Standard Financial Corp. Announces Quarterly Dividend Payment And Second Quarter Earnings

MONROEVILLE, Pa., April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard Financial Corp. (the "Company") -  (OTCQB: STND), the holding company for Standard Bank PaSB, today announced earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 of $707,000 or $0.27 per share compared to $721,000 or $0.24 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.  The Company's annualized return on average assets and average equity were 0.65% and 3.89%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to 0.66% and 3.65%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 31, 2013.

For the six months ended March 31, 2014, net income was $1.5 million or $0.55 per share compared to $1.5 million or $0.48 per share for the six months ended March 31, 2013.  The Company's annualized return on average assets and average equity were 0.68% and 4.02%, respectively, for the six months ended March 31, 2014 compared to 0.68% and 3.71%, respectively, for the six months ended March 31, 2013.

The Company's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.045 per share of the Company's common stock.  The dividend will be payable to stockholders of record as of May 8, 2014 and will be paid on May 22, 2014.   

Timothy K. Zimmerman, President & CEO, stated, "The quarterly results demonstrate the challenges presented by the continuation of historically low interest rates.  We are pleased that we were able to maintain our earnings trend and continue to see improving loan quality.  Our primary focus continues to be on loan production and expense control." 

Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 decreased $14,000 or 1.9% compared to the same quarter in the prior year.  Primary changes included lower net interest income of $149,000 or 4.9%, partially offset by a decrease of $150,000 in the provision for loan losses compared to the same quarter in the prior year.

Net income for the six months ended March 31, 2014 remained unchanged compared to the same six months in the prior year.  A decline in net interest income of $263,000 or 4.3%, an increase in non-interest expense of $63,000 or 1.2% and a decrease in non-interest income of $21,000 or 1.5% was offset by a decrease of $375,000 in the provision for loan losses for the six months ended March 31, 2014 compared to March 31, 2013.

Net interest income declined from $3.0 million and $6.1 million for the three and six months ended March 31, 2013 to $2.9 million and $5.8 million for the three and six months ended March 31, 2014.  The decrease in net interest income resulted primarily from a lower average yield on interest-earning assets partially offset by a lower average cost of funds.

No provisions for loan losses were recorded for the current three and six month periods compared to $150,000 for the quarter and $375,000 for the six months ended March 31, 2013.  Non-performing loans at March 31, 2014 were $1.5 million or 0.52% of total loans compared to $2.0 million or 0.68% of total loans at September 30, 2013 and $2.7 million or 0.96% of total loans at March 31, 2013.  The allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans was 272.0% at March 31, 2014 compared to 192.7% at September 30, 2013.

Noninterest income totaled $664,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to $694,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 and $1.4 million for the six months ended March 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.  The decrease in noninterest income was due mainly to lower service fee income and lower net gains on loan sales partially offset by higher annuity and mutual fund fees and other income.

Noninterest expenses totaled $2.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 compared to $2.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 and $5.2 million for the six months ended March 31, 2014 compared to $5.1 million for the six months ended March 31, 2013.  The decrease in noninterest expenses for the quarter was due mainly to lower costs relating to real estate owned properties and lower public company expenses, partially offset by increased premises costs due to the unusually harsh winter.  The increase in non-interest expenses for the six month period was due mainly to increased premises costs and higher compensation and medical insurance expense, partially offset by lower costs relating to real estate owned properties, lower public company expenses and lower federal deposit insurance expense. 

Standard Financial Corp., with total assets of $434.9 million at March 31, 2014, 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. 

SOURCE Standard Financial Corp.