First Niles Reports 4Q Net Income of $51,000

NILES, Ohio – First Niles Financial Inc., parent of Home Federal Savings and Loan Association of Niles, this week reported fourth-quarter net income of $51,000, and of $425,000 for 2019, or 38 cents per common share.

This compares to a loss of $22,000 for the last quarter of 2018 and net income of $219,000, or 19 cents per share the year earlier.

Return on average assets, the company said, was 0.21% for the fourth quarter and 0.44% for the year. For 2018, the respective figures were negative 0.09% and 0.22%.

Net interest income for the fourth quarter, after the provision for loan losses, was $570,000 compared to $495,000 at the end of the same quarter in 2018.

Net income for all of 2019, after the provision for loan losses, was $2.1 million compared to $2.0 million for 2018, an increase of $99,000.The company attributed the increase to a steady growth in net interest loans receivable throughout the year.

Noninterest income (such as fees and service charges) for the fourth quarter was $24,000, or $1,000 less than the same period a year earlier. Non-interest income for last year was $255,000 compared to $108,000 the year earlier. The company attributed the increase to a $93,000 gain on the sale of investment securities and a $70,000 gain in accrued income on bank-owned life insurance.

Noninterest expense (such as salaries and benefits, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. premiums, marketing and advertising expense) for the fourth quarter was $535,000, $37,000 less than the same period a year earlier. For 2019, it was $1.88 million compared to $194,000 the year before. The company attributed the decrease to less compensation and benefits expense related to fewer employees.

Nonperforming loans (those 90 or more days overdue) fell to $554,000, or 0.8% loans receivable, a decrease from $810,000, or 1.8% the previous year.

At year-end, First Niles had total assets of $100.1 million, $949,000 more than at the end of 2018. Total loans grew by $23.8 million and investment securities fell by $21.2 million, the company said.

Deposits increased $3.9 million, or 6.7%, and cash and cash equivalents declined by $2.1 million.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.