UCFC Reports Robust Q1 Net Income of $8.56M

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio –  United Community Financial Corp., holding company of Home Savings Bank, Tuesday reported first-quarter net income of $8.56 million, or 17 cents per basic share.

This compares to last year’s fourth-quarter net income of $7.56 million, or 15 cents per basic share, and year-ago income of $1.54 million, or three cents per basic share.

The first quarter results included two months of operations from Premier Bank & Trust that was acquired Jan. 31, 2017. In comparison, the first quarter of 2018 results include a full quarter of operations.

UCFC directors declared a cash dividend of six cents per share payable May 11 to shareholders of record April 27.

In a prepared statement, the president and CEO of UCFC and Home Savings Bank, Gary M. Small, said, “I am very pleased with the first quarter results. We achieved excellent loan and deposit growth while margin metrics remained very strong. The investments made in our team and the expansion of our product offerings in 2017 are clearly making a difference in our results today.”

Highlights UCFC cited include:

• Loan growth was 2.7% for the quarter.
• Customer deposit growth was 5.8%.
• Net interest margin improved four basis points to 3.47% for the quarter.

Key performance ratios for the quarters ended March 31 and Dec. 31 and March 31, 2017:

• Return on average assets, 1.28%, 0.68%, 0.25%.
• Return on average equity, 11.44%, 6.09%, 2.24%.
• Net interest margin, 3.47%, 3.43%, 3.28%.
• Efficiency ratio, 60.20%, 63.73%, 83.78%.

Net interest income was $21.53 million, up from $20.88 million at Dec. 31 and $18.48 million at the first quarter of 2017.

Total noninterest income (includes insurance agency income, brokerage income and debit and credit card fees) was $5.81 million, down from the $6.46 million reported at Dec. 31 but up from the $5.38 million in the first quarter of last year.

Noninterest expense (salaries and employee benefits, rents, data processing, acquisition-related, marketing, professional fees and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. premiums) was $16.60 million, up from $13.71 million the fourth quarter and down from $17.32 year-over-year.

Total deposits reached $2.066 billion at March 31, up from $1.956 billion at Dec. 31, and $1.905 billion at March 31, 2017.

Total loans grew to $2.140 billion for the first quarter, up from $2.083 billion at the fourth quarter of 2017 and $1.910 billion the year-ago quarter.

Nonperforming loans increased to $12.17 million, up from $11.703 million in the fourth quarter of last year, and the year-ago quarter of $10.56 million.

Total assets increased to $2.690 billion during the quarter, compared to $2.649 billion at Dec. 31.

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