Farmers National Banc Corp. Announces 2019 Fourth Quarter Financial Results

Farmers National Banc Corp. (Farmers) (NASDAQ: FMNB) today reported financial results for the three months and year ended December 31, 2019.

Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2019 was $9.7 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, which compares to $8.7 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and $9.2 million or $0.33 per diluted share for the linked quarter. Annualized return on average assets and annualized return on average equity were 1.58% and 12.78%, respectively, for the three month period ending December 31, 2019, compared to 1.50% and 13.65% for the same three month period in 2018, and 1.51% and 12.49% for the linked quarter. Farmers’ return on average tangible equity (non-GAAP) was 15.03% for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 compared to 16.68% for the same quarter in 2018 and 14.80% for the linked quarter.

Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 was $35.8 million, or $1.28 per diluted share, compared to $32.6 million or $1.16 per diluted share for the same twelve month period in 2018. Return on average assets and return on average equity were 1.50% and 12.56%, respectively, for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, compared to 1.46% and 13.13% for the same period in 2018.

On January 7, 2020, Farmers announced it completed the merger of Maple Leaf Financial (“Maple Leaf”), the holding company for Geauga Savings Bank, with branches located in Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties in Ohio. The transaction increases Farmers’ market share in Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties and enables Farmers to continue building local scale throughout Northeast Ohio. As of September 30, 2019, Maple Leaf had total assets of $275.6 million, which included gross loans of $183.5 million, deposits of $183.4 million and equity of $33.4 million.

Kevin J. Helmick, President and CEO, stated, “As a result of solid loan and deposit growth over the past twelve months, 14% increase in noninterest income, careful management of our noninterest expenses and continued strong asset quality, we are pleased to report an 11% increase in net income compared to the same quarter one year ago. We are also pleased to report a 25% increase in cash dividends paid to our shareholders, from $0.08 per share paid in the fourth quarter of 2018 to $0.10 paid for the same quarter in 2019.”

2019 Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights

• Loan growth
  Total loans were $1.81 billion at December 31, 2019, compared to $1.74 billion at December 31, 2018, representing an increase of 4.4%. The increase in loans is a direct result of Farmers’ focus on loan growth utilizing a talented lending and credit team, while adhering to a sound underwriting discipline. The increase in loans has occurred in the agricultural, commercial, commercial real estate, and residential real estate loan portfolios. Loans now comprise 79.5% of the Bank's average earning assets for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, a slight improvement compared to 79.4% for the same period in 2018. This improvement, along with the growth in earning assets, has resulted in a 6.1% increase in tax equated loan interest income, including fees, in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to the same quarter in 2018.

• Loan quality
  Non-performing assets to total assets remain at a low level, currently at 0.26%. Early stage delinquencies also continue to remain at low levels, at $11.9 million, or 0.66% of total loans, at December 31, 2019. Net charge-offs for the current quarter were $374 thousand, compared to $310 thousand in the same quarter in 2018, and total net charge-offs as a percentage of average net loans outstanding is only 0.09% for the quarter ended December 31, 2019.

• Net interest margin
  The net interest margin for the three months ended December 31, 2019 was 3.84%, a 4 basis points increase from the quarter ended December 31, 2018, and 5 basis points better than the 3.79% reported for the linked quarter. In comparing the fourth quarter of 2019 to the same period in 2018, asset yields increased 7 basis points, while the cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased just 3 basis points. Most of the increase in the asset yields was the result of higher rates earned on loans. The net interest margin is impacted by the additional accretion as a result of the discounted loan portfolios acquired in the previous mergers, which increased the net interest margin by 4 basis points for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 and 5 basis points for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.

• Noninterest income
  Noninterest income increased 14.1% to $7.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 compared to $6.7 million in the same quarter in 2018. Gains on the sales of mortgage loans increased $685 thousand or 82%, investment commissions increased $176 thousand or 68%, trust fees increased $139 thousand or 8%, insurance agency commissions grew $54 thousand or 8%, and other operating income increased $91 thousand or 23% in comparing the fourth quarter of 2019 to the same quarter in 2018. These increases were offset by a decrease of securities gains of $232 thousand or 89%.

• Noninterest expenses
  Farmers has remained committed to managing the level of noninterest expenses. Total noninterest expenses for the fourth quarter of 2019 increased 2.3% to $16.4 million compared to $16.0 million in the same quarter in 2018, primarily as a result of increases in merger related costs of $284 thousand and other operating expenses of $236 thousand, offset by a $316 thousand decrease in salaries and employee benefits and a $155 thousand decrease in FDIC insurance expense. Annualized noninterest expenses measured as a percentage of quarterly average assets decreased from 2.75% in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 2.68% in the fourth quarter of 2019.

• Efficiency ratio
  The efficiency ratio for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 decreased to 54.51% compared to 57.73% for the same quarter in 2018. The improvement in net interest income and noninterest income in the fourth quarter of 2019 was offset by a slightly higher level of noninterest expenses as explained in the preceding paragraphs.

2020 Outlook

Mr. Helmick added, “With the announcement of the completion of our acquisition of Geauga Savings Bank and our continued strong financial performance during this year, we look forward in 2020 to realize the benefits of the full integration of our new banking locations and to build on our momentum of having achieved another successful year. We remain extremely proud of our committed employees that continue to deliver strong results for our stakeholders and remain committed to our community banking approach and culture.”

Founded in 1887, Farmers National Banc Corp. is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Canfield, Ohio, with $2.4 billion in banking assets. Farmers National Banc Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are comprised of The Farmers National Bank of Canfield, a full-service national bank engaged in commercial and retail banking with 41 banking locations in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Stark, Wayne, Medina and Cuyahoga Counties in Ohio and Beaver County in Pennsylvania, and Farmers Trust Company, which operates five trust offices and offers services in the same geographic markets. Total wealth management assets under care at December 31, 2019 are $2.5 billion. Farmers National Insurance, LLC and Bowers Insurance Agency, Inc., wholly-owned subsidiaries of The Farmers National Bank of Canfield, offer a variety of insurance products.

Non-GAAP Disclosure

This press release includes disclosures of Farmers’ tangible common equity ratio, return on average tangible assets, return on average tangible equity and net income excluding costs related to acquisition activities, which are financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). A non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that excludes or includes amounts that are required to be disclosed by GAAP. Farmers believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide both management and investors a more complete understanding of the underlying operational results and trends and Farmers’ marketplace performance. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the numbers prepared in accordance with GAAP. The reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are included in the tables following Consolidated Financial Highlights below.

Forward-Looking Statements

This earnings release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Farmers’ financial condition, results of operations, asset quality trends and profitability. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only management’s current expectations and forecasts regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Farmers’ control. Forward-looking statements are preceded by terms such as “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends” and similar expressions, as well as any statements related to future expectations of performance or conditional verbs, such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could” or “may.” Farmers’ actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Farmers’ actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in Farmers’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is available on Farmers’ website (www.farmersbankgroup.com) and on the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. Farmers does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that may arise after the date of the forward-looking statements.

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