United Financial (NASDAQ:UBMT)
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United Financial Corp. Announces Fourth Quarter and 2004 Earnings
HIGHLIGHTS: Q4 Earnings per share up 15% in 2004 over Q4 2003; Loans up 17% and
Assets up nearly 14% in 2004; Net interest income up 9.8% in 2004 over 2003;
Real estate origination tops $230 million in 2004.
GREAT FALLS, Montana, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Financial Corp.
("United") (NASDAQ:UBMT) today reported net income for the year ended December
31, 2004 of $3,917,959, or basic earnings per share of $1.61, compared to
$4,720,001, or basic earnings per share of $1.93 for the same period in 2003.
Fully diluted earnings per share were $1.56 and $1.88 for 2004 and 2003,
respectively. Included in the 2003 earnings was a gain on the sale of Valley
Bancorp, a consolidated subsidiary of United. That gain amounted to $.365
basic and $.35 fully diluted earnings per share. Net income from continuing
operations in 2003 was $1.57 basic and $1.53 fully diluted earnings per share.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2004, net income was $983,985, or basic and
diluted earnings per share of $.40 and $.39, respectively, compared with
$860,194, or basic and diluted earnings per share of $.35 and $.34,
respectively, for the same quarter in 2003.
United's assets at December 31, 2004 were $347 million compared to $305 million
at December 31, 2003. Net loans increased to $265 million at December 31, 2004
from $227 million a year ago and deposits increased to $258 million at December
31, 2004 compared to $228 million a year ago. Net interest income rose to $13
million for the year ended December 31, 2004 compared to $11.9 million for the
same period one year ago. United's shareholders' equity was $30.6 million at
December 31, 2004, and book value per share was $12.57. The weighted average
number of shares outstanding for 2004 was 2,434,592 compared to 2,440,144 for
2003.
President and CEO Kurt Weise said, "2004 was a solid year for United. Our
asset quality at year end is very good and our reserve for loan losses is
strong. We were able to replace a large drop off in mortgage refinance fees
with strong margin improvement. While our start up office in Billings
negatively impacted our earnings by about $.10 per share, we are pleased with
our progress there and believe we have an excellent team of bankers in place.
Our net charge-offs for the year were a very manageable $117,000."
United's net interest margin increased to 4.22% in 2004 compared to 4.03% in
2003. United also originated over $230 million in real estate loans in 2004.
Non-performing loans totaled $.4 million at December 31, 2004 compared to $.8
million in 2003.
Forward-Looking Statements
When used in this press release, the words or phrases 'will likely result in',
'are expected to', 'will continue', 'is anticipated', 'estimate', 'could', or
'project' or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical earnings
and those presently anticipated or projected including general economic
conditions, business conditions in the banking industry, the regulatory
environment, new legislation, vendor quality and efficiency, employee retention
factors, rapidly changing technology and evolving banking industry standards,
competitive standards, competitive factors including increased competition
among financial institutions and fluctuating interest rate environments.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date made. Readers should also carefully
review the risk factors described in the company's most recent quarterly report
on Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2004, its Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the period ending December 31, 2003 and other documents the
company files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
United Financial Corp. is a bank holding company based in Great Falls, Montana,
and is the parent of Heritage Bank, with fifteen locations in Montana.
United Financial Corp.
Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
December 31, December 31,
2004 2003 2004 2003
Income statement amounts
Net interest income $3,350 $3,068 $13,012 $11,853
Provision for losses on loans - 76 70 778
Noninterest income
Investment securities gains 29 - 242 18
Gain on the sale of loans 690 744 2,804 4,970
Other 386 307 1,381 1,196
Noninterest expense 2,881 2,865 11,089 11,492
Earnings from continuing
operations before income taxes 1,574 1,178 6,280 5,767
Income taxes 590 318 2,362 1,938
Discontinued operations - - - 891
Net earnings 984 860 3,918 4,720
Per common share data
Net earnings - continuing
operations
- basic $0.40 $0.35 1.61 1.57
- diluted 0.39 0.34 1.56 1.53
Net earnings - discontinued
operations
- basic - - - 0.36
- diluted - - - 0.35
Cash dividends 0.27 0.27 2.08 0.90
Book value 12.57 13.29
Balances at end of period
Loans, gross 268,719 230,934
Allowance for losses on loans 3,708 3,755
Nonperforming assets
Nonperforming loans 402 822
Foreclosed properties 195 530
Available for sale investment
securities 38,949 43,279
Total assets 347,140 304,817
Goodwill 1,422 1,422
Total deposits 258,334 227,514
Total stockholders' equity 30,628 32,381
Other supplemental information
Net earnings
Return on average assets 1.18% 1.51%
Return on average common equity 12.73% 14.96%
Allowance for loan losses to loans 1.38% 1.63%
Common shares outstanding
(end of period, in thousands) 2,437 2,437
Net interest margin 4.22% 4.03%
Shareholders' equity
to total assets 8.82% 10.62%
Dividend payout ratio 129.18% 46.23%
DATASOURCE: United Financial Corp.
CONTACT: Kurt R. Weise, Chairman & CEO of United Financial Corp.,
+1-763-512-5299