BRIGHTON, Mass., Jan. 31, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peoples Federal Bancshares, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq:PEOP), the holding company for Peoples Federal Savings Bank (the "Bank"), announced first quarter earnings for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2012. For the three months ended December 31, 2011, the Company reported net income of $825,000 or $0.13 per share, basic and diluted, as compared to net income of $977,000 or $0.15 per share, basic and diluted, for the same period last year.
Net interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2011 totaled $4.3 million as compared to $4.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010. Non-interest income totaled $453,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2011 as compared to $539,000, for the three months ended December 31, 2010. Non-interest expense totaled $3.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2011 as compared to $3.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2010, reflecting higher salaries and employee benefit and other operating expenses, particularly, advertising expense, which increased $114,000, as the Company expanded advertising efforts to grow its market share within its footprint.
Since September 30, 2011, the Company's balance sheet has decreased by $1.5 million, or 0.28%, to $552.7 million. Net loans increased $1.3 million, or 0.32%. The increase in loans was primarily due to the increase in residential real estate and commercial loans, offset by the decrease in commercial real estate loans. Cash and cash equivalents decreased by $21.6 million to $40.1 million at December 31, 2011 from $61.7 million at September 30, 2011. This decrease was the result of continuing to invest cash and cash equivalents in loans and investment securities. FHLB borrowings increased by $2.0 million, or 11.1%, from September 30, 2011, as the Company took advantage of low long-term interest rates. Deposits decreased by $3.7 million to $408.9 million at December 31, 2011 from $412.6 million at September 30, 2011. At December 31, 2011, total stockholders' equity was $114.5 million, a decrease of $1.2 million from $115.7 million at September 30, 2011. The decrease in stockholders' equity during the quarter was primarily due to the repurchase of $2.1 million of the Company's common stock for the stock repurchase plan, offset by net income of $825,000.
Non-performing assets totaled $4.9 million, or 0.89%, of total assets at December 31, 2011, as compared to $3.3 million, or 0.59%, of total assets at September 30, 2011. Classified assets increased to $13.1 million as of December 31, 2011 compared to $12.6 million at September 30, 2011. The Company did provide $125,000 to the provision for loan losses during the quarter ended December 31, 2011, reflecting an increase in net loans and non-accrual loans.
Maurice H. Sullivan, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented, "As Peoples Federal Bancshares, Inc. announces earnings for the December 2011 quarter, the Company has continued to make significant progress toward the completion of our first stock repurchase program. We repurchased 155,975 shares during the quarter with shares repurchased totaling 324,275. Peoples Federal will continue to focus on strong asset quality and cautious pricing for deposit products in this period of historically low interest rates."
Certain statements herein constitute "forward-looking statements" and actual results may differ from those contemplated by these statements. 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." Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expected results include changes in the interest rate environment, changes in general economic conditions, legislative and regulatory changes that adversely affect the businesses in which Peoples Federal Bancshares, Inc. is engaged and changes in the securities market. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information, future events or otherwise.
| PEOPLES FEDERAL BANCSHARES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY | ||
| CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | ||
|
December 31, 2011 |
September 30, 2011 |
|
| (Unaudited) | ||
| (In thousands, except share data) | ||
| ASSETS | ||
| Cash and due from banks | $ 8,367 | $ 9,462 |
| Interest-bearing demand deposits with other banks and money market mutual funds | 27,560 | 44,255 |
| Federal funds sold | 198 | 9 |
| Federal Home Loan Bank - overnight deposit | 4,001 | 8,003 |
| Total cash and cash equivalents | 40,126 | 61,729 |
| Securities available-for-sale | 33,795 | 28,452 |
| Securities held-to-maturity (fair values of $32,926 and $19,925) | 32,683 | 19,713 |
| Federal Home Loan Bank stock (at cost) | 4,339 | 4,339 |
| Loans | 412,188 | 410,794 |
| Allowance for loan losses | (3,498) | (3,371) |
| Loans, net | 408,690 | 407,423 |
| Premises and equipment, net | 3,761 | 3,818 |
| Cash surrender value of life insurance policies | 18,871 | 18,713 |
| Accrued interest receivable | 1,470 | 1,527 |
| Deferred income tax asset, net | 5,731 | 5,739 |
| Other assets | 3,188 | 2,736 |
| Total assets | $ 552,654 | $ 554,189 |
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | ||
| Deposits: | ||
| Non-interest-bearing | $ 39,272 | $ 38,483 |
| Interest-bearing | 369,634 | 374,162 |
| Total deposits | 408,906 | 412,645 |
| Federal Home Loan Bank advances | 20,000 | 18,000 |
| Accrued expenses and other liabilities | 9,206 | 7,842 |
| Total liabilities | 438,112 | 438,487 |
| Stockholders' equity: | ||
| Preferred stock, $0.01 par value; 50,000,000 shares authorized; none issued | -- | -- |
| Common stock, $0.01 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 7,141,500 shares issued at December 31, 2011 and September 30, 2011 | 71 | 71 |
| Additional paid-in capital | 69,461 | 69,437 |
| Retained earnings | 54,502 | 53,677 |
| Accumulated other comprehensive income | 68 | 56 |
| Unearned compensation - ESOP | (5,142) | (5,213) |
| Treasury stock, at cost; 324,275 and 168,300 shares at December 31, 2011 | ||
| and September 30, 2011, respectively | (4,418) | (2,326) |
| Total stockholders' equity | 114,542 | 115,702 |
| Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ 552,654 | $ 554,189 |
| PEOPLES FEDERAL BANCSHARES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY | ||
| CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME | ||
|
Three Months Ended December 31, |
||
| 2011 | 2010 | |
| (Unaudited) | ||
| (Dollars in thousands, except share data) | ||
| Interest and dividend income: | ||
| Interest and fees on loans | $ 4,867 | $ 5,076 |
| Interest on debt securities: | ||
| Taxable | 271 | 75 |
| Other interest | 24 | 44 |
| Dividends on equity securities | 3 | -- |
| Total interest and dividend income | 5,165 | 5,195 |
| Interest expense: | ||
| Interest on deposits | 769 | 890 |
| Interest on Federal Home Loan Bank advances | 122 | 245 |
| Total interest expense | 891 | 1,135 |
| Net interest and dividend income | 4,274 | 4,060 |
| Provision for loan losses | 125 | 60 |
| Net interest and dividend income, after provision for loan losses | 4,149 | 4,000 |
| Non-interest income: | ||
| Customer service fees | 209 | 209 |
| Loan servicing fees | 13 | 26 |
| Net gain on sales of mortgage loans | -- | 99 |
| Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance | 158 | 117 |
| Other income | 73 | 88 |
| Total non-interest income | 453 | 539 |
| Non-interest expense: | ||
| Salaries and employee benefits | 2,125 | 2,004 |
| Occupancy expense | 216 | 208 |
| Equipment expense | 112 | 109 |
| Professional fees | 103 | 113 |
| Advertising expense | 147 | 33 |
| Data processing expense | 196 | 186 |
| Deposit insurance expense | 60 | 123 |
| Other expense | 320 | 324 |
| Total non-interest expense | 3,279 | 3,100 |
| Income before income taxes | 1,323 | 1,439 |
| Provision for income taxes | 498 | 462 |
| Net income | $ 825 | $ 977 |
| Weighted-average shares outstanding: | ||
| Basic | 6,372,181 | 6,579,702 |
| Diluted | 6,372,181 | 6,579,702 |
| Earnings per common share: | ||
| Basic | $ 0.13 | $ 0.15 |
| Diluted | $ 0.13 | $ 0.15 |