Farmers National Banc Corp. Reports Results for Fourth Quarter 2022

Farmers National Banc Corp. (“Farmers” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FMNB) reported today net income of $13.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2022 compared to $5.7 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021. The Company reported diluted earnings per share of $0.39 for the fourth quarter of 2022 versus $0.18 for the same period in 2021. Results for the fourth quarter of 2022 included pretax items of $584,000 for merger related costs and combined net losses of $338,000 on the sale of securities and the sale of other assets. Excluding these items (non-GAAP), net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, would have been $14.1 million, or $0.42 per diluted share.

Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, totaled $60.6 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, compared to $51.8 million, or $1.77 per diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2021. Results for the year ended December 31, 2022, included pre-tax items for acquisition costs of $4.1 million, security losses of $454,000, $8.4 million in other noninterest income for the proceeds of a legal settlement, a $6.0 million charitable contribution to the Farmers Charitable Foundation, $2.1 million in legal expenses associated with the legal settlement and gains of $19,000 on the sale of assets. Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2022, excluding these items (non-GAAP), was $64.0 million, or $1.89 per share.

Kevin J. Helmick, President and CEO, stated, “2022 was a strong year for Farmers as we produced record net income, which drove strong returns on assets, equity, and tangible equity. In addition, we successfully integrated the 2021 Cortland Bancorp acquisition, focused on completing the 2023 Emclaire Financial Corp. acquisition, and enhanced our leadership team and board. With the January 2023 completion of the Emclaire Financial Corp. acquisition, we have expanded our presence throughout Pennsylvania and significantly increased our scale with over $5.0 billion in bank assets and $3.0 billion in wealth assets. I believe Farmers is well positioned to navigate an increasingly difficult economic and interest rate environment as a result of our strong asset quality and capital levels, experienced leadership team, and dedication to provide our communities with exceptional financial products and services.”

On March 23, 2022, Farmers entered into an agreement and plan of merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Emclaire Financial Corp. (formerly NASDAQ: EMCF), a Pennsylvania corporation (“Emclaire”), and the parent company of The Farmers National Bank of Emlenton (“Emlenton”). On July 20, 2022, the transaction received the approval of Emclaire’s shareholders and on December 2, 2022, the transaction received regulatory approval. The transaction closed on January 1, 2023. Emclaire operated 19 branches in ten counties throughout western Pennsylvania and as of December 31, 2022, had total assets of $1.02 billion, gross loans of $797.3 million and deposits of $874.6 million.

Balance Sheet

Total assets declined to $4.08 billion at December 31, 2022 compared to $4.12 billion at September 30, 2022. Gross loans (excluding loans held for sale and PPP loans) increased by $5.2 million to $2.40 billion at December 30, 2022 from the prior quarter.

Securities available for sale decreased $27.1 million to $1.27 billion at December 31, 2022 from $1.30 billion at September 30, 2022. The decrease was primarily driven by runoff and the sale of securities during the quarter offset by improvement in the gross unrealized loss. The gross unrealized loss at December 31, 2022 was $266.5 million compared to $290.1 million at September 30, 2022 and a gross unrealized gain of $11.7 million at December 31, 2021. With continued loan growth and the acquisition of Emclaire, the Company plans on allowing the securities portfolio to shrink and provide liquidity. The volatility in the bond market is expected to continue in 2023, which may result in increased volatility in the fair value of the Company’s available for sale securities.

Total customer deposits (excluding brokered time deposits) declined to $3.42 billion at December 31, 2022 from $3.52 billion at September 30, 2022. Customer deposit balances at December 31, 2021 were $3.55 billion. Intense competition from both other banks and the treasury market itself drove the decline in deposits. In addition, it appears that some customers are utilizing deposit balances to counter the higher cost of living brought on by the inflationary environment in 2022. The Company expects competition for deposits to remain highly elevated for the foreseeable future which will continue to increase funding costs.

Total stockholders’ equity increased to $292.3 million at December 31, 2022 from $265.6 million at September 30, 2022 but has declined from $472.4 million at December 31, 2021. The decrease in stockholders’ equity since December 31, 2021 has primarily been due to the decline in accumulated other comprehensive income associated with the rapid increase in U.S. treasury rates in 2022 which has had a negative effect on the value of the Company’s available for sale securities, and in turn, the dollar amount that flows through accumulated other comprehensive income. The Company’s tangible book value per share (non-GAAP) was $5.60 at December 31, 2022 compared to $4.79 at September 30, 2022, and $10.91 at December 31, 2021.

Credit Quality

Non-performing loans (NPLs) were $14.8 million at December 31, 2022 compared to $16.2 million at December 31, 2021. The NPL to loans ratio was 0.62% at December 31, 2022 compared to 0.69% at December 31, 2021. Non-performing assets to assets has also declined from 0.39% at December 31, 2021 to 0.36% at December 31, 2022. Early stage delinquencies, defined as 30-89 days delinquent, were $9.6 million, or 0.40% of total loans, at December 31, 2022 compared to $8.9 million, or 0.38% of total loans at December 31, 2021.

