JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind., April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Savings Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSFG – news) (the “Company”), the holding company for First Savings Bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income of $4.9 million, or $0.72 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 compared to net income of $3.7 million, or $0.54 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. Excluding nonrecurring items, the Company reported net income of $3.6 million (non-GAAP measure)(1) and net income per diluted share of $0.52 (non-GAAP measure)(1) for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The core banking segment reported net income of $4.5 million, or $0.66 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. Excluding nonrecurring items, the core banking segment reported net income of $3.6 million, or $0.53 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 (non-GAAP measure)(1).
Commenting on the Company’s performance, Larry W. Myers, President and CEO, stated, “We continue to focus on reducing balance sheet and operating inefficiencies; strong asset quality; selective high-quality lending; deposit growth; and improvement of liquidity, capital and interest rate sensitivity positions. We’ve been successful in executing these strategies and we continue to move on the right trajectory, which we believe will deliver increasing financial results and shareholder value.”
(1) Non-GAAP net income and net income per diluted share exclude certain nonrecurring items. A reconciliation to GAAP and discussion of the use of non-GAAP measures is included in the table at the end of this release.
Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 and 2023
Net interest income decreased $574,000, or 3.9%, to $14.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period 2023. The decrease in net interest income was due to a $5.8 million increase in interest expense, partially offset by a $5.2 million increase in interest income. Interest income increased due to an increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets of $199.9 million, from $2.02 billion for 2023 to $2.22 billion for 2024, and an increase in the weighted-average tax-equivalent yield, from 5.01% for 2023 to 5.48% for 2024. The increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets was due primarily to a $293.5 million increase in the average balance of loans, partially offset by a decrease in the average balance of investment securities of $92.2 million. Interest expense increased due to an increase in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities of $254.8 million, from $1.68 billion for 2023 to $1.93 billion for 2024, and an increase in the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities, from 2.36% for 2023 to 3.25% for 2024. The increase in the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities for 2024 was due primarily to higher rates for borrowings and brokered deposits as a result of increased market interest rates due to competition and higher U.S. Treasury rates, and migration of deposits from lower-yielding transaction and savings accounts to higher-yielding money market accounts and certificates of deposits.
The Company recognized a provision for credit losses for loans of $454,000 and a provision for credit losses for securities of $23,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to a provision for loan losses of $372,000 for the same period in 2023. The Company recognized net charge-offs of $110,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2024, of which $42,000 was related to unguaranteed portions of SBA loans, compared to net recoveries of $6,000 in 2023.
Noninterest income decreased $3.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease was due primarily to a $4.1 million decrease in mortgage banking income due to the cessation of national mortgage banking operations in the quarter ended December 31, 2023.
Noninterest expense decreased $6.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024 as compared to the same period in 2023. The decrease was due primarily to decreases in compensation and benefits expense of $2.8 million and other operating expense of $2.4 million. The decrease in compensation and benefits expense was due primarily to a reduction in staffing related to the cessation of national mortgage banking operations in the quarter ended December 31, 2023. The decrease in other operating expense was due primarily to a decrease in loss contingency for SBA-guaranteed loans of $656,000 in 2024 compared to an increase of $490,000 in 2023, and an adjustment to the valuation allowance related to sale of residential mortgage servicing rights of $247,000 in 2024 with no…
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