RUSTON, La., Jan. 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Next Financial Corporation (the “Company”) (OTCQX: CTUY), the holding company of Century Next Bank, with $643.3 million in assets, today announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Financial Performance

For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company had net income after tax of $5.22 million compared to net income of $4.78 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $444,000 or 9.3%. Earnings per share (EPS) for the year ended December 31, 2022 were $2.94 per basic and diluted share compared to $2.73 per basic and diluted share reported for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Balance Sheet

Overall, total assets increased by $89.8 million or 16.2% to $643.3 million at December 31, 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 $100.6 million or 23.0% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to December 31, 2021. Total net loans at December 31, 2022 were $537.9 million compared to $437.3 million at December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, loans secured by commercial real estate increased $59.0 million, land loans increased $14.9 million, commercial non-real estate loans increased $9.3 million, loans secured by multi-family properties increased $7.9 million, loans secured by residential 1-4 family increased $6.8 million, residential construction loans increased $2.8 million, home equity lines of credit increased 357,000, residential 1-4 family held-for-sale loans increased $215,000, consumer loans increased $173,000, and agricultural non-real estate loans increased $82,000. These increases were offset by a decline in agricultural land loans of $214,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Total deposits at December 31, 2022 increased $85.9 million or 18.11% to $560.4 million compared to $474.5 million at December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, money market deposits increased by $116.3 million and noninterest-bearing checking increased by $1.6 million. The increases were offset by decreases in time deposits of $23.2 million, savings deposits of $4.9 million, and interest-bearing checking of $3.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Total long-term borrowings decreased by $6.0 million to $8.5 million at December 31, 2022 from $14.5 million at December 31, 2021. Total short-term borrowings increased by $6.0 million at December 31, 2022. There were no short-term borrowings for the same period in 2021.

Income Statement

Net interest income was $22.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $21.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This was an increase of $200,000, or 0.9%. Of the increase of $200,000 in net interest income, total interest income, including loan fees recognized, was up by $2.6 million offset by an increase in total interest expense of $2.4 million the year ended December 31, 2022. The increase of $2.6 million in total interest income was stronger than the change reflected as loan fees for the Paycheck Protection Program decreased by $1.4 million to $137,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022 as compared to $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021.

The provision for loan losses amounted to $504,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022, compared to $2.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The provision for loan losses expense in 2021 was elevated due to a one-time addition resulting from a large loan charge-off in June of 2021.

Total non-interest income amounted to $3.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, an decrease of $185,000 or 4.8%. This decrease was primarily from lower loan servicing release fees during 2022 due to the rising rate environment and its effect on mortgage activity from lower refinancings. The decrease in loan servicing fees was offset by a lower net loss on sales of held-for-sale mortgage loans, net gains from the sales of foreclosed assets and increases in service charges on deposits and other non-interest income.

Total non-interest expense increased by $977,000 or 5.7% to $18.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to $17.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The majority of the increased expense year over year was from an increase in salaries and employee benefits of $506,000, an increase of other operating expenses of $158,000, an increase in directors’ expense of $134,000, and an increase in core processing software and other data processing costs of $115,000.

The Company’s efficiency ratio, a measure of expense as a percent of total income, increased to 71.19% for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to 67.42% for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Other Financial Information

Nonperforming assets, including loans past due 90 days or more, nonaccrual loans, and foreclosed assets, increased from $1.15 million at December 31, 2021 to $1.64 million at December 31, 2022, an increase of $489,000. Total non-performing assets as a percentage of total assets were 0.25% and 0.21% at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Allowance for loan and lease losses was $5.81 million or 1.07% of total loans at December 31, 2022 compared to $5.24 million or 1.18% of total loans at December 31, 2021. Net recoveries for the year ended December 31, 2022 were $64,000, compared to net charge-offs of $1.4 million year ended December 31, 2021. The ratios of net recoveries to average loans outstanding were 0.01% at December 31, 2022 compared to net charge offs of 0.32% at December 31, 2021.

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)

	December 31
		2022				2021
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$	42,410			$	72,112
Investment securities		28,121				14,414
Loans, net		537,932				437,307
Other assets		34,855				29,637
TOTAL ASSETS	$	643,318			$	553,470
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Deposits	$	560,384			$	474,479
Long-term borrowings		8,454				14,454
Other liabilities		3,976				4,229
Total Liabilities		578,814				493,162
Stockholders' equity		64,504				60,308
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY	$	643,318			$	553,470
Book Value per share	$	35.50			$	33.36

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

(In thousands, except per share data)

	Years Ended December 31
		2022				2021
Interest Income	$	26,964			$	24,337
Interest Expense		4,972				2,545
Net Interest Income		21,992				21,792
Provision for Loan Losses		504				2,095
Net interest income after provision for loan losses		21,488				19,697
Noninterest Income		3,645				3,830
Noninterest Expense		18,252				17,275
Income Before Taxes		6,881				6,252
Provision For Income Taxes		1,658				1,473
NET INCOME	$	5,223			$	4,779
EARNINGS PER SHARE
Basic	$	2.94			$	2.73
Diluted	$	2.94			$	2.73

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