Standard Financial Corp. Announces An Increased Quarterly Dividend Payment And First Quarter Earnings

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Jan 28, 2016, 04:10 ET

MONROEVILLE, Pa., Jan. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard Financial Corp. (the "Company") - (OTCQX: STND), the holding company for Standard Bank PaSB, today announced earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 of $866,000 or $0.34 per share compared to $895,000 or $0.35 per share for the quarter ended December 31, 2014. The Company's annualized return on average assets and average equity were 0.74% and 4.63%, respectively, for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared to 0.80% and 4.85%, respectively, for the quarter ended December 31, 2014.

The Company's board of directors increased the quarterly cash dividend to $0.11 per share of the Company's common stock, which is 29.4% increase from the previous quarter cash dividend. The dividend will be payable to stockholders of record as of February 4, 2016 and will be paid on February 18, 2016.

Timothy K. Zimmerman, President & CEO, stated, "We are very pleased to provide an increase in the cash dividend on our stock. Strong loan growth and good asset quality continued this quarter. Earnings were marginally lower than last year primarily due to pressure on the net interest margin and slightly lower non-interest income. Year to year loan growth was $31.2 million or 9.6% which resulted from increased emphasis on commercial real estate and mortgage loan production."

Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 decreased $29,000 or 3.2% compared to the same quarter in the prior year. Primary changes included lower noninterest income of $60,000 or 8.4% and higher income tax expense of $39,000 or 11.7% partially offset by higher net interest income of $39,000 or 1.2% and lower noninterest expenses of $31,000 or 1.2% compared to the same quarter in the prior year.

Net interest income increased to $3.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2015 from $3.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2014 due to a higher average balance of loans slightly offset by a decrease in the yield on assets and a higher average balance of FHLB advances.

No provisions for loan losses were recorded for the three months ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014. Non-performing loans at December 31, 2015 were $1.3 million or 0.36% of total loans compared to $1.1 million or 0.34% of total loans at December 31, 2014. The allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans was 299.4% at December 31, 2015 compared to 340.2% at December 31, 2014.

Noninterest income totaled $652,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 compared to $712,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2014. The decrease for the quarter was due primarily to lower service charge income, annuity and mutual fund fees and gains on loans and securities during the current quarter.

Noninterest expenses totaled $2.6 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2015 reflecting a decrease of $31,000 from the quarter ended December 31, 2014. The decrease was due mainly to lower charitable contribution expense due to a special contribution in 2014 and lower core deposit intangible expense due to complete write off of the intangible during the current quarter.

Standard Financial Corp., with total assets of $467.7 million at December 31, 2015, is the parent company of Standard Bank, a Pennsylvania chartered savings bank which operates nine offices serving individuals and small to mid-sized businesses in Allegheny, Westmoreland and Bedford Counties, in Pennsylvania and Allegany County in Maryland. Standard Bank is a member of the FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender.

This news release may contain a number of forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.

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Standard Financial Corp.
Financial Highlights
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)

OPERATIONS DATA:	Three Months Ended December 31,
	2015	2014
Interest and Dividend Income	$ 4,007	$ 3,927
Interest Expense	832	791
Net Interest Income	3,175	3,136
Provision for Loan Losses	-	-
Net Interest Income after Provision for Loan Losses	3,175	3,136
Noninterest Income	652	712
Noninterest Expenses	2,589	2,620
Income before Income Tax Expense	1,238	1,228
Income Tax Expense	372	333
Net Income	$ 866	$ 895

Earnings Per Share - Basic	$ 0.34	$ 0.35
Earnings Per Share - Diluted	$ 0.33	$ 0.34
Annualized Return on Average Assets	0.74%	0.80%
Average Assets	$ 465,160	$ 448,869
Annualized Return on Average Equity	4.63%	4.85%
Average Equity	$ 74,857	$ 73,678
Net Interest Spread	2.84%	2.91%
Net Interest Margin	2.93%	3.01%

FINANCIAL CONDITION DATA:	December 31,	September 30,
	2015	2015
Total Assets	$ 467,717	$ 468,557
Cash and Cash Equivalents	10,559	15,048
Investment Securities	68,944	71,817
Loans Receivable, Net	353,823	347,614
Deposits	326,522	331,279
Borrowed Funds	63,490	57,811
Total Stockholders' Equity	75,076	74,277

Book Value Per Share	$ 27.32	$ 27.03
Tangible Book Value Per Share	$ 24.13	$ 23.83

Allowance for Loan Losses	$ 3,811	$ 3,879
Non-Performing Loans	$ 1,273	$ 1,287
Allowance for Loan Losses to Total Loans	1.07%	1.10%
Allowance for Loan Losses to Non-Performing Loans	299.4%	301.4%
Non-Performing Assets to Total Assets	0.34%	0.35%
Non-Performing Loans to Total Loans	0.36%	0.37%