HAMMOND, La., July 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. ("First Guaranty") (NASDAQ: FGBI), the holding company for First Guaranty Bank, announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ending June 30, 2022.
In sports, fans get excited by the offense. When a team scores 5 touchdowns or if a player hits 40 points on the court in basketball, there is much excitement and much positive comment. However, the adage in sports, is defense wins championships.
For the last nine consecutive quarters, First Guaranty Bank has created tremendous excitement by its offensive performance. Loan production has consistently exceeded expectations.
Earnings have also consistently exceeded expectations. The quarter ending June 30, 2022, continued the streak of outstanding financial performance. For the quarter, income available to common shareholders totaled $7,542,000 compared to $6,214,000 for the same quarter of 2021, an increase of 21.4%. For the six months ending June 30, 2022, income available to common shareholders totaled $14,545,000 compared to $11,237,000 for the same period of 2021, an increase of 29.4%.
The loan portfolio rose to $2,295,738,000 compared to $2,066,408,000 as of June 30, 2021. As of June 30, 2022, our new Mideast region (Kentucky and West Virginia) had contributed a total of $171,500,000 in new loans closed.
These are the exciting numbers. At the same time these exciting numbers were being put up, First Guaranty Bank was playing some strong defense. In the second quarter of 2022, First Guaranty Bank was able to get several big, longstanding problem loans out of the loan portfolio. First Guaranty Bank was also able to improve the handling and renewal of loans reaching maturity so that past due loans were significantly reduced. As a result of these efforts, as of June 30, 2022, the Texas capital ratio has been reduced to 3.86%, a significant reduction on the 13.54% level as of January 2021.
For the six-month period ending June 30, 2022, interest expense increased only $446,000 an increase of only 4.0% during a time of rapidly rising interest rates.
In addition to the financial accomplishments in the first six months of 2022 we also significantly improved the strength of our Management team with the addition of a highly qualified individual to oversee our various construction and maintenance projects, an extremely well qualified Chief Information Officer, an extremely well qualified Chief Information Security Officer, and a Chief Technology Officer. These changes make us extremely capable of continuing our growth and our success.
Our aim is to increase our shareholder value while continuing to build a fortress balance sheet. We appreciate your support in our endeavors.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Alton B. Lewis
President and CEO
First Guaranty, Bancshares, Inc.
About First Guaranty
First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for First Guaranty Bank, a Louisiana state-chartered bank. Founded in 1934, First Guaranty Bank offers a wide range of financial services and focuses on building client relationships and providing exceptional customer service. First Guaranty Bank currently operates thirty-six locations throughout Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky and West Virginia. First Guaranty’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol FGBI. For more information, visit www.fgb.net.
Certain statements contained herein are "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "continue," or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of those terms. Forward looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, as described in our SEC filings, including, but not limited to, those related to the real estate and economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which First Guaranty operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset-liability management, the financial and securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity.
First Guaranty wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. First Guaranty wishes to advise readers that the factors listed above could affect First Guaranty's financial performance and could cause First Guaranty's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. First Guaranty does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions, which may be made to any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.
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Eric J. Dosch, CFO 985.375.0308
