First Bancorp Inc ME

Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was $19.8 million, down $3.1 million or 13.5% from the same period in 2023 due primarily to a decrease in net interest income resulting from higher funding costs. Earnings per common share on a fully diluted basis were $1.78 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, down $0.29 or 13.9% from the $2.06 posted for the same period in 2023. Dividends totaling $1.07 per share have been declared year-to-date, representing a payout to our shareholders of 59.8% of basic earnings per share for the period. For the quarter ended September 30, 2024, net income was $7.6 million, up $97,000 or 1.3% from the same period in 2023. Earnings per common share on a fully diluted basis were $0.68 for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, up $0.01 or 0.7% from the $0.67 posted for the same period in 2023.

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis was down $2.9 million or 5.6% in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The tax equivalent net interest margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, was 2.25%, down from 2.54% for the same period in 2023. The period-to-period change in net interest income and net interest margin is primarily attributable to increased funding costs, mitigated by earning asset growth. For the quarter ended

September 30, 2024, net interest income on a tax- equivalent basis increased $480,000 or 2.9% compared to the same period in 2023 as volume effects from earning asset growth outpaced rate effects from a contracted margin. Net interest margin for the quarter was 2.32% compared to 2.40% for the same period in 2023.

Non-interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was $11.9 million, up $589,000 or 5.2%, from the nine months ended September 30, 2023. As compared to the prior year, service charges on deposit accounts were up $153,000, or 10.9%, and debit card revenue increased $41,000, or 1.1%. Revenue at First National Wealth Management increased $174,000 or 5.0% over the same period. Mortgage banking revenue decreased $99,000 or 16.2% on lower volume of mortgage sales and negative marks taken against mortgage servicing rights valuation.

Non-interest expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 was $35.0 million, up $2.4 million or 7.5% from the nine months ended September 30, 2023. FDIC insurance premiums increased $333,000 from the same period in 2023, salaries and employee benefits increased 8.2% and other operating expense increased 6.7% over the same period.

Asset quality continues to be strong and stable. Non-performing assets stood at 0.08% of total assets as of September 30, 2024, up slightly from 0.07% of total assets as of December 31, 2023 and down slightly from 0.09% of total assets as of September 30, 2023. Total past-due loans remain low and were 0.14% of total loans as of September 30, 2024, down from 0.18% and up from 0.10% of total loans as of December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2023, respectively.

The provision for credit losses on loans for the first nine months of 2024 was $58,000, down from the $419,000 provisioned in the same period in 2023. A reverse provision for credit losses on loans of $580,000 was recorded in the third quarter of 2024. Models implemented in the third quarter introduced post-pandemic experience into the Bank's discounted cash flow based estimates, a period of strong asset quality for the Bank. This change, coupled with a refresh of peer groups used in our analysis, led to the modest reversal for the period. Net charge-offs for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 were $89,000 or 0.005% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to net charge-offs of $30,000 or 0.002% as of the nine months ended September 30, 2023. The ACL for loans decreased $31,000 between December 31, 2023 and September 30, 2024, and now stands at 1.04% of loans outstanding as of September 30, 2024, as compared to 1.13% at December 31, 2023 and 1.12% at September 30, 2023.

The Company's balance sheet continued to expand in the first nine months of 2024 as total assets increased $195.9 million or 6.6% year-to-date. The loan portfolio increased $177.8 million or 8.3% in the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and $227.4 million or 10.9% from a year ago. Loan growth in the first nine months of 2024 was centered in the commercial and residential portfolios. Commercial loans increased by $127.4 million during the period, led by increases in owner-occupied commercial real estate of $33.5 million, non-owner occupied commercial real estate of $18.2 million, commercial & industrial loans of $53.4 million and multifamily of $17.0 million. Residential term loans increased by $23.2 million in the first nine months of 2024 and residential construction loans increased by $2.3 million during the same period. The investment portfolio decreased $1.6 million year-to-date and decreased $7.1 million from a year ago based upon cash flow of amortizing securities, limited reinvestment or new purchases, and changes in the carrying value of AFS securities.

On the liability side of the balance sheet, total deposits increased $103.1 million, or 4.0%, year-to-date to $2.70 billion. Low-cost deposits (Demand, NOW, Savings) have increased $9.8 million, and money market balances have increased $38.2 million year-to-date, while local CDs have decreased $2.8 million. To balance this activity and to support earning asset growth, wholesale CDs have increased $57.9 year-to-date and borrowings have increased by $81.4 million.

Remaining well capitalized is a top priority for The Company. The Company's total risk-based capital ratio was 13.11% as of September 30, 2024, solidly above the well-capitalized threshold of 10.0% set by the FDIC, the FRBB, and the OCC.

Among the Company's operating ratios, the return on average assets was 0.87% and return on average tangible common equity of 12.19% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 compared to 1.08% and 14.97%, respectively, for the same period in 2023. Our non-GAAP efficiency ratio continues to be an important component in the Company's overall performance and stood at 57.88% for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 compared to 51.88% for the same period in 2023, the change being attributable primarily to lower levels of net interest income.