Meridian Corporation Reports 4Q 2021 Net Income of $7.7 Million, or $1.24 Per Diluted Share, Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.20 Per Share and a Special Dividend of $1.00 Per Share

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[{"type":"text","content":"MALVERN, Pa., Jan. 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meridian Corporation (Nasdaq: MRBK) today reported: 2021 2021 2021 2021 2020(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)4th QTR 3rd QTR 2nd QTR 1st QTR 4th QTRIncome: Net income$7,719 $9,438 $8,258 $10,170 $8,997Diluted earnings per common share$1.24 $1.52 $1.33 $1.65 $1.48Pre-tax, pre-provision income (1)$9,671 $12,898 $10,898 $13,905 $13,040Pre-tax, pre-provision income - Bank (1)$6,829 $8,896 $7,811 $7,891 $6,294(1) See Non-GAAP reconciliation in the Appendix Christopher J. Annas, Chairman and CEO commented “Meridian’s fourth quarter revenue of $35.3 million generated earnings of $7.7 million, or $1.24 per diluted share. Year-to-date earnings equaled $35.6 million compared to $26.4 million in 2020, a 35% increase. Loan and lease growth year-over-year equaled 19.5% (excluding PPP loans and mortgage loans held for sale) with strong contributions across all lending groups. The investment in new commercial lenders during 2020-21 supported this growth, almost entirely in our core Philadelphia metro lending area. We were able to replace most of the PPP payoffs with new core commercial growth, resulting in better margins and more opportunities for referral business. Our annualized net interest margin was 3.77%, and we’re fairly well positioned for a move up in rates. Non-interest bearing deposits grew from 16.4% to 19.0% of total deposits year-over-year, with a greater portion of this growth coming from our treasury management and business development teams.” “Our mortgage group had a record year, despite a lack of homes for sale in our region and some late-year upward rate movement. We are focusing more on digital delivery with an application website/call center combination, which will let us compete in a broader area without infrastructure costs. This model will also help us better manage the seasonality and cyclicality.” Mr. Annas added, “Our goal is to grow deeper in the core region of metro Philadelphia with our branch-lite model. As the pandemic wanes and face-to-face comes back, our investments in new growth should continue to pay off.” Income Statement Highlights Fourth quarter 2021 compared with third quarter 2021: Net income was $7.7 million, a decrease of $1.7 million, or 18.2%, led by a lower level of non-interest income from our mortgage segment.The return on average equi...

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