ALEXANDRIA, La., Jan. 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red River Bancshares, Inc. (the "Company”) (Nasdaq: RRBI), the holding company for Red River Bank (the "Bank”), announced today its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter of 2024.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $9.3 million, or $1.37 per diluted common share ("EPS”), an increase of $552,000, or 6.3%, compared to $8.8 million, or $1.27 EPS, for the third quarter of 2024, and an increase of $1.0 million, or 12.2%, compared to $8.3 million, or $1.16 EPS, for the fourth quarter of 2023. For the fourth quarter of 2024, the quarterly return on assets was 1.18%, and the quarterly return on equity was 11.46%.
Net income for the year ended December 31, 2024, was $34.2 million, or $4.95 EPS, a decrease of $644,000, or 1.8%, compared to $34.9 million, or $4.86 EPS, for the year ended December 31, 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the return on assets was 1.11%, and the return on equity was 11.02%.
Fourth Quarter 2024 Performance and Operational Highlights
In the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company had an improved net interest margin, which resulted in higher net interest income and earnings, along with slightly higher loans and deposits. A significant stock repurchase transaction was completed, and a stock repurchase program for 2025 was renewed. During the fourth quarter, the target range of the federal funds rate was reduced by 50 basis points ("bps”).
- Net income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $9.3 million compared to $8.8 million for the prior quarter. Net income for the fourth quarter benefited from an improved net interest margin fully tax equivalent ("FTE”) and higher net interest income.
- Net interest income and net interest margin FTE increased for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the prior quarter. Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $23.7 million compared to $22.5 million for the prior quarter. Net interest margin FTE for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 3.09% compared to 2.98% for the prior quarter. These improvements were due to higher loan balances, combined with higher securities yields and lower deposit rates.
- As of December 31, 2024, assets were $3.15 billion, which was $47.8 million, or 1.5%, higher than September 30, 2024. The increase was mainly due to a $58.0 million increase in deposits.
- Deposits totaled $2.81 billion as of December 31, 2024, an increase of $58.0 million, or 2.1%, compared to $2.75 billion as of September 30, 2024. This increase was mainly due to the seasonal inflow of funds from public entity customers.
- As of December 31, 2024, loans held for investment ("HFI”) were $2.08 billion, slightly higher than $2.06 billion as of September 30, 2024. In the third and fourth quarters of 2024, we closed on a high level of loan commitments, which we expect to fund over time.
- As of December 31, 2024, total securities were $684.9 million, which was $12.8 million, or 1.8%, lower than September 30, 2024. Securities decreased mainly due to having a larger net unrealized loss on securities available-for-sale ("AFS”). New securities purchased were offset by securities maturities and principal repayments.
- As of December 31, 2024, liquid assets, which are cash and cash equivalents, were $269.0 million, and the liquid assets to assets ratio was 8.54%. We do not have any borrowings, brokered deposits, or internet-sourced deposits.
- In the fourth quarter of 2024, the provision for credit losses totaled $300,000. This included $200,000 for loans and $100,000 for unfunded loan commitments.
- As of December 31, 2024, nonperforming assets ("NPA(s)”) were $3.3 million, or 0.10% of assets, and the allowance for credit losses ("ACL”) was $21.7 million, or 1.05% of loans HFI.
- We paid a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 per common share in the fourth quarter of 2024.
- The 2024 stock repurchase program authorized us to purchase up to $5.0 million of our outstanding shares of common stock from January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024. Under this plan, in the fourth quarter of 2024, we repurchased 632 shares on the open market at an aggregate cost of $33,000. The 2024 stock repurchase program expired on December 31, 2024, with $1.1 million of remaining availability. On December 19, 2024, our Board of Directors approved the renewal of our stock repurchase program for 2025. The 2025 stock repurchase program authorizes us to purchase up to $5.0 million of our outstanding shares of common stock from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025.
- On November 5, 2024, we entered into a privately negotiated stock repurchase agreement for the repurchase of 50,000 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $2.5 million. This repurchase was supplemental to our 2024 stock repurchase program.
- In 2024, we repurchased 327,085 shares of our common stock. For the year ended December 31, 2024, these repurchases benefited earnings per share by $0.14.
- As of December 31, 2024, capital levels were strong, with a stockholders' equity to assets ratio of 10.15%, a leverage ratio of 11.86%, and a total risk-based capital ratio of 18.28%.
- In the fourth quarter of 2024, we continued implementing our organic expansion plan. We purchased property in Lafayette, Louisiana and plan to build a new banking center at that location, which would be our second banking center in the Acadiana market.
- The American Banker publication included Red River Bank in its "2024 Best Banks To Work For” ranking.
