First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. Announces Year End And Fourth Quarter 2017 Earnings

WHEELING, W.Va., March 27, 2018 /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 $15,789 or $0.01 per share for the year ended December 31, 2017 as compared to $1,610,471 or $.94 per share for the year ended December 31, 2016.  The decrease in net income during 2017 over 2016 of $1,594,682 or 99.0% was primarily the result of the decreases in noninterest income combined with the increases in the provision for loan loss and noninterest expense, offset in part by the increase in net interest income and decrease in income tax expense.  Net interest income increased $872,047 or 10.9% in 2017 as compared to 2016 primarily due to the increases in the interest earned on investment securities, loans and other interest and dividend income combined with the decrease in the interest expense paid on interest bearing liabilities.  Income tax expense increased $35,585 in 2017 as compared to the prior year.  The Company recorded a provision for loan losses in 2017 in the amount of $1,075,000 while no provision was recorded in 2016.  Noninterest expenses increased $254,138 or 3.1% in 2017 over 2016 primarily due to increases in other operating expenses and salary and employee benefit costs, offset in part by the increase in and occupancy expenses.  Noninterest income decreased $1,172,934 or 54.5% primarily due to decreases in the net gains on sales of investment securities, other operating income and service charges and fees earned on deposit accounts.  The return on average assets was 0.00% and 0.47% as of December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.  The return on average equity was 0.05% and 4.58% at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively.  The Board of Directors declared and paid cash dividends of $0.80 per share during each of the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016. 

Total assets for the year ended December 31, 2017 were $334,466,830, a decrease of .2% as compared to the prior year. Investment securities amounted to $198,408,028 at December 31, 2017 increasing approximately $1.2 million or .6% in 2017 as compared to 2016. Total loans increased approximately $3.9 million or 4.0% from $97,091,811 at December 31, 2016 to $100,983,568 at December 31, 2017. Total deposits increased approximately $5.2 million to $280,916,339 at December 31, 2017 as compared to $275,705,883 at December 31, 2016, an increase of 1.9%. Stockholders' equity decreased 2.8% in 2017 due to a decrease of 3.0% from current year earnings after quarterly dividends, offset in part by an increase of .2% in accumulated other comprehensive income attributable to the effect of the change in the net unrealized gain position on available for sale investment securities.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, there was a net loss of $385,145 as compared to net income of $150,268 for the same period in 2016.  The decrease in net income for the three months ended December 31, 2017 as compared to the same period of the prior year of $535,413 was primarily the result of the increases in income tax expense and noninterest expense as well as a slight decrease in noninterest income, offset in part by the increase in net interest income.  Income tax expense increased $424,698 for the fourth quarter of 2017 primarily due to the remeasurement of certain deferred tax assets and liabilities as a result of the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  Noninterest expenses increased $271,055 or 12.9% during the fourth quarter of 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016 as a result of increases in other operating expenses.  Noninterest income decreased $9,623 or 3.9% primarily due to decreases in other operating income and service charges and fees earned on deposit accounts.  Net interest income increased $169,963 or 8.4%, primarily due to the increase in the interest and fees earned on investment securities and loans combined with the decrease in the interest expense paid on interest bearing liabilities. 

SOURCE First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc.