Premier Financial Reports Net Income of $102.2M in 2022

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Premier Financial Corp., the holding company for Premier Bank based in Youngstown and First Insurance Group in Ohio, announced Tuesday net income of $102.2 million for all of 2022, compared with $126.6 million in 2021.

The company reported earnings per share of $2.85 for 2022, compared with $3.39 per diluted common share in 2021.

Excluding Paycheck Protection Program loans, Premier saw loan growth of $1.1 billion in 2022 – an increase of 20.5% – including $694.7 million for commercial loans, which were up 19.6%, the company said.

Customer deposits grew by $481 million for the year, up 7.7%, including $144.7 million of non-interest bearing deposits, which were up 8.4%

Net interest for 2022 stood at $243.7 million, up 6.7% from the previous year.

“We continued to have stronger than anticipated loan and deposit growth as we closed the fourth quarter,” said Gary Small, president and CEO of Premier.

Small noted full-year loan growth exceeded 20%, with core customer deposits up 7.7%. For the full year, tax equivalent net interest income grew $29 million, or 14%, on a core basis, excluding PPP and purchase accounting marks, he said.

“The growth reflects the strength of our client base and the markets in which we operate,” Small added. “We did experience a step up in deposit betas during the quarter, although this is in line with our overall historical range for the deposit book of business. As noted last quarter, we are utilizing non-core funding, enabling us to thoughtfully manage core deposit costs across the organization. Diligent funding cost management will be a key for the organization and the industry in 2023.”

For the fourth quarter of 2022, net income was $25.3 million, or $0.71 per diluted common share, compared with $25.3 million, or $0.69 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2021, the company reported.

Gross loans during the fourth quarter increased $239 million, up 15.1% annualized, the company reported. Customer deposits were up $100.4 million during the fourth quarter, or 6 %.

On Dec. 30, 2022, Premier, through its wholly owned subsidiary First Insurance Group of the Midwest Inc., completed the acquisition of Benham Insurance Associates Inc., a property and casualty insurance agency in Holland, Ohio. With annual revenues of approximately $0.2 million, Benham will be added to Premier’s First Insurance Group platform.

Total assets on Dec. 31, 2022, were $8.46 billion, compared with $8.24 billion on Sept. 30, 2022, and $7.48 billion on Dec. 31, 2021, the company reported. Gross loans receivable were $6.46 billion on Dec. 31, 2022, compared with $6.21 billion on Sept. 30, 2022, and $5.30 billion on Dec. 31, 2021.

Deposits on Dec. 31, 2022, were $6.76 billion, compared with $6.66 billion on Sept. 30, 2022, and $6.28 billion on Dec. 31, 2021.

The board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 31 cents per common share, payable Feb. 17 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 10.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.