 million in 2005, growing at a rate of $4 million net new loans per month, primarily due to strong demand for the bank’s consumer loans and residential mortgages. The bank also completed amortizing its start-up costs and is positioned well to significantly improve its results in 2006.

Western Life, which WFG acquired February 28, 2005, exceeded expectations, providing strong earnings and accelerating growth with revenues and customer counts growing in excess of 10% year over year.

Investment income increased substantially over 2004, the result of continued strong performance at Jennings Capital, and good results from our partnerships with Harvard Western Ventures and Falkins Insurance Group.