Washington Federal, parent company of Washington Federal Savings, recently announced earnings of $37,704,000 or 54 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31. That compares to $35,759,000 or 51 cents per diluted share for the same period one year ago; a 6 percent per share increase.

Those earnings represent a quarterly performance record for the company.

Washington Federal’s capital ratio increased to 13.51 percent as of March 31.

“We are pleased to report record earnings once again this quarter,” Chief Executive Officer Roy M. Whitehead said. “Included in net income is a non-recurring pretax gain of $3.4 million related to the sale of real estate held for investment. Our overall financial condition remains very strong.”

On April 18 Washington Federal paid a cash dividend of 21 cents per share to common stockholders of record on April 4.