Morris State Bancshares Announces Quarterly Earnings and Declares Fourth Quarter Dividend

Morris Bank

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DUBLIN, Ga., Oct. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Morris State Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: MBLU) (the “Company”), the parent of Morris Bank, today announced net income of $4.5 million for the quarter ending September 30, 2023, representing a decrease of $315 thousand, or 6.55%, compared to net income of $4.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. The Company also announced diluted earnings per share of $2.12 for quarter, representing a 0.15% decrease from diluted earnings per share of $2.27 for the prior quarter. Net earnings for the third quarter were driven by the bank’s lower provisioning for income taxes due to the accretion of deferred tax assets (DTA’s) related to a prior merger and the accelerated use of solar tax credits associated with solar projects coming online as supply chain issues improved through the year. 

“In the third quarter, we generated net interest income of $12.9 million, just below the second quarter level of $13.2 million,” said Spence Mullis, Chairman and CEO.  “As projected, our margin compressed slightly in the third quarter, but we had solid loan growth of $25.4 million, or 10.0% annualized. This loan growth bolstered our net interest income as it remained in line of that of the second quarter. Our non-interest expense increased slightly during the quarter due to increased salaries and employee costs as well as expenses associated with selling and financing of a large, long-held piece of other real estate (ORE). The said ORE will remain on the bank’s balance sheet in the near term as the purchaser is in the process of improving the property with their funds which will eventually allow us to carry the asset as a loan versus ORE.”

The Company’s total shareholders’ equity increased 2.05% to $173.3 million as of September 30, 2023, as compared to $170.0 million as of June 30, 2023. Tangible book value per share increased to $76.61 as of September 30, 2023, a 2.24% increase from $74.93 per share on June 30, 2023. On October 18, 2023, the board of directors approved its fourth quarter dividend of $0.44 per share payable on or about December 15th to all shareholders of record as of November 15th.

Deposits grew slightly by $2.3 million during the quarter.  The Company’s funding mix continues to shift towards certificates of deposit (CDs) as interest rates have continued to rise. CDs as a percentage of total deposits has increased and represented approximately 9% of total deposits at the end of the third quarter. In the current interest-rate environment, management anticipates CD levels will continue to rise and represent a higher percentage of the overall funding mix on a go-forward basis. From a historical perspective, ten years ago, CD funding represented 38% of our overall deposit mix at the quarter ending September 30, 2013. Management remains focused on managing overall deposit costs as tightly as possible and booking or renewing new loans at higher rates to minimize margin compression. Due to economic growth in the bank’s various markets related to many new manufacturing projects, solid loan growth opportunity is expected to continue.