WILLIAMSPORT, Pa., Oct. 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PWOD)

Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc., supported by deposit growth, achieved net income of $12.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, resulting in basic and diluted earnings per share of $1.82.

Highlights

• Net income, as reported under GAAP, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 was $4.7 million and $12.8 million, compared to $3.8 million and $10.5 million for the same periods of 2018.  Results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to 2018 were impacted by an increase in after-tax securities gains of $153,000 (from a loss of $19,000 to a gain of $134,000) for the three month periods and $244,000 (from a loss of $39,000 to a gain of $205,000) for the nine month periods.
  
  
• Basic and diluted earnings per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 were $0.66 and $1.82, respectively, an increase in basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.12 and $0.33 as compared to the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018. 
  
  
• Return on average assets was 1.10% for the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 0.96% for the corresponding period of 2018. Return on average assets was 1.02% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 0.91% for the corresponding period of 2018.
  
  
• Return on average equity was 12.18% for the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 10.94% for the corresponding period of 2018. Return on average equity was 11.69% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 10.19% for the corresponding period of 2018.

Net Income

Net income from core operations (“core earnings”), which is a non-generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) measure of net income excluding net securities gains or losses, was $4.5 million for the three months ended September 30, 2019 compared to $3.8 million for the same period of 2018. Core earnings increased to $12.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, compared to $10.6 million for the same period of 2018. Core earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2019 was $0.64 basic and diluted, an increase from $0.54 basic and diluted core earnings per share for the same period of 2018. Core earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was $1.80 basic and diluted, compared to $1.50 basic and diluted for the same period of 2018. Core return on average assets and core return on average equity were 1.07% and 11.82% for the three months ended September 30, 2019, compared to 0.96% and 10.99% for the corresponding period of 2018.  Core return on average assets and core return on average equity were 1.01% and 11.49% for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to 0.91% and 10.23% for the corresponding period of 2018. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures of core earnings, core return on assets, core return on equity, and core earnings per share described in this press release to the comparable GAAP financial measures is included at the end of this press release.

Net Interest Margin

The net interest margin for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 was 3.32% and 3.34%, compared to 3.30% and 3.31% for the corresponding periods of 2018. The increase in the net interest margin was driven by an increase in the yield on earning assets of 29 and 37 basis points ("bps") for the three and nine month periods. The impact of the increase in yield on earning assets was limited by the increase in rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities of 36 bps and 41 bps for the three and nine month periods. The increase in the yield on earning assets was driven by an increase in the loan portfolio yield in conjunction with an increase in the average loan portfolio of $31.3 million and $79.3 million, respectively. The loan growth for the three and nine month periods was primarily funded by an increase in average total interest-bearing deposits of $112.9 million and $98.2 million, respectively.

Assets

Total assets increased $2.7 million to $1.7 billion at September 30, 2019 compared to September 30, 2018.  Net loans decreased $5.0 million to $1.4 billion at September 30, 2019 compared to September 30, 2018, as the municipal loan portfolio decreased and the indirect auto lending portfolio remained constant. The investment portfolio increased $15.8 million from September 30, 2018 to September 30, 2019 due to increases in the taxable municipal portfolio.

Non-performing Loans

The ratio of non-performing loans to total loans ratio increased to 1.26% at September 30, 2019 from 0.64% at September 30, 2018 as non-performing loans have increased to $17.2 million at September 30, 2019 from $8.7 million at September 30, 2018 primarily due to a commercial loan relationship that became non-performing during the fourth quarter of 2018. The majority of non-performing loans involve loans that are either in a secured position and have sureties with a strong underlying financial position or have a specific allocation for any impairment recorded within the allowance for loan losses. Net loan charge-offs of $112,000 and $623,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 minimally impacted the allowance for loan losses, which was 1.04% of total loans at September 30, 2019. The majority of the loans charged-off had a specific allowance within the allowance for loan losses.

