Investar Holding Corporation Announces 2024 Fourth Quarter Results
ACCESS Newswire · Investar Holding Corporation

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BATON ROUGE, LA / ACCESS Newswire / January 23, 2025 / 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, 2024. Investar reported net income of $6.1 million, or $0.61 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to net income of $5.4 million, or $0.54 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, and net income of $3.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

On a non-GAAP basis, core earnings per diluted common share for the fourth quarter of 2024 were $0.65 compared to $0.45 for the third quarter of 2024 and $0.39 for the fourth quarter of 2023. Core earnings exclude certain non-operating items including, but not limited to, loss (gain) on call or sale of investment securities, net, loss on sale or disposition of fixed assets, net, loss on sale of other real estate owned, net, change in the fair value of equity securities, income from a legal settlement, loss on early extinguishment of subordinated debt, and legal settlement expense. As previously indicated, Investar's fourth quarter of 2024 results include $3.1 million in nontaxable noninterest income from bank owned life insurance ("BOLI") death benefit proceeds, which had a favorable impact on our core metrics. Refer to the Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures tables for a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP metrics, including the impact of BOLI death benefit proceeds on our core metrics.

Investar's President and Chief Executive Officer John D'Angelo commented:

"Over the past year, Investar has successfully implemented a strategy of consistent, quality earnings through the optimization of our balance sheet, and the fourth quarter results reflect our continued execution. Our net interest margin has begun to stabilize as our cost of funds has decreased. We remained focused on originating higher yielding loans and securing lower cost funding sources that are accretive to our margin. During the fourth quarter, in accordance with our strategy to remix the loan portfolio, we originated and renewed loans, 84% of which were variable-rate loans, at an 8.2% blended interest rate. We also repaid $109 million in borrowings under the Bank Term Funding Program and redeemed $20 million in principal amount of subordinated debt, which contributed to the decrease in our cost of funds. Additionally, despite inflationary pressures, noninterest expenses are closely monitored and remain well-controlled.