Southside Bancshares, Inc. Announces Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2024

Core Viewpoint - Southside Bancshares, Inc. reported strong financial results for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2024, with significant increases in net income and earnings per share compared to the previous year. Financial Performance - For the fourth quarter of 2024, net income was $21.8 million, a 25.8$17.3 million in the same period of 2023 [1][3] - Earnings per diluted common share rose to $0.71, up 24.6$0.57 in the fourth quarter of 2023 [1][3] - Annualized return on average shareholders' equity for the fourth quarter was 10.54%, compared to 9.31% in the same period of 2023 [1][3] - For the full year 2024, net income increased to $88.5 million, a 2.1$86.7 million in 2023 [2][11] - Earnings per share for the year were $2.91, up 3.2$2.82 in 2023 [2][11] Loan and Deposit Growth - Loan growth for 2024 was 3.0%, with a linked quarter increase of $83.5 million, or 7.3$4.66 billion, an increase of $137.1 million from$4.52 billion at the end of 2023 [17] - Deposits increased to $6.65 billion, a 1.6$6.55 billion at the end of 2023 [19] Noninterest Income and Expenses - Noninterest income for the fourth quarter was $12.3 million, a significant increase of 391.0$2.5 million in the same period of 2023 [6] - Noninterest expense increased by $3.0 million, or 8.5$38.2 million for the fourth quarter compared to $35.2 million in 2023 [9] - The efficiency ratio for the fourth quarter was 56.08$3.6 million, or 0.04% of total assets, down from $4.0 million, or 0.05$44.9 million, or 0.96% of total loans, as of December 31, 2024 [25] Balance Sheet Highlights - Total assets as of December 31, 2024, were $8.52 billion, an increase from$8.28 billion at the end of 2023 [17][40] - Securities increased to $2.81 billion, an 8.1$2.60 billion at the end of 2023 [18] - The company had total available contingent liquidity of $2.23 billion as of December 31, 2024 [23]