The FIrst Bancorp, which has 14 offices in mid-coast and Down East Maine, said it posted its second-best quarterly earnings in the past three years amid the relatively stable local and national economies.

Third-quarter net income totaled $3.2 million, or 31 cents a share, compared with $3.0 million, or 27 cents a share, a year ago.

“Net income for the third quarter is at the upper end of the $2.9 million to $3.3 million range we have seen over the past ten quarters,” observed Daniel Daigneault, the company’s president and chief executive.

Total assets fell slightly to $1.423 billion from $1.427 billion a year ago.

“The national and local economies are relatively stable, and while not showing signs of significant improvement, they have not worsened in the past several quarters,“ Daigneault said. “We still see weaknesses in the economy, however, with continued low interest rates leading to margin compression and, therefore, lower net interest income.”

Net interest income for the third quarter was $466,000, down 4.3 percent than the same period in 2011.

“Like most banks in the country, we are seeing continued margin compression in this unprecedented low interest rate environment,” Daigneault said.