Farmers Reports Net Income of $14.6M in Q4

CANFIELD, Ohio – Farmers National Banc Corp. on Wednesday reported 164 consecutive quarters of profitability and net income of $14.6 million, or 39 cents per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Part of the gain during the quarter, $915,000 came after selling $5.8 million of nonaccrual, troubled commercial loans. Loan growth grew by $29.6 million, or 3.7% annualized, during the fourth quarter. Excluding the impact of the commercial loan sale, loan growth was $37.7 million or 4.8% annualized.

Additionally, Farmers reported continued strong asset quality with nonperforming assets to total assets of 0.30% as of Dec. 31, a return on average assets of 1.17%.

“Our solid fourth quarter results demonstrate our success, enhancing profitability throughout an extremely challenging operating environment,” said Kevin J. Helmick, Farmers president and CEO. “This is a testament to our team’s focus on supporting our customers, maintaining excellent asset quality and controlling operating costs. We expect the economic environment will remain fluid in 2024, but we believe Farmers is well-positioned to navigate this period as a result of the value our team members provide our Ohio and Pennsylvania communities, as well as our continued focus on maintaining strong asset quality and profitability.”

Total company assets were $5.08 billion at the end of 2023, an increase from $4.97 billion on Sept. 30, 2023, and $4.08 billion at the end of 2022. The increase was primarily due to the acquisition of Emclaire Financial Corp., which added $977.6 million in assets in the first quarter of 2023.

Loans have increased by $893.4 million since Dec. 31, 2022, and $29.6 million since the end of the third quarter, with Emclaire accounting for a $740.7 million increase in loans since 2022. 

Growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 was concentrated in commercial real estate.

Deposits totaled $4.18 billion at the end of 2023, compared with $4.26 billion at the end of Sept. 2023 and $4.51 billion at the end of 2022. During the fourth quarter of 2023, Farmers allowed $254.3 million in brokered time deposits to mature and replaced the funding with less expensive short-term borrowings.

Other highlights include:

• Total stockholders’ equity increased from $316 million at the end of the third quarter to $404.4 million at the end of 2023.

• Available securities for sale were $1.30 billion as of the end of the fourth quarter, compared with $1.21 billion at the end of the third quarter and $1.27 billion at the end of 2022. Farmers reports bond market volatility was extreme in 2023 and predicts this may continue in 2024.

• Nonperforming loans totaled $15.1 million at the end of the fourth quarter, down from $18.4 million at the end of the third quarter, but still higher than the $14.8 million at the end of 2022.

• Net interest income for the final quarter totaled $32.8 million, compared with $33.8 million in the third quarter and $29.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Noninterest income was $12.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared with $8.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. Noninterest expenses were $27 million at the end of December 2023.

• Farmers loan to deposit ratio was 76.6%, and the average deposit balance per account, excluding collateralized deposits, was $23,678. The bank has access to an additional $819.5 million of FHLB borrowing capacity and $214.3 million available sales securities not pledged.

The full report can be viewed HERE.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.