Premier Posts Q3 Income of $28.4M, $100.7M YTD

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Premier Financial Corp. reported income Thursday for the third quarter of 2021 at $28.4 million and net income of $100.7 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30. Net income for the third quarter was $0.76 per diluted common share for the quarter and $2.70 per diluted common share year to date. 

That compared to $25.7 million, or $0.69 per diluted common share, for the third quarter of 2020, and $0.91 per diluted common share, for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2020

The nine-month year-over-year comparison was “substantially impacted by First Defiance Financial Corp.’s Jan. 31, 2020 acquisition of Youngstown-based United Community Financial Corp., holding company of First Savings Bank and HSB Insurance, with the prior year’s provision expense of $51 million that included $25.9 million related to acquisition accounting for an after-tax cost of $20.5 million, or $0.58 per diluted common share, according to the Premier news release.

Premier Financial, headquartered in Defiance, is the holding company for Premier Bank, headquartered in Youngstown, and First Insurance Group with 10 offices in Ohio. 

“We are very pleased to report our second consecutive quarter of strong loan growth at 5.1% annualized,” said Gary Small, Premier president and CEO. “Core commercial, residential mortgage, and consumer each contributed over 4.4% for the period. 

“Commercial and consumer new business pipelines are at their highest level for the year with businesses expressing labor constraints as more of a concern than supply chain challenges at this point,” he continued. “Household deposits remain elevated and consumer loan delinquency continues to track at all-time lows. Clients are well positioned as we head into the upcoming holiday season.”

In its results, Premier also reported on the performance of loans issued under the Paycheck Protection Program created by the Coronavius Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act of 2020 to help businesses keep employees on their payrolls during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Premier Bank made 2,880 loans for a total of $443.3 million during the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, with total gross fees for these loans totaling $14.8 million. To date, Premier Bank has recognized $14.7 million as loan interest income, including $0.9 million and $8.5 million during the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2021, respectively. Additionally, a total of $433.3 million in loans have been extinguished to date, including $83.7 million and $376.9 million during the respective three- and nine-months periods.

Beginning in January, Premier Bank participated in the second round of PPP lending and made 2,231 loans for a total of $193.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2021. 

Gross fees for the loans totaled $7.8 million, with Premier Bank recognizing $2.7 million and $3.2 million in loan interest income during the three and nine months ended September 30, respectively. Additionally, a total of $59.6 million in loans have been extinguished to date, all during the three months ended Sept 30, 2021, and total PPP loans were $143.9 million.

In other indicators: 

Net interest income of $57.0 million in the third quarter of 2021 was up from $53.3 million in the third quarter of 2020, attributed to growth in interest-earning assets, PPP fees and a 23 basis point decrease in average costs of fund. Net interest income was $170.2 million for the first nine months of 2021 compared with $153.0 million in the first nine months of 2020

Non-interest income in the third quarter of 2021 was $18.3 million compared with $25.0 million in the third quarter of 2020. Total mortgage banking income decreased to $6.2 million in the third quarter of 2021 from $12.0 million in the third quarter of 2020. Non-interest income for the first nine months of 2021 was $62.1 million compared to $62.0 million during the same period of 2020.

Mortgage gains decreased to $5.4 million in the third quarter of 2021 from $13.8 million in the third quarter of 2020 but increased from $2.7 million in the second quarter of 2021.

Total assets at Sept. 30, 2021, were $7.47 billion compared to $7.59 billion at June 30, 2021, and $6.97 billion at Sept. 30, 2020. Deposits at Sept. 30 totaled $6.25 billion, compared with $6.29 billion at June 30, 2021, and $5.80 billion at Sept. 30, 2020. 

The Premier Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.28 per common share payable Nov. 19, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 12, 2021. The dividend represents an annual dividend of 3.44 percent based on the Premier common stock closing price on Oct. 27. 

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.