Century Next Financial Corporation Reports Record Earnings for 3rd Quarter 2016


RUSTON, La., Oct. 27, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Next Financial Corporation (OTCQB:CTUY), the holding company of Bank of Ruston with $231.8 million in assets, today announced financial results for the 3rd quarter ended September 30, 2016.

Financial Performance

For the three months ended September 30, 2016, Century Next Financial Corporation (the “Company”) had net income after tax of $770,000 compared to net income of $435,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2015, an increase of $335,000 or 77.0%.  Earnings per share (EPS) for the three months ended September 30, 2016 were $0.74 and $0.72 per basic and diluted share, respectively, compared to $0.42 per basic and diluted share reported for the three months ended September 30, 2015.    

For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, net income was $1,839,000 compared to net income of $1,177,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, an increase of $662,000 or 56.2%.  Earnings per share (EPS) for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 were $1.77 and $1.74 per basic and diluted share, respectively, compared to $1.15 and $1.13 per basic and diluted share, respectively, reported for the same period in 2015.

Balance Sheet

Overall, total assets increased by $20.8 million or 9.9% to $231.8 million at September 30, 2016 compared to $211.0 million at December 31, 2015. 

The largest component of assets, loans, net of deferred fees and costs and the allowance for loan losses, increased $22.2 million or 12.8% for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to December 31, 2015.  Total net loans at September 30, 2016 were $194.7 million compared to $172.5 million at December 31, 2015.  Year to date growth occurred in multiple areas including residential 1-4 family loans, up $21.2 million, commercial real estate loans, up $8.2 million, residential construction loans, up $3.2 million, consumer loans, up $599,000, and held-for-sale mortgage loans, up $486,000. The increases were offset by decreases in commercial, non-real estate loans of $8.6 million, land loans of $1.2 million, multi-family real estate loans of $804,000, agricultural real estate of $344,000,  home equity lines of credit of $188,000, and agricultural, non-real estate loans of $54,000.     

Total deposits at September 30, 2016 increased $21.7 million or 13.3% to $184.5 million compared to $162.8 million at December 31, 2015.  For the year-to-date period, time deposits increased $12.1 million, interest-bearing checking increased $7.3 million, money market deposits increased $956,000, savings deposits increased $899,000, and noninterest-bearing checking increased $410,000. 

Total short-term borrowings decreased to $0 at September 30, 2016 from $3.0 million at December 31, 2015, a decrease of $3.0 million or 100%.  This reduction came from funding provided by deposit growth as mentioned above.

Income Statement

Net interest income was $2.4 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 compared to $1.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.  This was an increase of $546,000, or 29.8%.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2016, net interest income was $6.8 million compared to $5.4 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, an increase of $1.4 million or 26.3%.  The increases for the three- and nine-month periods were primarily from interest income earned on loans from increased volume.

The provision for loan losses amounted to $120,000 and $330,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to $72,000 and $216,000 in provision for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively.  The increases in loan loss provision for the quarter- and year-to-date periods as compared to the prior year quarter- and year-to-date periods are not a result of increased loss activity but more appropriately a result of increased risk awareness and identification to strengthen the allowance for loan losses. 

Total non-interest income amounted to $456,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2016 compared to $308,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2015, an increase of $148,000 or 48.1%.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, non-interest income was $1.0 million and $759,000, respectively, an increase of $244,000 or 32.1%.  The increases for the three- and nine-month periods were both primarily due to fluctuations in income generated from mortgage activity in both the refinancing and new construction markets, gains on sales of commercial loans and foreclosed assets, service charges on deposit accounts, and other income. 

Total non-interest expense increased by $208,000 or 14.9% to $1.6 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 compared to $1.4 million for the quarter ended  September 30, 2015.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the same period in 2015, non-interest expense increased by $578,000 or 13.8% to $4.8 million up from $4.2 million.  The increases for both the three- and nine-month periods, on a year over year comparative basis, were primarily due to increases in salaries and employee benefits due to staff additions and compensation increases and increased operating expenses from the addition of a new branch location in Monroe, Louisiana.  The Company continues to show improvement in its efficiency ratio, a measure of expense as a percent of total income, to 56.5% and 61.0% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to 65.1% and 68.0% for the same periods, respectively, in 2015.

Other Financial Information

Nonperforming assets, including loans past due 90 days or more and nonaccrual loans, decreased from $1.0 million at December 31, 2015 to $789,000 at September 30, 2016.  Impairment analyses were performed on all nonaccrual and other classified loans as identified by management and no impairment amount was deemed necessary at September 30, 2016.  Net charge-offs for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 were $21,000 and $27,000 compared to $14,000 and $48,000, respectively, net charge-offs during the same periods in 2015.

Additional Information

Century Next Financial Corporation is the holding company for Bank of Ruston (the “Bank”) which conducts business from its main office and full-service branch office, located in Ruston, Louisiana.  The Company was formed in 2010 and is subject to the regulatory oversight of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.  The Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary and is an insured federally-chartered stock savings association subject to the regulatory oversight of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.  The Bank was established in 1905 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana. The Bank is a full-service bank with two banking offices in Ruston and one in Monroe, Louisiana.  The Bank emphasizes professional and personal banking service directed primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals.  The Bank provides a full range of banking services including its primary business of real estate lending to residential and commercial customers.

Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.  They often include words like “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” and “intend” or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.”  We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Century Next Financial Corporation and Subsidiary
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited)
 
(In thousands, except per share data)
 
  September 30, 2016 December 31, 2015
     
ASSETS    
     
Cash and cash equivalents $  22,305  $  22,029 
Investment securities    3,153     6,546 
Loans, net    194,718     172,553 
Other assets    11,654     9,898 
TOTAL ASSETS $  231,830  $  211,026 
     
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY    
Deposits $  184,497  $  162,804 
Short-term borrowings (FHLB advances)    -     3,000 
Long-term borrowings (FHLB advances)    20,190     20,222 
Other liabilities    1,890     1,566 
Total Liabilities    206,577     187,592 
Stockholders' equity    25,253     23,434 
     
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $  231,830  $  211,026 
 
Book Value per share $  23.13  $  21.46 
     


 

Century Next Financial Corporation and Subsidiary
Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited)
 
(In thousands, except per share data)
 
  Three Months Ended September 30   Nine Months Ended September 30
   2016   2015     2016   2015 
          
Interest Income $2,652  $2,007      $7,556  $5,886 
Interest Expense  272   173       749   495 
Net Interest Income  2,380   1,834       6,807   5,391 
Provision for Loan Losses  120   72       330   216 
Net interest income after provision for loan losses  2,260   1,762       6,477   5,175 
Noninterest Income  456   308       1,003   759 
Noninterest Expense  1,603   1,395       4,762   4,184 
Income Before Taxes  1,113   675       2,718   1,750 
Provision For Income Taxes  343   240       879   573 
NET INCOME $  770  $  435      $  1,839  $  1,177 
          
EARNINGS PER SHARE         
Basic $  0.74  $  0.42      $  1.77  $  1.15 
Diluted $  0.72  $  0.42      $  1.74  $  1.13 
          

 


            

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