2 months ago
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Fourth Quarter 2024 Performance and Operational Highlights
- Net income of $11.2 million, or $1.11 per diluted share
- Core net income(1) of $10.5 million, or $1.04 per diluted share(1)
- Pretax pre-provision core net income(1) of $14.0 million
- Net interest income of $25.1 million, an increase of $804,000 from the prior quarter
- Net interest margin ("NIM”) of 3.66%, up 1 basis point from the prior quarter
- Return on average assets ("ROAA”) of 1.55%; return on average stockholders' equity ("ROAE”) of 16.13%; and return on average tangible common equity ("ROATCE”)(1) of 18.87%
- Core ROAA(1) of 1.45%; and core ROATCE(1) of 17.67%
- Efficiency ratio of 46.67%; and core efficiency ratio of 47.78%
- Linked-quarter loans grew 4.9% annualized
- Linked-quarter total deposits, excluding brokered deposits, grew 6.2% annualized
- Linked-quarter brokered deposits declined (22.7)%
ANNISTON, Ala., Jan. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southern States Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSBK) ("Southern States” or the "Company”), the holding company for Southern States Bank, an Alabama state-chartered commercial bank (the "Bank”), today reported net income of $11.2 million, or $1.11 diluted earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2024. This compares to net income of $7.4 million, or $0.76 diluted earnings per share, for the third quarter of 2024, and net income of $8.9 million, or $0.99 diluted earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2023. The Company reported core net income of $10.5 million, or $1.04 diluted core earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2024. This compares to core net income of $8.7 million, or $0.89 diluted core earnings per share, for the third quarter of 2024, and core net income of $7.3 million, or $0.81 diluted core earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2023 (see "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures”).
| CEO Commentary | ||||
| Mark Chambers, Chief Executive Officer and President of Southern States Bancshares, Inc., said "We are proud to report record net income of $11.2 million for the fourth quarter and $34.9 million for the full year, a testament to our team's diligent execution and superior customer service. Our strong operating results reflect our continued consistent growth supported by a healthy net interest margin of 3.66% for the fourth quarter, coupled with an efficiency ratio of 46.67%.” | ||||
| "We remain firmly committed to prudently managing our franchise for sustainable growth across our dynamic footprint. That starts with maintaining excellent credit quality and strong capital levels. Disciplined underwriting is critical to our success, and at year end, nonperforming loans accounted for just 0.29% of total loans.'' | ||||
| "In August 2024, we completed the acquisition of Century Bank and have now seamlessly integrated its customers and team members into our organization. It enhances our presence in Georgia, especially in the high-growth Atlanta metro market, and elevates our position as a premier Southeastern community bank. With 15 full-service branches and two loan production offices across the vibrant economies in Alabama and Georgia, we have substantially expanded and strengthened Southern States Bank's community banking platform, which we believe sets us up to deliver resilient growth and shareholder returns in 2025.” | ||||
| Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin | |||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | % Change December 31, 2024 vs. | ||||||||||||||||
| December 31,
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2023 | September 30, 2024 | December 31,
2023 | |||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Average interest-earning assets | $ | 2,722,907 | $ | 2,645,388 | $ | 2,195,381 | 2.9 | % | 24.0 | % | |||||||
| Net interest income | $ | 25,050 | $ | 24,246 | $ | 20,404 | 3.3 | % | 22.8 | % | |||||||
| Net interest margin | 3.66 | % | 3.65 | % | 3.69 | % | 1 | bps | (3) | bps | |||||||
Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $25.1 million, an increase of 3.3% from $24.2 million for the third quarter of 2024. The increase was substantially due to a decrease in higher-cost brokered deposits as a result of calls and repayments at maturity and replaced with less expensive core deposits.
Relative to the fourth quarter of 2023, net interest income increased $4.6 million, or 22.8%. The increase was mainly driven by significant organic growth, coupled with the acquisition of Century Bank on July 31, 2024.
Net interest margin for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 3.66%, compared to 3.65% for the third quarter of 2024. The slight increase was primarily due to cost savings attributed to calls and repayments at maturity on higher-cost brokered deposits.
Relative to the fourth quarter of 2023, net interest margin decreased slightly from 3.69%. The decrease was primarily the result of the decrease in interest rates. The acquisition of Century Bank resulted in a positive impact to the net interest margin, effectively helping to reduce the cost of interest-bearing liabilities.
| Noninterest Income | |||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | % Change December 31, 2024 vs. | ||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | September 30, 2024 | December 31,
2023 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||
| Service charges on deposit accounts | $ | 565 | $ | 532 | $ | 441 | 6.2 | % | 28.1 | % | |||||
| Swap fees (expense) | 17 | (9 | ) | 70 | 288.9 | % | (75.7) | % | |||||||
| SBA/USDA fees | 89 | 179 | 70 | (50.3) | % | 27.1 | % | ||||||||
| Mortgage origination fees | 55 | 112 | 87 | (50.9) | % | (36.8) | |||||||||
| Net gain on securities | 25 | 75 | 98 | (66.7) | % | (74.5) | % | ||||||||
| Employee retention credit ("ERC”) | 1,154 | - | - | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||
| Other operating income | 1,085 | 868 | 2,352 | 25.0 | % | (53.9) | % | ||||||||
| Total noninterest income | $ | 2,990 | $ | 1,757 | $ | 3,118 | 70.2 | % | (4.1) | % | |||||
Noninterest income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $3.0 million, an increase of 70.2% from $1.8 million for the third quarter of 2024. The Company applied for the Voluntary Disclosure Program ("VDP”) associated with the ERC program during the third quarter of 2023 and received approval during the fourth quarter of 2024. The fourth quarter of 2024 included $1.2 million in ERC as a participant in the program.
Relative to the fourth quarter of 2023, noninterest income decreased 4.1% from $3.1 million. The fourth quarter of 2023 included a $1.9 million fee related to the early payoff of a $12.0 million purchased loan. As this was unusually large and atypical for the Bank, it was recorded as noninterest income instead of interest income, which would have impacted the net interest margin. The fourth quarter of 2024 included the $1.2 million in ERC discussed earlier. The acquisition of Century Bank on July 31, 2024 resulted in additional noninterest income during the fourth quarter of 2024.
| Noninterest Expense | ||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | % Change December 31, 2024 vs. | |||||||||||||
| December 31,
2024 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | ||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||
| Salaries and employee benefits | $ | 7,002 | $ | 6,876 | $ | 5,739 | 1.8 | % | 22.0 | % | ||||
| Equipment and occupancy expenses | 851 | 814 | 681 | 4.5 | % | 25.0 | % | |||||||
| Data processing fees | 960 | 781 | 639 | 22.9 | % | 50.2 | % | |||||||
| Regulatory assessments | 441 | 414 | 355 | 6.5 | % | 24.2 | % | |||||||
| Professional fees related to ERC | 236 | - | - | N/A | N/A | |||||||||
| Merger-related expenses | - | 1,511 | - | N/A | N/A | |||||||||
| Other operating expenses | 3,584 | 3,291 | 2,303 | 8.9 | % | 55.6 | % | |||||||
| Total noninterest expenses | $ | 13,074 | $ | 13,687 | $ | 9,717 | (4.5) % | 34.5 | % | |||||
Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $13.1 million, a decrease of 4.5% from $13.7 million for the third quarter of 2024. The third quarter of 2024 included merger-related expenses of $1.5 million, of which $961,000 was not deductible for taxes, as a result of the acquisition of Century Bank. The fourth quarter of 2024 included professional fees paid to a third party related to ERC, along with an overall increase in noninterest expense as a result of the full-quarter recognition of the acquisition of Century Bank.
Relative to the fourth quarter of 2023, noninterest expense increased 34.5% from $9.7 million. The acquisition of Century Bank on July 31, 2024 resulted in additional noninterest expense during the fourth quarter of 2024.
| Loans and Credit Quality | |||||||||||||||||
| Three Months Ended | % Change December 31, 2024 vs. | ||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | September 30, 2024 | December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Gross loans | $ | 2,233,244 | $ | 2,205,747 | $ | 1,890,677 | 1.2 | % | 18.1 | % | |||||||
| Unearned income | (6,675 | ) | (6,536 | ) | (6,169 | ) | 2.1 | % | 8.2 | % | |||||||
| Loans, net of unearned income ("Loans”) | 2,226,569 | 2,199,211 | 1,884,508 | 1.2 | % | 18.2 | % | ||||||||||
| Average loans, net of unearned ("Average loans”) | $ | 2,205,892 | $ | 2,134,318 | $ | 1,814,484 | 3.4 | % | 21.6 | % | |||||||
| Nonperforming loans ("NPL”) | $ | 6,533 | $ | 7,868 | $ | 1,177 | (17.0) | % | 455.1 | % | |||||||
| Provision for credit losses | $ | 72 | $ | 2,583 | $ | 2,579 | (97.2) | % |
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