UCFC Reports 2017 Net Income of $21.8M

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – United Community Financial Corp., holding company of Home Savings Bank, reports net income of $4.50 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, or nine cents per diluted share, and full-year net income of $21.80 million, or 43 cents per diluted share.

Fourth-quarter net income compares to $7.56 million the third quarter, or 15 cents per diluted share, and fourth-quarter 2016 income of $5.03 million, or 10 cents per diluted share. Net income for 2016 was $18.83 million, or 39 cents per diluted share.

UCFC directors declared a cash dividend of six cents per share, a 50% increase from the year-ago dividend, payable Feb. 16 to shareholders of record Feb. 2.

“This increase reflects both the sentiments of the company to move to a higher dividend payout ratio and anticipated increased earnings due to recent changes in tax law,” UCFC said.

In a prepared statement, the president and CEO of UCFC and Home Savings, Gary M. Small, said, “I am very pleased with the organization’s fourth quarter core performance. Commercial and consumer growth exceeded expectations, deposit growth initiatives took hold, and our core expenses for the quarter were well contained. These results, combined with the anticipated positive impacts for our customers from the recent tax legislation, certainly provide excellent momentum as we head into 2018.”

Key ratios for the quarters ended Dec. 31, Sept. 30 and Dec. 31, 2016:

• Return on average assets, 0.68%, 1.17%, 0.93%.
• Return on average equity, 6.09%, 10.43%, 8.00%.
• Net interest margin, 3.43%, 3.45%, 3.26%.
• Efficiency ratio, 63.73%, 57.13%, 61.89%.

Total interest income was $24.85 million for the quarter compared to $24.05 million the preceding quarter and $18.50 million the year-ago quarter.

Noninterest income, which includes insurance agency income, service fees and charges, mortgage servicing rights, deposit-related fees,  was $6.46 million, up from $6.30 million the third quarter and from $5.64 million the last quarter of 2016.

Noninterest expense such as salaries and employee benefits, data processing, occupancy and rents, advertising and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. premiums was $17.33 million, up from $15.46 million the third quarter and $13.72 million the fourth quarter of 2016.

Deposits rose with total deposits reaching $1.957 billion at Dec. 31, up from $1.939 billion at Sept. 30 and $1.515 billion at Dec. 31, 2016.

Total loans reached $2.083 billion at Dec. 31, up from $2.032 billion at Sept. 30 and $1.566 billion at Dec. 31, 2016. Total growth year-over-year was 10.1%, UCFC said.

Commercial loan growth was $31.5 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, or 15.9% on an annualized basis. Residential mortgage loans, including loans held for sale, increased $10.3 million, or 4.1% annualized during the quarter. Consumer loans increased $9.8 million, or 14.9%, annualized during the same time period.

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