ORRVILLE, Ohio -- National Bancshares Corp., parent of First National Bank of Orrville, reports fourth-quarter net income of $1.646 million, or 74 cents per diluted share, and full-year net income of $5.904 million, or $2.65 a share, a record.

These figures compare to net income of $1.108 million the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2103, or 49 cents a share, and full-year 2013 net income of $4.115 million, or $1.85 a share.

Said the president and CEO, Mark R. Witmer, in a prepared statement, “2014 was an outstanding year. We achieved record net income, record return on average assets, record return on average equity, record loan balances, record deposit balances and a record efficiency ratio. We also enjoyed a robust net interest margin and an excellent net charge-off ratio.

“Total assets at Dec. 31 were a record $529.6 million compared to $476.2 million at Dec. 31, 2013. We are extremely fortunate to have an outstanding team of bankers providing each and every customers with first-class financial services.”

Annualized return on average equity for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was 12.62% compared to 0.93% the same quarter a year ago. Annualized return on average assets was 1.23% compared to 0.93% for the same periods.

Net interest margin improved to 3.76% compared to 3.69% for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2013, and the adjusted operating efficiency ratio fell to 53.6% from 64.2%, again for the same periods. For the full year, the efficiency ratio was 58.3%, down from 66.6% for 2013.

Witmer reported that fourth-quarter average total loans were $396.3 million, a 24% increase from $319.5 million the same quarter a year ago and that total loans were $402.6 million at Dec. 31, more than twice where total loans stood at the end of 2010. He attributed the increase mostly to lending for one-to-four family residences, agricultural lending and consumer loans.

For the year, average total loans climbed to $365.0 million, a 27% increase over 2013,and average total deposits rose to $408.3 million, 5.8% higher than 2013.

Net interest income for the quarter was $4.93 million and $18.64 million for the year compared to fourth-quarter 2013’s $4.37 million and $16.61 million for that year.

Noninterest expense (includes wages and benefits, rents, marketing, data processing and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. premiums) was $2.82 million for the quarter and $1164 million for the year. In the last quarter of 2013, those figures were $2.98 million and $11.98 million respectively.

During the fourth quarter, shares of National Bancshares began trading on OTC Markets Group Inc. under the symbol NBOH. Its stock had risen 25 cents, or 1.11% over Thursday, when markets closed Friday on a volume of 896 shares.

Pictured: Mark R. Witmer, president and CEO.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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