"In the fourth quarter, the Federal Reserve lowered short-term interest rates; however, longer term rates remained fairly consistent. Due to diligent balance sheet management, our net interest margin FTE increased by 11 bps and net interest income increased by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. New loan activity was very good in the fourth quarter; however, the loan portfolio was impacted by higher than normal paydowns on loans. For the second quarter in a row, we closed on a significant amount of construction loan commitments, which we expect to fund over time. Our balance sheet is well positioned for the forecasted interest rate environment and a normal shaped yield curve. This should enable us to continue improving the net interest margin slightly in the first half of 2025.
"In the fourth quarter of 2024, we completed a third, significant private stock repurchase transaction. In 2024, we repurchased 4.6% of outstanding shares, which positively impacted earnings per share, while also maintaining strong capital levels and ratios.
"The fourth quarter of 2024 wrapped up a good year for our Company and our communities. Our Company is well positioned for the future, with robust capital and liquidity levels combined with a great team of community bankers. We look forward to 2025 as we continue to grow and build value for our shareholders.”
Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin FTE
Net interest income and net interest margin FTE increased in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the prior quarter. These measures were both impacted by improved yields on securities, as well as lower deposit rates. After keeping the federal funds rate consistent since the third quarter of 2023, the Federal Open Market Committee ("FOMC”) decreased the federal funds rate by 50 bps in September of 2024, and by an additional 50 bps during the fourth quarter of 2024.
Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2024 was $23.7 million, which was $1.2 million, or 5.5%, higher than the third quarter of 2024, due to a $729,000 increase in interest and dividend income, combined with a $501,000 decrease in interest expense. The increase in interest and dividend income was due to higher interest income on loans and securities. Loan income increased $376,000 primarily due to higher average loan balances during the fourth quarter. Securities income increased $289,000 due to reinvesting lower yielding securities cash flows into higher yielding securities. The decrease in interest expense was primarily due to lower rates on interest-bearing transaction deposits and time deposits.
The net interest margin FTE increased 11 bps to 3.09% for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 2.98% for the prior quarter. This increase was due to improved yields on securities, combined with lower deposit costs. The yield on securities increased 13 bps due to reinvesting lower yielding securities cash flows into higher yielding securities. The yield on loans increased 2 bps due to higher rates on new and renewed loans compared to the existing portfolio yield. The average rate on new and renewed loans was 7.25% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 7.89% for the prior quarter. The cost of deposits decreased 10 bps to 1.71% for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 1.81% for the previous quarter, due to our lowering of selected deposit rates. As a result of this change, there was a 17 bp decrease in the rate on interest-bearing transaction deposits and a 9 bp decrease on time deposits during the fourth quarter.
The FOMC lowered the federal funds rate by 50 bps in the fourth quarter of 2024, reducing the target federal funds range to 4.25%-4.50%. The market's expectation is that the FOMC may lower the target range of the federal funds rate by at least 25 bps in 2025. In 2025, we anticipate receiving approximately $101.0 million in securities cash flows with an average yield of 3.01%, and we project approximately $194.0 million of fixed rate loans will mature with an average yield of 6.04%. We expect to redeploy these balances into higher yielding assets. Additionally, in 2025, we expect $541.9 million of time deposits to mature with an average rate of 4.10%, which we anticipate repricing into lower cost deposits. As of December 31, 2024, floating rate loans were 16.0% of loans HFI, and floating rate transaction deposits were 8.1% of interest-bearing transaction deposits. Depending on balance sheet activity and the movement in interest rates, we expect the net interest income and net interest margin FTE to improve slightly during the first half of 2025.
Provision for Credit Losses
The provision for credit losses for the third and fourth quarters of 2024 was $300,000, which included $200,000 for loans and $100,000 for unfunded loan commitments for each quarter. The provision in the third and fourth quarters was due to potential economic challenges resulting from the recent inflationary environment, changing monetary policy, and loan growth. In the second half of 2024, we had an increase in unfunded loan commitments. We will continue to evaluate future provision needs in relation to current economic situations, loan growth, trends in asset quality, forecasted information, and other conditions influencing loss expectations.
Noninterest Income
Noninterest income totaled $5.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of $424,000, or 7.8%, compared to $5.4 million for the previous quarter. The decrease was mainly due to a loss on equity securities and lower loan and deposit income.
Equity securities are an investment in a Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA”) mutual fund consisting primarily of bonds. The gain or loss on equity securities is a fair value adjustment primarily driven by changes in the interest rate environment. Due to the fluctuations in market rates between quarters, equity securities had a loss of $91,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to a gain of $107,000 for the previous quarter.
Loan and deposit income totaled $463,000 for the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of $125,000, or 21.3%, compared to $588,000 for the previous quarter. The third quarter of 2024 benefited from the receipt of a $151,000 nonrecurring loan related fee.
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses totaled $16.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, which was fairly consistent with the previous quarter. Higher occupancy and equipment expenses were offset by lower other taxes.
