Century Next Financial Corporation Reports 2nd Quarter 2022 Results

RUSTON, La., July 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Century Next Financial Corporation (the “Company”) (OTCQX: CTUY), the holding company of Century Next Bank, with $619.7 million in assets, today announced financial results for the 2^nd quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Financial Performance

For the three months ended June 30, 2022, the Company had net income after tax of $1.49 million compared to net income of $155,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $1.33 million or 860.0%. Earnings per share (EPS) for the three months ended June 30, 2022 were $0.84 per basic and diluted share compared to $0.09 per basic and diluted share reported for the three months ended June 30, 2021.

For the six months ended June 30, 2022, Century Next Financial Corporation (the “Company”) had net income after tax of $2.58 million compared to net income of $1.44 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $1.14 million or 78.9%. Earnings per share (EPS) for the six months ended June 30, 2022 were $1.45 per basic and diluted share compared to $.83 per basic and diluted share reported for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

The increase in earnings per share for the quarter-to-date and year-to-date periods in 2022 as compared to the same periods in 2021 was due to a one-time addition of $1.42 million to the allowance for loan and lease losses (ALLL) reserve recorded in the 2^nd quarter of 2021. The additional provision for loan losses was determined in the quarterly evaluation of the ALLL and resulted primarily from a single loan charge off of $1.68 million. The addition to the ALLL was necessary to increase the balance to the level calculated in the ALLL model representing an estimate of the appropriate reserve for known and inherent losses remaining in the existing loan portfolio.

Balance Sheet

Overall, total assets increased by $66.3 million or 12.0% to $619.7 million at June 30, 2022 compared to $553.5 million at December 31, 2021.  

The largest component of assets, loans, net of deferred fees and costs and the allowance for loan losses, including loans held for sale, increased $69.5 million or 15.9% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 compared to December 31, 2021. Total net loans at June 30, 2022 were $506.9 million compared to $437.3 million at December 31, 2021. Of total net loans outstanding for each period, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loans were $813,000 at June 30, 2022 compared to $4.3 million at December 31, 2021. Loans secured by commercial real estate were the primarily driver of loan growth with an increase of $41.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Loans secured by multi-family properties increased $8.8 million, commercial non-real estate loans increased $8.7 million, loans secured by residential 1-4 family increased $5.1 million, land loans increased $4.8 million, residential construction loans increased $1.9 million and agricultural land increased $44,000. These increases were offset by a decline in consumer loans of $754,000, residential 1-4 family held-for-sale loans of $403,000 and home equity lines of credit and agricultural non-real estate loans of a combined total of $51,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2022.  

Total deposits at June 30, 2022 increased $65.0 million or 13.7% to $539.5 million compared to $474.5 million at December 31, 2021. Money market deposits increased by $62.7 million, noninterest-bearing checking increased by $5.5 million, and savings accounts increased by $5.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022. The increases were offset by a decrease in interest-bearing checking of $7.3 million and a decrease of $897,000 in time deposits for the six months ended June 30, 2022.

Total long-term borrowings remained the same at $14.5 million at June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021.

Income Statement

Net interest income was $5.57 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 compared to $5.46 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021. This was an increase of $106,000, or 1.9%.   Net interest income was $10.76 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 compared to $10.69 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021. This was an increase of $77,000, or 0.7%. The increases in net interest income for the three- and six-month periods were primarily from increases in interest income on investment securities and interest-bearing deposits in banks due to rising interest rates in the first half of 2022. PPP loan fees included in interest income decreased from $835,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2021 compared to $120,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 for a net reduction of $715,000 in PPP loan fees for the comparative period. The effect of reduced PPP loans fees for the year-to-date periods year over year were offset by increased interest income from loan volume.   

The provision for loan losses amounted to $126,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, provision for loan losses amounted to $252,000 compared to $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021. The decrease in provision for the three- and six-month periods reflect the one-time addition to the ALLL in 2021 as mentioned under the Financial Performance section above.

Total non-interest income amounted to $1.12 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 compared to $940,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $179,000 or 19%. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, total non-interest income amounted to $2.04 million compared to $1.89 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of $145,000 or 7.7%. The increases in non-interest income for the three- and six-month periods were primarily from service charges on deposits and other income increases, which included proceeds from a life insurance claim, offset by decreases in loan servicing release fees and net loss on sale of loans from mortgage activity.

Total non-interest expense increased by $139,000 or 3.2% to $4.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 compared to $4.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, total non-interest expense increased by $378,000 or 4.3% to $9.1 million compared to $8.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021. The increases in both the three- and six-month periods ending June 30, 2022 was primarily due to increases in salaries and benefits and other operating expense as compared to the same periods in 2021.

The Company’s efficiency ratio, a measure of expense as a percent of total income, decreased to 67.52% for the three months ended June 30, 2022 compared to 68.36% for the three months ended June 30, 2021. For the six months ended June 30, 2022, the efficiency ratio increased to 71.01% compared to 69.25% for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Other Financial Information

Nonperforming assets, including loans past due 90 days or more, nonaccrual loans, and other foreclosed assets, increased from $1.15 million at December 31, 2021 to $1.74 million at June 30, 2022, an increase of $605,000. Total non-performing assets were 0.28% and 0.21% of totals assets as of June 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively.

Allowance for loan and lease losses was $5.55 million or 1.08% of total loans at June 30, 2022 compared to $5.24 million or 1.18% of total loans at December 31, 2021. Net recoveries for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2022 were $4,000 and $61,000, respectively, compared to net charge-offs of $1.72 million and $1.78 million, respectively, for the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2021. The ratios of net charge-offs to average loans outstanding were -0.01% and 0.40% at June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Dividend Declaration

A cash dividend of $0.30 per share that was approved and declared by the Board of Directors on April 19, 2022 was paid out on June 7, 2022 to shareholders of record as of May 24, 2022.

Company Information

Century Next Financial Corporation is the holding company for Century Next Bank (the “Bank”) which conducts business from its main office in Ruston, Louisiana. 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 covered 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 four locations in Louisiana including two banking offices in Ruston, one banking office in Monroe, one banking office in West Monroe, and three locations in Arkansas including two banking offices in Crossett and one banking office in Hamburg. 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 and Subsidiary
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share data)

Century Next Financial Corporation and Subsidiary
Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share data)

Century Next Financial Corporation Contact Information:

William D. Hogan, President & Chief Executive Officer or
Mark A. Taylor, CPA CGMA, Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
(318) 255-3733

Company Website: www.cnext.bank