Elmer Bancorp, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and 2024 Annual Financial Results

ELMER BANCORP, INC. (“Elmer Bancorp” or the “Company”) (OTC Pink: ELMA), the parent company of The First National Bank of Elmer (the “Bank”), announces its operating results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2024.

For the three months ended December 31, 2024, Elmer Bancorp reported net income of $715,000, or $0.63 per common share compared to $638,000, or $0.56 per common share for the quarter ended December 31, 2023. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, net income totaled $2.851 million, or $2.50 per common share compared to $3.181 million, or $2.77 per common share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023.

Net interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2024 totaled $3.699 million, a decrease of $77,000 from the three months ended December 31, 2023 total of $3.776 million. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, net interest income totaled $14.585 million, a decrease of $411,000 from the twelve months ended December 31, 2023 total of $14.996 million. This decrease in net interest income for the three and twelve month periods results from higher interest income on loans resulting from core loan growth year-over-year partially offset by lower interest income on our overnight investments and higher interest paid on deposits. The loan loss provision was increased by $20,000 for the three months and reduced by $47,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024 compared to a reduction of $8,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2023 and an increase of $5,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2023. The variances in the loan loss provision are the result of the loan loss calculation under the Current Expected Credit Loss (“CECL”) model which was implemented in 2023. The allowance for loan losses was 1.28% of total core loans at December 31, 2024 compared to 1.41% of total core loans at December 31, 2023.

Non-interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2024 was $24,000 higher than the same three-month period a year ago and $67,000 higher than the twelve-month period last year. Increases in the cash surrender value of Bank Owned Life Insurance (“BOLI”), increases in Visa credit card commissions and increases in service fee income accounted for the increase in the three and twelve-month period.

Non-interest expenses for the three months ended December 31,2024 were $156,000 lower than the same three-month period a year ago and $312,000 higher than the twelve-month period last year. For the three-month period, the decrease was the result of no write-down on assets (as previously reported, in December 2023, a parcel of bank-owned, undeveloped land was written down to its appraised value) and lower professional fees partially offset by increases in employment costs, data processing costs, and occupancy and equipment expenses. For the twelve-month period, the increase was the result of higher employment costs, data processing costs and other operating costs partially offset by no write-down on assets and lower professional fees.

Elmer Bancorp’s total assets at December 31, 2024 totaled $380.7 million, an increase of $16.1 million from the December 31, 2023 level of $364.6 million. Excluding $14.4 million in overnight funds from a large temporary deposit in December 2023, total core assets increased $30.5 million. Total loans were $314.4 million at December 31, 2024, an increase of $24.7 million from the December 31, 2023 total of $289.7 million. The increase in loans was partially offset by a decrease in overnight investments of $9.1 million.

Deposits totaled $343.5 million at December 31, 2024, an increase of $13.4 million from the December 31, 2023 level of $330.1 million. Excluding the December 31, 2023 large temporary deposit of $14.4 million, total core deposits increased $27.8 million. The positive variance from December 31, 2023 resulted from increases in certificates of deposit ($28.2 million) and money market accounts ($8.9 million) partially offset by decreases in interest-bearing checking accounts ($15.1 million), savings deposits ($5.4 million), demand deposits ($3.9 million) and IRA accounts ($893,000). This increase in deposits is the result of a money market and CD promotion to obtain new deposits. The Bank will continue to evaluate the current deposit environment and adjust, as appropriate, to maintain its strong deposit base. Stockholders’ equity totaled $35.4 million at December 31, 2024 compared to $32.7 million at December 31, 2023, an increase of $2.7 million. Elmer Bancorp’s book value per common share at December 31, 2024 was $30.91 per share compared to $28.62 per share at December 31, 2023. The Company and the Bank met all regulatory capital requirements at December 31, 2024.

Brian W. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are very pleased to announce that our 2024 net income of $2.851 million was the second-best year of earnings in the history of the bank. We ended the year with $314.4 million in loans, an increase of $24.7 million year-over-year, the highest total in bank history. To fund our loan demand, we ran a very successful money market and CD promotion in March which increased our deposits in excess of $20.0 million. Our continued growth in the local southern New Jersey market has allowed the bank to open a new loan processing office (LPO) in Burlington County. This office will facilitate our efforts to remain focused on our core target markets and expand into the contiguous counties that we currently serve. I remain very proud of the bank’s ability to adapt to an ever-evolving economic environment and to our dedicated employees. As a community centric institution, our goal is to continue to supply our clients with unparalleled service through a strong commitment to our local communities. I want to thank our Board of Directors and our loyal clients for their continued faith in our institution.”

Chairman, P. Scott Boyer, stated, “This past year proved to be yet another great year for the Bank. I appreciate all the hard work and dedication that our employees have shown and thank them for making this year such a success.”

The First National Bank of Elmer, a nationally chartered bank headquartered in Elmer, New Jersey, has a long history of serving the community since its beginnings in 1903. We are a community bank focused on providing deposit and loan products to retail customers and to small and mid-sized businesses from our six full-service branch offices located in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties, New Jersey, including our main office located at 10 South Main Street in Elmer, New Jersey. Deposits at The First National Bank of Elmer are insured up to the legally maximum amount by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

For more information about Elmer Bank and its products and services, please visit our website at www.ElmerBank.com or call toll free 1-877-358-8141.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and other statements made from time to time by the Company’s management contain express and implied statements relating to our future financial condition, results of operations, credit quality, corporate objectives, and other financial and business matters, which are considered forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are necessarily speculative and speak only as of the date made, and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, all of which may change over time. Actual results could differ materially from those expected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from such forward-looking statements include economic conditions affecting the financial industry: changes in interest rates and shape of the yield curve, credit risk associated with our lending activities, risks relating to our market area, significant real estate collateral and the real estate market, operating, legal and regulatory risk, fiscal and monetary policy, economic, political and competitive forces affecting our business, our ability to identify and address cyber-security risks, and management’s analysis of these risks and factors being incorrect, and/or the strategies developed to address them being unsuccessful. Any statements made that are not historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to make any public announcement when we consider forward-looking statements to no longer be accurate, whether as a result of new information of future events, except as may be required by applicable law or regulation.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250130717967/en/