Investar (ISTR) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - Investar reported net income of $6.1 million, or$0.61 per diluted common share, for Q4 2024, an increase from $5.4 million, or$0.54 per share, in Q3 2024, and $3.5 million, or$0.36 per share, in Q4 2023[2]. - Core earnings per diluted common share for Q4 2024 were $0.65, up from$0.45 in Q3 2024 and $0.39 in Q4 2023, benefiting from$3.1 million in nontaxable noninterest income from BOLI[3]. - Net income for Q4 2024 was $6.107 million, reflecting a 13.5$5.381 million in Q3 2024 and a 72.6% increase from $3.538 million in Q4 2023[46]. - Basic earnings per common share increased to$0.62 from $0.36 year-over-year, reflecting a 72.2$0.66, up 46.7% from $0.45 in Q3 2024 and up 69.2$0.39 in Q4 2023[46]. Asset and Liability Management - Total loans decreased by $30.8 million, or 1.4$2.13 billion at December 31, 2024, compared to $2.16 billion at September 30, 2024[8]. - Total assets as of December 31, 2024, were$2,763 million, a decrease of 1.2% from $2,797 million in Q3 2024 and a decrease of 1.9$2,817 million in Q4 2023[46]. - Total interest-earning assets decreased to $2,626,533 thousand with a net interest income of$35,505 thousand, yielding 5.38% for the three months ended December 31, 2024[58]. - Total interest-bearing liabilities amounted to $2,054,561 thousand with a net interest margin of 2.65$58.5 million, or 2.6%, to $2.35 billion at December 31, 2024, compared to$2.29 billion at September 30, 2024[16]. - Stockholders' equity was $241.3 million at December 31, 2024, a decrease of$4.2 million or 1.7% from September 30, 2024, but an increase of $14.5 million or 6.4$2,345.9 million at December 31, 2024, up $58.5 million or 2.6$90.2 million or 4.0% from December 31, 2023[18]. Income and Expenses - Net interest income for Q4 2024 totaled $17.5 million, a decrease of$0.4 million or 2.1% from Q3 2024, and a decrease of $1.0 million or 5.5$5.2 million, an increase of $1.6 million or 45.7$3.4 million or 194.2% from Q4 2023[29]. - Noninterest expense for Q4 2024 totaled $16.1 million, a decrease of$0.1 million or 0.6% from Q3 2024, and an increase of $0.6 million or 4.1$26.7 million, or 302.8% of nonperforming loans, at December 31, 2024, down from $28.1 million at September 30, 2024[14]. - Nonperforming assets to total assets increased to 0.52% from 0.32% quarter-over-quarter, representing a 62.5% increase year-over-year[49]. Strategic Direction - The company plans to pivot from a growth strategy to a focus on consistent, quality earnings through balance sheet optimization[41].