Occupancy and equipment expenses totaled $1.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, which was $55,000, or 3.3% higher than the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2024, there was $35,000 of nonrecurring expenses related to a new administrative office in the New Orleans market.
Other taxes totaled $547,000 for the fourth quarter of 2024, a decrease of $75,000, or 12.1%, compared to $622,000 for the previous quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the State of Louisiana bank stock tax expense was lower due to a $68,000 adjustment with receipt of the year-end bank stock tax invoices.
Asset Overview
As of December 31, 2024, assets were $3.15 billion, compared to assets of $3.10 billion as of September 30, 2024, an increase of $47.8 million, or 1.5%. In the fourth quarter, assets were mainly impacted by a $58.0 million, or 2.1%, increase in deposits. In the fourth quarter of 2024, liquid assets increased $36.3 million, or 15.6%, to $269.0 million and averaged $256.2 million for the fourth quarter. As of December 31, 2024, we had sufficient liquid assets available and $1.62 billion accessible from other liquidity sources. The liquid assets to assets ratio was 8.54% as of December 31, 2024. Total securities decreased $12.8 million, or 1.8%, to $684.9 million in the fourth quarter and were 21.7% of assets as of December 31, 2024. During the fourth quarter, loans HFI increased $19.0 million, or 0.9%, to $2.08 billion. The loans HFI to deposits ratio was 73.97% as of December 31, 2024, compared to 74.84% as of September 30, 2024.
Securities
Total securities as of December 31, 2024, were $684.9 million, a decrease of $12.8 million, or 1.8%, from September 30, 2024. Securities decreased mainly due to having a larger net unrealized loss on securities AFS. New securities purchased were offset by securities maturities and principal repayments.
The estimated fair value of securities AFS totaled $550.1 million, net of $63.2 million of unrealized loss, as of December 31, 2024, compared to $560.6 million, net of $49.5 million of unrealized loss, as of September 30, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, the amortized cost of securities held-to-maturity ("HTM”) totaled $131.8 million compared to $134.1 million as of September 30, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, securities HTM had an unrealized loss of $22.8 million compared to $17.3 million as of September 30, 2024.
As of December 31, 2024, equity securities, which is an investment in a CRA mutual fund consisting primarily of bonds, totaled $2.9 million compared to $3.0 million as of September 30, 2024.
Loans
Loans HFI as of December 31, 2024, were $2.08 billion, slightly higher than $2.06 billion as of September 30, 2024. In the third and fourth quarters of 2024, we closed on a high level of loan commitments, which, depending on customer activity, we expect to fund over time. Unfunded loan commitments that originated in the fourth quarter of 2024 totaled $106.2 million.
| Loans HFI by Category | ||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | September 30, 2024 | Change from September 30, 2024 to December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | Amount | Percent | Amount | Percent | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||
| Real estate: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial real estate | $ | 884,641 | 42.6 | % | $ | 875,590 | 42.6 | % | $ | 9,051 | 1.0 | % | ||||||
| One-to-four family residential | 614,551 | 29.6 | % | 616,467 | 30.0 | % | (1,916 | ) | (0.3 | %) | ||||||||
| Construction and development | 155,229 | 7.5 | % | 141,525 | 6.9 | % | 13,704 | 9.7 | % | |||||||||
| Commercial and industrial | 327,086 | 15.8 | % | 327,069 | 15.9 | % | 17 | - | % | |||||||||
| Tax-exempt | 64,930 | 3.1 | % | 66,436 | 3.2 | % | (1,506 | ) | (2.3 | %) | ||||||||
| Consumer | 28,576 | 1.4 | % | 28,961 | 1.4 | % | (385 | ) | (1.3 | %) | ||||||||
| Total loans HFI | $ | 2,075,013 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,056,048 | 100.0 | % | $ | 18,965 | 0.9 | % | ||||||
Health care loans are our largest industry concentration and are made up of a diversified portfolio of health care providers. As of December 31, 2024, total health care loans were 8.1% of loans HFI. Within the health care sector, loans to nursing and residential care facilities were 4.4% of loans HFI, and loans to physician and dental practices were 3.4% of loans HFI. The average health care loan size was $372,000 as of December 31, 2024.
Asset Quality and Allowance for Credit Losses
NPAs totaled $3.3 million as of December 31, 2024, an increase of $166,000, or 5.3%, from September 30, 2024, primarily due to an increase in past due loans, partially offset by payoffs and charge-offs of nonaccrual loans. The ratio of NPAs to assets was 0.10% as of December 31, 2024 and September 30, 2024.
As of December 31, 2024, the ACL was $21.7 million. The ratio of ACL to loans HFI was 1.05% as of December 31, 2024 and 1.06% as of September 30, 2024. The net charge-offs to average loans ratio was 0.01% for the fourth quarter of 2024 and 0.00% for the third quarter of 2024.