Deposits

Deposits increased $121.9 million to $1.3 billion at September 30, 2019 compared to September 30, 2018.  Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $14.2 million to $327.3 million at September 30, 2019 compared to September 30, 2018.  Driving deposit growth is our commitment to easy-to-use products, community involvement, and emphasis on customer service.  Deposit gathering efforts have centered on core deposits as building customer relationships remains the focus.  The time deposit portfolio has increased as time deposits have been used as a customer attraction tool.  The increase in deposits has resulted in a significant reduction in the use of short-term borrowings.

Shareholders’ Equity

Shareholders’ equity increased $14.5 million to $155.1 million at September 30, 2019 compared to September 30, 2018. The change in accumulated other comprehensive loss from $7.5 million at September 30, 2018 to $1.9 million at September 30, 2019 is a result of an increase in unrealized gains on available for sale securities (from an unrealized loss of $2.7 million at September 30, 2018 to an unrealized gain of $3.3 million at September 30, 2019). The amount of accumulated other comprehensive loss at September 30, 2019 was also impacted by the change in net excess of the projected benefit obligation over the fair value of the plan assets of the defined benefit pension plan, resulting in an increase in the net loss of $345,000. The current level of shareholders’ equity equates to a book value per share of $22.03 at September 30, 2019 compared to $19.97 at September 30, 2018, and an equity to asset ratio of 9.27% at September 30, 2019 compared to 8.41% at September 30, 2018. Dividends declared for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 were $0.94 per share.

On September 30, 2019, the Company completed a three-for-two stock split (the “Stock Split”) of the Company’s common stock.  As a result of the Stock Split, effective at 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2019, each share of the Company’s common stock issued at that time was changed into one and one-half shares of the Company’s common stock with a stated par value of $5.55 per share.  All share and per share amounts in this release, including in the accompanying financial statements and information, have been restated for all periods presented to give retroactive effect to the Stock Split.

Penns Woods Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of Jersey Shore State Bank, which operates seventeen branch offices providing financial services in Lycoming, Clinton, Centre, Montour, and Union Counties, and Luzerne Bank, which operates nine branch offices providing financial services in Luzerne County.  Investment and insurance products are offered through Jersey Shore State Bank’s subsidiary, The M Group, Inc. D/B/A The Comprehensive Financial Group.  Insurance products are offered through United Insurance Solutions, LLC, a joint venture that is a subsidiary of the holding company.

NOTE:  This press release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”).  Management uses the non-GAAP measure of net income from core operations in its analysis of the company’s performance. This measure, as used by the Company, adjusts net income determined in accordance with GAAP to exclude the effects of special items, including significant gains or losses that are unusual in nature such as net securities gains and losses.  Because these certain items and their impact on the Company’s performance are difficult to predict, management believes presentation of financial measures excluding the impact of such items provides useful supplemental information in evaluating the operating results of the Company’s core businesses. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for net income determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

This press release may contain certain “forward-looking statements” including statements concerning plans, objectives, future events or performance and assumptions and other statements, which are statements other than statements of historical fact.  The Company cautions readers that the following important factors, among others, may have affected and could in the future affect actual results and could cause actual results for subsequent periods to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement made by or on behalf of the Company herein: (i) the effect of changes in laws and regulations, including federal and state banking laws and regulations, and the associated costs of compliance with such laws and regulations either currently or in the future as applicable; (ii) the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies as well as by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or of changes in the Company’s organization, compensation and benefit plans; (iii) the effect on the Company’s competitive position within its market area of the increasing consolidation within the banking and financial services industries, including the increased competition from larger regional and out-of-state banking organizations as well as non-bank providers of various financial services; (iv) the effect of changes in interest rates; and (v) the effect of changes in the business cycle and downturns in the local, regional or national economies.  For a list of other factors which could affect the Company’s results, see the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including “Item 1A.  Risk Factors,” set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.  These statements speak only as of the date of this press release, even if subsequently made available by the Company on its website or otherwise.  The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

Previous press releases and additional information can be obtained from the Company’s website at www.pwod.com.

THIS INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO YEAR-END AUDIT ADJUSTMENT

PENNS WOODS BANCORP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
(UNAUDITED)

PENNS WOODS BANCORP, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
(UNAUDITED)

PENNS WOODS BANCORP, INC.
AVERAGE BALANCES AND INTEREST RATES

* Core deposits are defined as total deposits less time deposits

Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Financial Measures