Gouverneur Bancorp Announces 2015 Fiscal Year Second Quarter and Six Months Results

GOUVERNEUR, N.Y., April 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. (OTC Pink: GOVB) (the "Company") and its subsidiary, Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association (the "Bank"), which operate on a fiscal year ending on September 30, today announced results for the second quarter and six month period ended March 31, 2015.

For the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company reported net income of $324,000, or $0.15 per diluted share, representing a decrease of $66,000, or 16.9% less than last year's net income of $390,000, or $0.18 per diluted share. The annualized returns on average assets and average equity for the three months ended March 31, 2015 were 0.94% and 4.65%, respectively, compared to 1.10% and 6.03%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2014.   

For the six months ended March 31, 2015, the Company reported net income of $734,000, or $0.33 per diluted share, representing a decrease of $72,000, or 8.9% from last year's net income of $806,000, or $0.36 per diluted share.   The annualized returns on average assets and average equity for the six months ended March 31, 2015 were 1.04% and 5.25%, respectively, compared to 1.13% and 6.21%, respectively, during the six months ended March 31, 2014.

Since September 30, 2014, total assets decreased $3.3 million, or 2.3%, from $145.2 million to $141.9 million at March 31, 2015. Net loans decreased $2.7 million, to $108.6 million over the same period.

Deposits decreased $0.7 million, or 0.77%, from $85.1 million at September 30, 2014 to $84.4 million at March 31, 2015.  Advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York decreased $3.5 million, or 13.0%, from $27.3 million at September 30, 2014 to $23.8 million at March 31, 2015.

Shareholders' equity was $28.3 million at March 31, 2015 and $27.6 million at September 30, 2014.  The book value of Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. was $12.71 per common share based on 2,223,931 shares outstanding at March 31, 2015.  On March 31, 2015, the Company paid a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.17 per share to public shareholders of record on March 13, 2015. Cambray Mutual Holding Company, the Company's parent mutual holding company and majority shareholder, waived its right to receive that dividend.

For the six months ended March 31, 2015, after a $50,000 provision for loan losses, net income decreased by $72,000; interest income decreased $127,000 and interest expense increased $62,000 from the same period last year. Interest rate spread, while compressing due to the continued record low level of interest costs, remains strong for the period at 4.23%.

Commenting on the period's results, Mr. Charles C. Van Vleet, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Results for the three months ending March 31, 2015 show that interest expense declined $28,000 from the same period in 2014, while interest income declined $103,000 during that time. It is believed that the rates will remain low at least through the end of the next quarter and is expected to further compress the Bank's net interest margin."

The Company, which is headquartered in Gouverneur, New York, is the holding company for Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association.  Founded in 1892, the Bank is a New York State chartered savings and loan association offering a variety of banking products and services to individuals and businesses in its primary market area in southern St. Lawrence and northern Lewis and Jefferson Counties in New York State.

Statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the beliefs of management as well as assumptions made using information currently available to management. Since these statements reflect the views of management concerning future events, these statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These risks and uncertainties include among others, the impact of changes in market interest rates and general economic conditions, changes in government regulations, changes in accounting principles and the quality or composition of the loan and investment portfolios. Therefore, actual future results may differ significantly from results discussed in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, factors discussed in the documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

SOURCE Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc.