Athens Bancshares Corporation, the holding company for Athens Federal Community Bank, announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2015.
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The Company's net income for the three months ended March 31, 2015 was $592,000 or $0.33 per diluted share, compared to net income of $660,000 or $0.37 per diluted share for the same period in 2014.
Net interest income after provision for loan losses increased $2,000 or 0.09%, to $2.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to $2.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014.
Interest income increased $14,000 when comparing the two periods as the average balance of interest earning assets increased from $277.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 to $282.1 million for the comparable period in 2015, which more than offset a decrease in the average yield on interest earning assets from 4.95% for the three months ended March 31, 2014 to 4.88% for the comparable period in 2015.
Interest expense decreased $69,000 when comparing the two periods as the average cost of interest bearing liabilities decreased from 0.82% for the three months ended March 31, 2014 to 0.70% for the comparable period in 2015.
The average balance of interest-bearing liabilities increased from $232.4 million to $233.1 million when comparing the same two periods. The provision for loan losses increased $81,000, from $26,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 to $107,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2015.
Non-interest income increased $83,000 when comparing the two periods. The increase was primarily due to increases in income related to the sale of mortgage loans on the secondary market, income from Valley Title Services, LLC and consumer and commercial loan servicing and origination, partially offset by decreases in investment sales commissions, non-sufficient funds charges on deposit accounts and other deposit-related fees.
Non-interest expense increased $211,000 when comparing the two periods. The increase was primarily due to increases in other operating expenses, salary expense and data processing expenses. The increase in other operating expense was primarily due to write-down in the value of foreclosed property and expenses related to foreclosed property.
Salary expense increased due to normal cost of living salary adjustments effective in January 2015, as well as increases in the costs of employee health insurance benefits. Data processing costs increased due to the addition of products purchased on the core operating system. These increases were partially offset by a reduction in occupancy and equipment expense.
Income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 was $278,000 compared to $336,000 for the same period in 2014 primarily as a result of lower pre-tax income in the 2015 period.
Total assets increased $7.3 million to $309.7 million at March 31, 2015, compared to $302.4 million at December 31, 2014. The Bank was considered well-capitalized under applicable federal regulatory capital guidelines at March 31, 2015. ■