WAKE FOREST, N.C., Jan. 22, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc., (OTCBB: WAKE ) parent company of Wake Forest Federal Savings and Loan Association, announced today that the Company reported earnings of $198,077 or $0.17 per share for its quarter ended December 31, 2013. The current quarter's results compared favorably to the same quarter last year when the Company reported earnings of $177,834 or $0.15 per share.
In announcing the earnings, Robert C. White, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated that while the Company was pleased with the quarterly results, the Company's returns continue to be impacted by compressed interest rate margins. To guard against interest rate risk, a significant portion of the Company's loans and investments have shorter maturities or variable rates. The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates at historic lows since December of 2008 and the Company's interest rate sensitive loan and investment portfolios have adjusted downward to those rate movements to a greater extent than has the Company's deposit base. However, when rates do rise, the Company's performance should be enhanced by increased rate spreads generated by our ability to react quickly to such movements.
Although economic conditions are still challenging, residential sales in our local markets have shown signs of recovery. Improvement in our residential real estate markets has occurred primarily because the excess inventories of available homes which were common during the recession have come down as the market continues to absorb existing product. While sales activity has increased quarter over quarter for most of the past year, it remains at levels below what was historically normal for the Company's markets in the pre-recession years. As a historically high growth area, relocation sales have typically represented a sizable portion of our local real estate market but have failed to keep pace in recent years because of limited job opportunities. While the local area's unemployment rate has continued to drop over the past two years, further declines are necessary for the Company's local markets to be considered back to pre-recession levels. When the area's employment shows further improvement, our markets and our performance should also follow.
The Company provided $32,500 and $-0-, respectively, during the current quarter in loan loss provisions and write downs to the value of its foreclosed properties. Such provisions and write downs amounted to $65,000 and $10,500 for the same quarter a year earlier. The Company had loan charge-offs of $10,639 during the current quarter. The Company did not incur any loan charge-offs during the first quarter last year. The Company's loan loss allowances amounted to approximately 2.52% of total loans outstanding at December 31, 2013. Foreclosed assets and non-performing loans amounted to $2,572,630 and $2,558,218 at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.
Total assets of the Company amounted to $111,364,360 at December 31, 2013. Total loans receivable and deposits outstanding at December 31, 2013 amounted to $65,297,044 and $88,552,055, respectively. Wake Forest Bancshares Inc.'s capital to assets ratio was 19.63% at December 31, 2013.
Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc. has 1,151,747 shares of common stock outstanding. Based in Wake Forest, North Carolina since 1922, the Company conducts business as Wake Forest Federal from its office in Wake Forest, (Wake County), North Carolina.
Robert C. White, CEO (919) 556-5146
