White River Bancshares’ fourth quarter net income up over 130%

by Jeff Della Rosa ([email protected]) 107 views 

Fayetteville-based White River Bancshares Co., the holding company for Signature Bank of Arkansas, posted triple-digits earnings increases in the fourth-quarter and for 2024, the second-best year of earnings for the company.

On Wednesday (Jan. 22), White River Bancshares reported net income rose by 132.97% to $1.83 million or 75 cents per share, in the fourth quarter from $788,000, or 40 cents per share, in the same period in 2023.

For 2024, net income rose by 172.41% to $6.93 million, $3.03 per share, from $2.55 million, or $1.28 per share, in 2023.

“We had a great year in 2024, driven by the hard work of our team and the trust our customers place in us,” said Chairman and CEO Gary Head. “Growth in our loan portfolio and a high interest rate environment played a big role, significantly contributing to increased net interest income and profitability relative to the prior year. Fourth quarter results were especially solid, with net income more than doubling compared to the same quarter last year. These strong results were achieved through robust revenue generation, net interest margin expansion, and the $12.46 million private placement of common shares completed earlier in the year. This additional capital has allowed us to fund new loan growth and support our strategic plans.”

Chief Strategy Officer Scott Sandlin said deposit growth has helped boost the bank’s new loan growth.

“Total deposits increased 5.5% during the quarter and 14.0% year-over-year. While the deposit mix has changed over the past year as customers pursued higher yielding accounts, we anticipate the mix will start to stabilize with the recent interest rate reductions. At year end, demand and non-interest bearing accounts represented 19.7% of total deposits, and savings and interest-bearing transaction accounts represented 39.3% of total deposits. We see additional opportunities for growing deposits in 2025 as we continue to attract new customers to the bank,” Sandlin said.

Following are some of the highlights in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2023.
• Net interest income rose 28.4% to $10 million from $7.8 million.
• Net interest margin rose 0.39 percentage points to 3.35% from 2.96%.
• Net loans rose 13% to $1.06 billion from $941.2 million.
• Total deposits rose 14% to $1.09 billion from $959.2 million.
• Total assets increased 13.8% to $1.29 billion from $1.13 billion.

A recent company development includes the November promotion of James Baird to chief financial officer. Baird joined the company in 2021 as senior vice president and controller. Other 2024 developments include the relocation of the Jonesboro location to downtown, and the company’s second Banco Sí location opened in downtown Springdale.

The bank has locations in Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, Rogers, Brinkley, Harrison and Jonesboro.

Shares of White River Bancshares (OTCQX: WRIV) were trading Wednesday morning at $34.15, up 21 cents or 0.62%. In the past 52 weeks, the stock has ranged between $26.50 and $62.66.