Juniata Valley Financial Corp. Announces Quarter and Year End December 31, 2023 Results

Juniata Valley Financial Corp.
Juniata Valley Financial Corp.

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Mifflintown, Jan. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mifflintown, PA, January 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Juniata Valley Financial Corp. (OTCQX:JUVF) (“Juniata”) announced net income for the three months ended December 31, 2023 of $1.7 million compared to net income of $2.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022. Earnings per share, basic and diluted, was $0.33 for the three months ended December 31, 2023, compared to $0.42 for the three months ended December 31, 2022. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2023 was $6.6 million compared to net income of $8.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $1.32 and $1.31, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $1.66 for the corresponding 2022 period.

President’s Message

President and Chief Executive Officer, Marcie A. Barber stated, “The fourth quarter was challenging as funding costs continued to increase despite the Federal Reserve Bank holding rates steady, resulting in additional net interest margin compression. To help offset this trend, we have been aggressively targeting loan and deposit relationships beyond our branch footprint, as well as implementing strategies to increase non-interest income. We are optimistic heading into 2024 that we can continue building on the solid loan growth of the past two years while maintaining our excellent credit quality and completing the conversion to our new core operating system, which will allow us to take advantage of new technologies and improve efficiencies.”      

Financial Results Year-to-Date

Return on average assets for the year ended December 31, 2023, was 0.79%, a decrease of 22.5% compared to the return on average assets of 1.02% for the year ended December 31, 2022. Return on average equity for the year ended December 31, 2023 was 17.59%, an increase of 6.0% compared to the return on average equity of 16.59% for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Net interest income was $22.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to $24.1 million for 2022. Average interest earning assets increased $50.8 million, or 6.5%, to $838.2 million, for the year ended December 31, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022, due primarily to an increase of $60.3 million, or 13.6%, in average loans. The increase in average loans was partially offset by a decline of $9.2 million, or 2.7%, in average investment securities as the amortization on the mortgage-backed securities portfolio was used to fund loan growth rather than being reinvested into the securities portfolio. Average interest bearing liabilities increased by $31.6 million, or 5.6%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the comparable 2022 period, due primarily to growth in average short-term borrowings and time deposits, which were also used to fund loan growth. The yields on average loans and investment securities increased by 52 basis points and 8 basis points, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, while the costs of average time deposits and short-term borrowings and other interest bearing liabilities over the same period increased by 185 basis points and 169 basis points, respectively, these changes were driven by the increase in market interest rates as both the prime rate and federal funds target range increased by 100 basis points between periods as well as competitive pricing pressure. The yield on earning assets increased 46 basis points, to 3.96%, for the year ended December 31, 2023 compared to the year ended December 31, 2022, while the cost to fund interest earning assets with interest bearing liabilities increased 115 basis points, to 1.75%. The net interest margin, on a fully tax equivalent basis, decreased from 3.10% for the year ended December 31, 2022, to 2.74% for the year ended December 31, 2023.