Northway Financial, Inc. Announces Second Quarter Earnings and Declares Semi-Annual Dividend

NORTH CONWAY, N.H., July 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northway Financial, Inc. (the “Company”) ( NWYF), the parent company of Northway Bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2018 of $1.1MM, or $0.39 per basic common share. Year-to-date, the Company reported net income of $2.2MM, or $0.82 per basic common share.

The Board of Directors has declared a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.35 per share, payable on August 13, 2018, to common stockholders of record on August 6, 2018. The payment of this dividend results in a 43% payout ratio based on net income available to common stockholders. Based on a share price of $32.30 on July 25, 2018, this semi-annual dividend, when annualized, results in a dividend yield of approximately 2.1%. The Company’s common stock is available through brokers and is quoted on the OTCQB under the stock symbol “NWYF”.

Financial Highlights

• Total assets were $944MM, total loans, net, were $621MM, and total deposits were $717MM at June 30, 2018.
• Loans, net, increased $56MM from December 31, 2017, which is the result of the implementation of our organic growth strategy.
• Net income was $2.2MM for the six months ended June 30, 2018.
• Net income for the six months ending June 30, 2018 was $1.5MM less than the same period last year, primarily due to a lower level of security gains and an increase in noninterest expense related to the hiring of additional lenders to support our growth strategy.
• The net interest margin at June 30, 2018 was 3.36%.
• The yield on earning assets was 3.85% and the cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 0.61%, for the six months ended June 30, 2018.
• For the six months ended June 30, 2018, Return on Average Assets was 0.49% and Return on Average Equity was 5.77%
• Regulatory capital ratios at June 30, 2018 were 10.22% Tier 1 Leverage, 16.13% Total Risk Based Capital, and 11.86% Common Equity Tier 1.
• Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans stood at 0.56% at June 30, 2018.

About Northway Financial, Inc.

Northway Financial, Inc., headquartered in North Conway, New Hampshire, is a bank holding company. Through its subsidiary bank, Northway Bank, the Company offers a broad range of financial products and services to individuals, businesses and the public sector from its 16 full-service banking offices and its loan production offices located in Bedford and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Forward-looking Statements

Statements included in this press release that are not historical or current fact are “forward-looking statements” made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical earnings and those presently anticipated or projected. Northway Financial, Inc. disclaims any obligation to subsequently revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements, or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.