Century Next Financial Corporation Reports 2016 Ye

RUSTON, La., Jan. 27, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Next Financial Corporation (OTCQB:CTUY), the holding company of Bank of Ruston with $239.4 million in assets, today announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2016.

Financial Performance

For the year ended December 31, 2016, Century Next Financial Corporation (the “Company”) had net income after tax of $2.5 million compared to net income of $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of $867,000 or 53.7%.  Earnings per share (EPS) for the full year were $2.39 per basic and $2.34 per diluted share compared to $1.57 per basic and $1.54 per diluted share reported for the full year ended December 31, 2015. 

Balance Sheet

Overall, total assets increased by $28.4 million or 13.5% to $239.4 million at December 31, 2016 compared to $211.0 million at December 31, 2015. 

The largest component of assets, loans, net of deferred fees and costs and the allowance for loan losses, increased $28.9 million or 16.8% for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to December 31, 2015.  Total net loans at December 31, 2016 were $201.5 million compared to $172.5 million at December 31, 2015.  Net loan growth year over year was broad based with total loans secured by real estate up $35.1 million and commercial, non-real estate loans and all other loans down $6.2 million.  The decline in commercial, non-real estate was due primarily to loan sales of $8.5 million during 2016.     

Total deposits at December 31, 2016 increased $28.6 million or 17.5% to $191.4 million compared to $162.8 million at December 31, 2015.  Year over year, time deposits were up $18.1 million, interest-bearing checking deposits were up $7.9 million, money market deposits were up $1.7 million, savings deposits were up $1.6 million, and noninterest-bearing deposits were down $743,000. 

Total short-term borrowings increased to $20.0 million at December 31, 2016 from $3.0 million at December 31, 2015, an increase of $17.0 million, while long-term borrowings decreased to $179,000 at December 31, 2016 from $20.2 million at December 31, 2015, a decrease of $20.0 million.  The net decrease in long-term and increase in short-term borrowings was primarily the reclassification of Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings from long-term to short-term due to changing maturities.

Income Statement

Net interest income was $9.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $7.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.  This was an increase of $1.8 million, or 24.7%.  The increase for the year was primarily from interest income earned on loans from increased volume. 

The provision for loan losses amounted to $480,000 for the year ended December 31, 2016, compared to $288,000 in provision for the year ended December 31, 2015.  The increase of $192,000 or 66.7% in loan loss provision year over year was primarily a reflection of loan growth and an increased risk awareness and identification to strengthen the allowance for loan losses.

Total non-interest income amounted to $1.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $988,000 for the year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of $381,000 or 38.6%.  The increase was due to increases of $222,000 in loan servicing release fees, $84,000 gain from sales of loans and foreclosed assets, $43,000 in service charges on deposits, and $32,000 in other income.     

Total non-interest expense increased by $722,000 or 12.7% to $6.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to $5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2015.  The increase year over year was primarily due to increases in salaries and employee benefits due to staff additions and compensation increases and increased operating expenses from the addition of a new branch location in Monroe, Louisiana.  Although non-interest expense increased year over year, the Company showed improvement in its efficiency ratio, a measure of expense as a percent of total income, to 60.7% for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to 68.0% for the same period in 2015.

Other Financial Information

Nonperforming assets, including loans past due 90 days or more, nonaccrual loans, and other foreclosed assets, increased from $1,018,000 at December 31, 2015 to $1,047,000 at December 31, 2016.  Allowance for loan losses were $1,366,000 or 0.67% of total loans at December 31, 2016 compared to $983,000 or 0.57% of total loans at December 31, 2015.  Net charge-offs for the year ended December 31, 2016 were $101,000 compared to net charge-offs  of $54,000 during the same periods in 2015.  The ratios of net charge-offs to average loans outstanding were 0.05% and 0.03% at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

Additional Information

Century Next Financial Corporation is the holding company for Bank of Ruston (the “Bank”) which conducts business from its main office in Ruston, Louisiana and two full-service branch offices.  The Company was formed in 2010 and is subject to the regulatory oversight of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary and is an insured federally-chartered stock savings association subject to the regulatory oversight of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Bank was established in 1905 and is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana. The Bank is a full-service bank with two banking offices in Ruston and one banking office in Monroe, Louisiana. The Bank emphasizes professional and personal banking service directed primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals. The Bank provides a full range of banking services including its primary business of real estate lending to residential and commercial customers.

Statements contained in this news release which are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.  They often include words like “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” and “intend” or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” or “may.”  We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Century Next Financial Corporation Contact Information: William D. Hogan, President & Chief Executive Officer or Mark A. Taylor, CPA, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer (318) 255-3733 Company Website: www.bankruston.com