Premier Bank Reports Full-Year Income of $63.1M for 2020

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Premier Financial Corp. announced full-year net income of $63.1 million in 2020, a 27.7% increase from the year before.

Full-year earnings per diluted common share were $1.75, compared to $2.48 in 2019.

For the fourth quarter, net income was $30.8 million, or earnings per share of 82 cents, up from $12.5 million in the same quarter of 2019, or 66 cents per share.

“With core earnings per share up almost 9% from last year, we are proud to announce our eighth consecutive year of record core earnings performance,” said CEO Donald P. Hileman in a statement. “Improving credit conditions and the successful completion of integration efforts in the fourth quarter paved the way to the strong finish for the year.”

The banking company, parent of Premier Bank, also announced that Hileman would transition out of his role as CEO March 31. He will become executive chairman of the Board of Directors, while Gary Small, currently president of Premier Financial Corp., will become president and CEO. The transitions are part of the plan outlined in the merger agreement between First Defiance Financial Corp. and United Community Financial Corp.

“Don’s strong leadership as CEO over the past seven years and through the UCFC merger has been instrumental in creating a strong foundation for the continued success of the company,” Small said in a statement. “We’ve worked closely over the past 16 months, preparing to ensure this is a smooth transition.”

Other fourth quarter highlights Premier offered in their quarterly earnings report include: 

• Allowance-to-loans ratio of 1.49%, or 1.61% excluding Paycheck Protection Program loans.
• Average loan growth of $53.5 million, or 4% annualized growth.
• Average deposit growth of $218.5 million, or 15% annualized growth.

Key efficiency ratios for the quarters ended Dec. 31 and Dec. 31, 2019 are:

• Return on average assets – 1.73%, 1.45%.
• Return on average equity: 12.97%, 11.81%.
• Net interest margin: 3.47%, 3.8%.
• Efficiency: 55.97%, 59.52%.

Total assets in the fourth quarter were $7.09 billion, up from $3.43 billion in the comparable quarter of 2019.

Total loans were $5.85 billion, up from $5.78 billion a year ago.

Deposits in the fourth quarter totaled $6.05 billion, up from $2.87 billion in the same quarter of 2019.

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