First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. Announces Year End and Fourth Quarter 2015 Earnings

WHEELING, W.Va., Feb. 8, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQX: FWVB) President and Chief Executive Officer, William G. Petroplus, today announced year end earnings along with fourth quarter earnings for the Wheeling, West Virginia, based holding company.  First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of Progressive Bank, N.A., Wheeling, West Virginia.

The Company reported net income of $2,391,738 or $1.39 per share for the year ended December 31, 2015 as compared to $1,903,905 or $1.11 per share for the year ended December 31, 2014.  The increase in net income during 2015 over 2014 of $487,833 or 25.6% was primarily the result of the increase in net interest income and noninterest income, offset in part by increases in income tax expense, noninterest expenses, and the provision for loan losses.  Net interest income increased $855,115 or 10.5% in 2015 as compared to 2014 primarily due to the increase in the interest earned on loans combined with the decrease in the interest expense paid on interest bearing liabilities, offset in part by the decrease in the interest earned on investment securities.  Noninterest income increased $236,536 or 12.6% primarily due to the increase in the net gains on sales of investment securities and no other-than-temporary losses on investments being recorded in 2015, offset in part by the decreases in service charges and fees earned on deposit accounts and other operating income.  Income tax expense increased $318,765 in 2015 as compared to the prior year as a result of the increase in taxable income and decrease in tax-exempt income.  Noninterest expenses increased $255,053 or 3.2% in 2015 over 2014 primarily due to the increase in salary and employee benefit costs and the small increase in occupancy expenses, offset slightly by the decrease in other operating expenses.  The Company recorded a provision for loan losses in 2015 in the amount of $30,000 while no provision was recorded in 2014.  The return on average assets was .71% and .57% as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.  The return on average equity was 6.92% and 5.64% at December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.  The Board of Directors declared and paid cash dividends of $.80 per share during each of the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. 

Total assets for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $345,393,608, an increase of 3.9% as compared to the prior year. Investment securities amounted to $203,579,219 at December 31, 2015 increasing approximately $6.5 million or 3.3% in 2015 as compared to 2014. Total loans increased $881,640 or .9% from $99,216,428 at December 31, 2014 to $100,098,068 at December 31, 2015. Total deposits grew approximately $10.1 million to $282,286,912 at December 31, 2015 as compared to $272,142,620 at December 31, 2014, an increase of 3.7%. Stockholders' equity increased 1.4% in 2015 due to an increase of 2.9% from current year earnings after quarterly dividends, offset in part by a decrease of 1.5% in accumulated other comprehensive income attributable to the effect of the change in the net unrealized gains on available for sale investment securities.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2015 was reported at $770,130 or $.45 per share, as compared to $146,135 or $.09 per share reported for the same period a year earlier.  The increase in earnings during the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to 2014 of $623,995 was primarily the result of the increase in net interest income, offset in part by increases in income tax expense and noninterest expenses as well as the decrease in noninterest income.  Net interest income increased primarily due to the increase in the interest earned on loans and investment securities as well as the decline in the interest expense paid on interest bearing liabilities.  Noninterest expense increased $64,397 or 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2015 over 2014, and was primarily the result of the increase in salary and employee benefit costs, offset in part by the decreases in occupancy expenses and other operating expenses.  Noninterest income decreased $49,566 or 16.6% and was primarily attributable to the decrease in other operating income of $33,567 combined with smaller declines in service charges and net gains on sales of investment securities.

FIRST WEST VIRGINIA BANCORP, INC. FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

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