Provident Bancorp, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter Net Income of $4.9 Million

Financial Performance - Net income for Q4 2024 was $4.9 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, compared to $716,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, in Q3 2024, and $2.9 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, in Q4 2023 [1] - For the full year 2024, net income was $7.3 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, compared to $11.0 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, in 2023 [1] - Return on average assets was 1.22% for Q4 2024, up from 0.18% in Q3 2024 and 0.70% in Q4 2023 [1] - Return on average equity was 8.54% for Q4 2024, compared to 1.27% in Q3 2024 and 5.33% in Q4 2023 [1] Interest Income and Expenses - Net interest and dividend income for Q4 2024 was $13.6 million, up 9.9% from Q3 2024 and 0.6% from Q4 2023 [2] - Interest rate spread and net interest margin for Q4 2024 were 2.53% and 3.62%, respectively, compared to 2.19% and 3.38% in Q3 2024, and 2.36% and 3.45% in Q4 2023 [2] - Total interest and dividend income for Q4 2024 was $23.1 million, up 3.1% from Q3 2024 but down 1.9% from Q4 2023 [3] - Total interest expense for Q4 2024 was $9.5 million, down 5.4% from Q3 2024 and 5.2% from Q4 2023 [4] Credit Quality - Non-accrual loans were $20.9 million, or 1.31% of total assets, as of December 31, 2024, down from $37.2 million, or 2.25% of total assets, as of September 30, 2024 [8] - Net recoveries totaled $867,000 for Q4 2024, compared to net charge-offs of $84,000 in Q3 2024 and $1.2 million in Q4 2023 [7] - The allowance for credit losses on loans was $21.1 million, or 1.59% of total loans, as of December 31, 2024, compared to $21.9 million, or 1.56% of total loans, as of September 30, 2024 [14] Balance Sheet and Capital - Total assets were $1.59 billion at December 31, 2024, down 3.3% from September 30, 2024, and 4.6% from December 31, 2023 [14] - Total deposits were $1.31 billion at December 31, 2024, up 1.6% from September 30, 2024, but down 1.7% from December 31, 2023 [15] - Shareholders' equity totaled $231.1 million at December 31, 2024, up 2.2% from September 30, 2024, and 4.1% from December 31, 2023 [16] - Book value per share was $12.99 at December 31, 2024, up from $12.76 at September 30, 2024, and $12.55 at December 31, 2023 [16]