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Investar Holding Corporation Announces 2022 Fourth Quarter Results
BATON ROUGE, LA / ACCESSWIRE / January 25, 2023 / Investar Holding Corporation ("Investar") (NASDAQ:ISTR), the holding company for Investar Bank, National
About this update from Investar Holding Corporation
[{"type":"text","content":"BATON ROUGE, LA / ACCESSWIRE / January 25, 2023 / Investar Holding Corporation (\"Investar\") (NASDAQ:ISTR), the holding company for Investar Bank, National Association (the \"Bank\"), today announced financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. Investar reported net income of $8.9 million, or $0.88 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to net income of $7.3 million, or $0.73 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, and net income of $6.9 million, or $0.67 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2021.On a non-GAAP basis, core earnings per diluted common share for the fourth quarter of 2022 were $0.62 compared to $0.71 for the third quarter of 2022 and $0.56 for the fourth quarter of 2021. Core earnings exclude certain non-operating items including, but not limited to, income from insurance proceeds, loss on sale or disposition of fixed assets, severance, and the Employee Retention Credit (\"ERC\") (refer to the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures tables for a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP metrics).Investar's President and Chief Executive Officer John D'Angelo said:\"This year presented unique challenges due to a rapidly rising interest rate environment and tightening financial conditions. Despite the effects of the macroeconomic environment, we reported record annual net income of $35.7 million. In the fourth quarter, we experienced strong organic loan growth of 5.0%, or 20.0% annualized, and the loan portfolio reached an all-time high of over $2.1 billion. Credit quality metrics improved further as nonperforming loans represented only 0.51% of total loans compared to 0.65% in the third quarter, and we continue to experience minimal loss from charge-offs.Loan yields increased in the fourth quarter as we originated new loans, completed renewals at higher rates, and realized the benefits of the variable rate portion of our loan portfolio. However, our cost of short-term borrowings increased as a result of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, and we repriced deposits with a focus on short-term maturities to take market share in our core markets, which compressed our margin. In anticipation of a continued transitional interest rate environment, we have strategically positioned our balance sheet for long-term value creatio...