Deposits
As of December 31, 2024, deposits were $2.81 billion, an increase of $58.0 million, or 2.1%, compared to September 30, 2024. Average deposits for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $2.78 billion, an increase of $53.5 million, or 2.0%, from the prior quarter. The following tables provide details on our deposit portfolio:
| Deposits by Account Type | ||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | September 30, 2024 | Change from September 30, 2024 to December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | Balance | % of Total | Balance | % of Total | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||
| Noninterest-bearing demand deposits | $ | 866,496 | 30.9 | % | $ | 882,394 | 32.1 | % | $ | (15,898 | ) | (1.8 | %) | |||||
| Interest-bearing deposits: | ||||||||||||||||||
| Interest-bearing demand deposits | 154,720 | 5.5 | % | 163,787 | 6.0 | % | (9,067 | ) | (5.5 | %) | ||||||||
| NOW accounts | 467,118 | 16.7 | % | 379,566 | 13.8 | % | 87,552 | 23.1 | % | |||||||||
| Money market accounts | 556,769 | 19.8 | % | 551,229 | 20.0 | % | 5,540 | 1.0 | % | |||||||||
| Savings accounts | 169,894 | 6.1 | % | 166,723 | 6.1 | % | 3,171 | 1.9 | % | |||||||||
| Time deposits less than or equal to $250,000 | 403,096 | 14.3 | % | 411,361 | 15.0 | % | (8,265 | ) | (2.0 | %) | ||||||||
| Time deposits greater than $250,000 | 187,013 | 6.7 | % | 192,065 | 7.0 | % | (5,052 | ) | (2.6 | %) | ||||||||
| Total interest-bearing deposits | 1,938,610 | 69.1 | % | 1,864,731 | 67.9 | % | 73,879 | 4.0 | % | |||||||||
| Total deposits | $ | 2,805,106 | 100.0 | % | $ | 2,747,125 | 100.0 | % | $ | 57,981 | 2.1 | % | ||||||
| Deposits by Customer Type | ||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2024 | September 30, 2024 | Change from September 30, 2024 to December 31, 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | Balance | % of Total | Balance | % of Total | $ Change | % Change | ||||||||||||
| Consumer | $ | 1,362,740 | 48.6 | % | $ | 1,348,281 | ()[\]\\.,;:\s@\"]+)*)|(\".+\"))@((\[[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\.[0-9]{1,3}\])|(([a-zA-Z\-0-9]+\.)+[a-zA-Z]{2,}))$/;return b.test(a)}$(document).ready(function(){if(performance.navigation.type==2){location.reload(true)}$("iframe[data-lazy-src]").each(function(b){$(this).attr("src",$(this).attr("data-lazy-src"))});if($(".owl-article-body-images").length){$(".owl-article-body-images").owlCarousel({items:1,loop:true,center:false,dots:false,autoPlay:true,mouseDrag:false,touchDrag:false,pullDrag:false,nav:true})}var a=$("#display_full_text").val();if(a==0){$.ajax({url:"/ajax/set-article-cookie",type:"POST",data:{cmsArticleId:$("#cms_article_id").val()},dataType:"json",success:function(b){},error:function(b,d,c){}})}$(".read-full-article").on("click",function(d){d.preventDefault();var b=$(this).attr("data-cmsArticleId");var c=$(this).attr("data-productId");var f=$(this).attr("data-href");dataLayer.push({event:"paywall_click",paywall_name:"the_manila_times_premium",paywall_id:"paywall_article_"+b});$.ajax({url:"/ajax/set-article-cookie",type:"POST",data:{cmsArticleId:b,productId:c},dataType:"json",success:function(e){window.location.href=$("#BASE_URL").val()+f},error:function(e,h,g){}})});$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .close-btn").on("click",function(){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form").fadeOut(1000)})});$(document).on("click",".article-embedded-newsletter-form .newsletter-button",function(){var b=$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .newsletter_email").val();var d=$("#ga_user_id").val();var c=$("#ga_user_yob").val();var a=$("#ga_user_gender").val();var e=$("#ga_user_country").val();if(validateEmail(b)){$.ajax({url:"/ajax/sendynewsletter",type:"POST",data:{email:b},success:function(f){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html(f);$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").addClass("show");setTimeout(function(){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").removeClass("show");$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html("")},6000);dataLayer.push({event:"newsletter_sub",user_id:d,product_name:"newsletter",gender:a,yob:c,country:e})},error:function(f,h,g){}})}else{$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html("Please enter a valid email address.");$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").addClass("show");setTimeout(function(){$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").removeClass("show");$(".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message").html("")},6000)}});$(document).on("click",".article-embedded-newsletter-form .nf-message",function(){$(this).removeClass("show");$(this).html("")});
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