Southern States Bancshares(SSBK) - 2024 Q4 - Annual Results

Financial Performance - Net income for Q4 2024 was $11.2 million, or $1.11 diluted earnings per share, compared to $7.4 million, or $0.76 per diluted share in Q3 2024, and $8.9 million, or $0.99 per diluted share in Q4 2023[4] - Core net income for Q4 2024 was $10.5 million, or $1.04 diluted core earnings per share, up from $8.7 million, or $0.89 per diluted core earnings per share in Q3 2024[5] - Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was $11,198 million, a significant increase from $8,896 million in the same period of 2023, representing a growth of 25.0%[32] - Basic earnings per share for the three months ended December 31, 2024, were $1.13, compared to $1.00 in the same period of 2023, reflecting a 13.0% increase[32] - Core net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, was $36,339 thousand, up from $31,190 thousand in the previous year, representing a year-over-year growth of 16.9%[53] - Core net income for Q4 2024 reached $10,484 million, up 20.5% from $8,675 million in Q3 2024 and 43.1% from $7,289 million in Q4 2023[55] Income and Revenue - Net interest income increased to $25.1 million in Q4 2024, a 3.3% increase from $24.2 million in Q3 2024, and a 22.8% increase from $20.4 million in Q4 2023[7] - Total interest income for the three months ended December 31, 2024, was $44,977 million, an increase from $36,172 million in the same period of 2023, representing a growth of 24.5%[32] - Net interest income for Q4 2024 was $25,050 million, up 3.3% from $24,246 million in Q3 2024 and 22.4% from $20,404 million in Q4 2023[55] - Total noninterest income for Q4 2024 was $3.0 million, a 70.2% increase from $1.8 million in Q3 2024, primarily due to $1.2 million from the Employee Retention Credit[10] - Noninterest income totaled $2,990 million for the three months ended December 31, 2024, compared to $3,118 million in the same period of 2023, indicating a decrease of 4.1%[32] Asset Quality - Nonperforming loans decreased to $6.5 million, or 0.29% of gross loans, down from $7.9 million, or 0.36% in Q3 2024[15] - The provision for credit losses was $72,000 in Q4 2024, significantly lower than $2.6 million in Q3 2024, reflecting improved credit quality[16] - Net recoveries for Q4 2024 were $205,000, or (0.04)% of average loans, compared to net charge-offs of $350,000, or 0.07% in Q3 2024[17] - Nonperforming loans decreased to $6,533, a decrease from $7,868 in the previous year, showing a reduction of 17.0%[45] - The allowance for credit losses was 1.27% of total loans and 433.77% of nonperforming loans as of December 31, 2024[18] Capital and Equity - Total stockholders' equity increased to $279.9 million as of December 31, 2024, up from $271.4 million at September 30, 2024[20] - The Tier 1 capital ratio to average assets was 8.67% as of December 31, 2024, compared to 8.64% at September 30, 2024[20] - The Tier 1 capital ratio stood at 9.84%, an increase from 9.20% in the previous year, indicating stronger capital adequacy[27] - Total shareholders' equity increased to $279,889 thousand, up from $214,964 thousand, showing a growth of 30.2% year-over-year[27] Efficiency and Ratios - The efficiency ratio for Q4 2024 was 46.67%, indicating strong operational efficiency[5] - The efficiency ratio improved to 46.67% in Q4 2024 from 52.79% in Q3 2024[25] - Core efficiency ratio improved to 47.78% in Q4 2024, compared to 46.96% in Q3 2024 and 45.78% in Q4 2023[55] - Return on average tangible common equity increased to 18.87% in Q4 2024, up from 13.35% in Q3 2024 and 18.62% in Q4 2023[55] Loans and Deposits - Gross loans increased to $2.2 billion, up 1.2% from Q3 2024 and up 18.1% from $1.9 billion in Q4 2023, driven by new business growth and the acquisition of Century Bank[14] - Total deposits were $2.4 billion at December 31, 2024, down 0.4% from $2.4 billion at September 30, 2024, but up 19.5% from $2.0 billion at December 31, 2023[19] - Total loans increased to $2,226,569 thousand, up from $1,884,508 thousand year-over-year, representing a growth of 18.1%[27] - Total deposits amounted to $2,411,297 thousand, a rise from $2,018,189 thousand, reflecting a growth of 19.4% year-over-year[27] Acquisitions and Growth - The company completed the acquisition of Century Bank in August 2024, enhancing its presence in the Atlanta metro market[6] - Total assets reached $2,849,264 thousand, compared to $2,446,663 thousand in the previous year, marking an increase of 16.4%[27] - Average tangible common equity increased to $236,073 million in Q4 2024, up from $219,197 million in Q3 2024 and $189,515 million in Q4 2023[55]