Century Next Financial Corporation Reports 2015 Yearend Results

RUSTON, La., Jan. 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Century Next Financial Corporation (OTCQB:CTUY), the holding company of Bank of Ruston with $211.0 million in assets, today announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Financial Performance

For the year ended December 31, 2015, Century Next Financial Corporation (the “Company”) had net income after tax of $1.6 million compared to net income of $1.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, an increase of $373,000 or 30.0%.  Earnings per share (EPS) for the full year were $1.57 per basic and $1.54 per diluted share compared to $1.21 per basic and $1.19 per diluted share reported for the full year ended December 31, 2014. 

Balance Sheet

Overall, total assets increased by $41.3 million or 24.4% to $211.0 million at December 31, 2015 compared to $169.7 million at December 31, 2014. 

The largest component of assets, loans, net of deferred fees and costs and the allowance for loan losses, increased $29.9 million or 21.0% for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to December 31, 2014.  Total net loans at December 31, 2015 were $172.5 million compared to $142.6 million at December 31, 2014.  Net loan growth year over year was broad based with total loans secured by real estate up $26.8 million and commercial, non-real estate loans and all other loans up $3.1 million.     

Total deposits at December 31, 2015 increased $27.0 million or 19.9% to $162.8 million compared to $135.8 million at December 31, 2014.  Year over year, interest-bearing checking deposits were up $16.9 million, noninterest-bearing deposits were up $5.1 million, time deposits were up $2.1 million, savings deposits were up $1.8 million, and money market deposits were up $1.1 million. 

Total short-term borrowings decreased to $3.0 million at December 31, 2015 from $10.5 million at December 31, 2014, a decrease of $7.5 million, while long-term borrowings increased to $20.2 million at December 31, 2015 from $264,000 at December 31, 2014, an increase of $20.0 million.  The net growth of long-term over short-term borrowings was primarily in Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings to help fund loan growth.

Income Statement

Net interest income was $7.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to $6.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2014.  This was an increase of $863,000, or 13.3%.  The increase for the year was primarily from interest income earned on loans from increased volume. 

The provision for loan losses amounted to $288,000 for the year ended December 31, 2015, compared to $192,000 in provision for the year ended December 31, 2014.  The increase of $96,000 or 50.0% 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 $987,000 for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to $921,000 for the year ended December 31, 2014, an increase of $66,000 or 7.2%.    

Total non-interest expense increased by $255,000 or 4.7% to $5.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to $5.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2014.  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 68.0% for the year ended December 31, 2013 compared to 73.0% for the same period in 2014.

Additional Information

Century Next Financial Corporation is the holding company for Bank of Ruston (the “Bank”) which conducts business from its main office and full-service branch office, located 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 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. 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.