Business
First Farmers and Merchants Corporation Reports 2023 Results
First Farmers and Merchants Corporation Reports 2023 Results.
About this update from First Farmers & Merchants Corp.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nFirst Farmers and Merchants Corporation (OTC Pink: FFMH), the holding company for First Farmers and Merchants Bank, today announced unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2023.\n\n\n“First Farmers reported record loans in 2023 with total loans surpassing $1 billion,” stated Brian K. Williams, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First Farmers. “We also reported strong growth in book value per share and recorded the third-best year of earnings in our history, despite the soft economy and challenging banking environment. We believe First Farmers is positioned well to deliver continued growth in loans and earnings in 2024.”\n\n\nKey highlights of First Farmers’ results for 2023 include:\n\n\n\nNet income was $16.0 million in 2023, down 11.0% compared with $18.1 million for 2022;\n\n\n\nNet income per share declined 9.4% to $3.80 for 2023 compared with $4.19 in 2022;\n\n\n\nAdjusted net income, which excludes special items, declined 10.4% to $16.2 million, or $3.84 per common share in 2023, compared with $18.1 million, or $4.21 per common share, in 2022. (see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section);\n\n\n\nTotal interest income increased 18.6% to $60.8 million in 2023 from $51.2 million in 2022;\n\n\n\nLoans grew 5.5% to a record $1.019 billion from 2022;\n\n\n\nTotal interest expense increased 406.2% to $16.4 million from $3.2 million in 2022;\n\n\n\nTotal non-interest expense fell 3.9% to $38.6 million from $40.2 million in 2022;\n\n\n\nBook value per share increased 31.7% to $29.74 from $22.59 for the fourth quarter of 2023; and\n\n\n\nTotal stock repurchased increased to 101,186 shares, up 141.0%, from 2022.\n\n\n\n“We are pleased with our results in 2023 even though the challenges of rapidly rising interest rates and uncertainty arising from two of the largest bank failures in U.S. history during the early part of the year created disruption in our industry,” continued Williams. “The rapid rise in interest rates and increased competition for deposits resulted in lower net interest margins with our total interest expense jumping over 400% compared with the prior year. Despite the adverse banking environment, we maintained our focus on managing First Farmers for the long-term and significantly increased the number of shares rep...