Community Heritage Financial, Inc. Reports Earnings for the Second Quarter of 2024

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MIDDLETOWN, Md., July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Community Heritage Financial, Inc. (the "Company" or "CHF") (OTC PK: CMHF), the parent company of Middletown Valley Bank ("MVB" or the "Bank"), reported net income of $1.4 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2024, an increase of $36 thousand, or 2.6%, in comparison to the first quarter of 2024. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2024 totaled $2.8 million, or $0.98 per diluted share, representing an increase of $841 thousand, or 41.9%, compared to net income of $2.0 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

(PRNewsfoto/Community Heritage Financial)
(PRNewsfoto/Community Heritage Financial)

Balance Sheet

Assets totaled $1.09 billion as of June 30, 2024, representing an increase of $102.5 million since December 31, 2023, and an increase of $116.8 million since June 30, 2023. Asset growth included advances drawn in mid-January 2024 under the Bank Term Funding Program ("BTFP") available through the Federal Reserve Bank ("FRB") totaling $50.0 million. The advances then offered and continue to offer the opportunity of a positive arbitrage between the weighted average advance rate of 4.82% and the earnings rate offered by the FRB of 5.40%. The advances mature in mid-January 2025 and can be repaid anytime without penalty. Asset growth was further fueled by growth in deposits of $51.0 million and $76.8 million since December 31, 2023 and June 30, 2023, respectively. Deposit growth since December 31, 2023 included growth in NOW accounts of $58.5 million, $40.7 million of which represented balances sold in December 2023 and reacquired in January 2024, and growth in time deposits of $18.5 million. Noninterest-bearing demand and money market accounts declined by $12.1 million and $11.1 million, respectively. Loans grew to $841.0 million as of June 30, 2024, an increase of $28.1 million, or 6.9% annualized, from December 31, 2023, and $44.1 million, or 5.5%, from June 30, 2023. Growth in non-owner occupied commercial real estate of $23.2 million and in residential real estate, including home equity loans, of $10.1 million, offset by a decline in owner occupied commercial mortgages of $6.1 million accounted for net loan growth year-to-date 2024.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income was $6.1 million in the second quarter 2023, $7.2 million in the first quarter 2024 and $7.5 million in the second quarter 2024. The net interest margin ("NIM") was 2.65%, 2.80% and 2.83% during the second quarter of 2023, the first quarter of 2024 and the second quarter of 2024, respectively. Since the Federal Reserve Bank ("FRB") began increasing short-term rates to combat inflation in March 2022, the Company's NIM has been under pressure as the cost of deposits increased faster than the yield on earning assets. The NIM reached a low point of 2.62% in the third quarter of 2023 and has since stabilized, increasing to 2.83% in the second quarter of 2024. In addition to a stabilizing NIM, an increase in average interest-earning assets contributed to the growth in net interest income. Average interest-earning assets increased from $928.0 million in the second quarter 2023 to $1.04 billion in the first quarter 2024 and $1.07 billion in the second quarter 2024. While growth in average interest-earning assets was funded primarily through an increase in core deposits, the $50.0 million in advances from the FRB noted above also contributed.