The Company recorded a provision for credit losses and unfunded commitments of $416,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to a provision for credit losses of $5.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. During the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company completed the acquisition of Cortland Bancorp and recorded a $4.9 million provision for credit losses related to the acquisition which accounts for the majority of the difference in provision costs between the 4^th quarter of 2022 and the 4^th quarter of 2021. The Company experienced net charge-offs of $570,000 during the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $313,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. Net charge-offs as a percentage of average net loans was 10 basis points for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, compared to 6 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2021. The allowance for credit losses to total loans declined to 1.12% at December 31, 2022, compared to 1.26% at December 31, 2021. The low level of charge-off activity over the last several years continues to result in less allowance for credit losses being required.

Net Interest Income

The net interest margin was 2.99% for the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to 3.21% for the third quarter of 2022 and 3.33% for the fourth quarter of 2021. The decline in net interest margin during the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the prior quarter and the fourth quarter of 2021 was caused by a rapid increase in deposit rates due to intense competition for deposits, the continued Federal Reserve rate hiking cycle and runoff of deposit balances which are being replaced by much costlier wholesale funding. Loans continue to reprice higher but cannot keep up with the increase in funding costs. Excluding the impact of acquisition marks and related accretion and PPP interest and fees, the net interest margin (non-GAAP) for the fourth quarter of 2022 was 2.96% compared to 3.18% for the third quarter of 2022 and 3.21% for the fourth quarter of 2021. Net interest income decreased to $29.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 from $29.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2021. The decrease was due to net interest margin compression discussed above offset somewhat by larger average assets. In addition, during the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company recognized $979,000 in interest and fees associated with PPP loans compared to $10,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income decreased $1.3 million from the fourth quarter of 2021 to the fourth quarter of 2022. The primary reason for the decline was a drop of $1.5 million in the net gains on the sale of loans. This drop was caused by lower mortgage production compared to the prior year due to the dramatic increase in interest rates in 2022 and a lower saleable mix. Bank owned life insurance increased $176,000 in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. This increase was primarily due to a death benefit of $184,000 received in the fourth quarter of 2022. Insurance commissions increased to $1.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $706,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021. This business exhibited strong growth throughout 2022. Security losses for the fourth quarter of 2022 totaled $366,000 compared to security gains of $25,000 for the same period in 2021. The Company used the proceeds from the sales to pay down wholesale borrowings.

Noninterest Expense

Total noninterest expense decreased to $21.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to $27.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to the merger costs of $6.5 million incurred in the fourth quarter of 2021 compared to merger costs of $584,000 incurred in the fourth quarter of 2022. In addition, the Company incurred $1.8 million of expense in the fourth quarter of 2021 for prepayment penalties on FHLB advances. There were no prepayment penalties in the fourth quarter of 2022. Offsetting these decreases were increases in salaries and employee benefits primarily related to increased healthcare costs, increased occupancy and equipment expense and increased FDIC insurance expense.

About Farmers National Banc Corp.

Founded in 1887, Farmers National Banc Corp. is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Canfield, Ohio, with $4.1 billion in banking assets. Farmers National Banc Corp.’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are comprised of The Farmers National Bank of Canfield, a full-service national bank engaged in commercial and retail banking with 65 banking locations in Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Portage, Stark, Wayne, Medina, Geauga and Cuyahoga Counties in Ohio and Beaver, Butler, Allegheny, Jefferson, Clarion, Venango, Clearfield, Mercer, Elk and Crawford Counties in Pennsylvania, and Farmers Trust Company, which operates five trust offices and offers services in the same geographic markets. Total wealth management assets under care at December 31, 2022 are $3.0 billion. Farmers National Insurance, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Farmers National Bank of Canfield, offers a variety of insurance products.

Non-GAAP Disclosure

This press release includes disclosures of Farmers’ tangible common equity ratio, return on average tangible assets, return on average tangible equity, net income excluding costs related to acquisition activities and certain items, return on average assets excluding merger costs and certain items, return on average equity excluding merger costs and certain items, net interest margin excluding acquisition marks and related accretion and PPP interest and fees, efficiency ratio less one-time expenses, and allowance for credit losses to gross loans, excluding PPP loans and acquired loans, which are financial measures not prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). A non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of historical or future financial performance, financial position or cash flows that excludes or includes amounts that are required to be disclosed by GAAP. Farmers believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide both management and investors a more complete understanding of the underlying operational results and trends and Farmers’ marketplace performance. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the numbers prepared in accordance with GAAP. The reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to their GAAP equivalents are included in the tables following Consolidated Financial Highlights below.

Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

We make statements in this news release and our related investor conference call, and we may from time to time make other statements, that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements about Farmers’ financial condition, results of operations, asset quality trends and profitability. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only management’s current expectations and forecasts regarding future events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of Farmers’ control. Forward-looking statements are preceded by terms such as “expects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends” and similar expressions, as well as any statements related to future expectations of performance or conditional verbs, such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could” or “may.” Farmers’ actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Farmers’ actual results to differ materially from those described in certain forward-looking statements include impacts from the length and extent of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; significant changes in near-term local, regional, and U.S. economic conditions including those resulting from continued high rates of inflation, tightening monetary policy of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, and possibility of a recession; Farmers’ failure to integrate Emclaire and Emlenton with Farmers in accordance with expectations; deviations from performance expectations related to Emclaire and Emlenton; and the other factors contained in Farmers’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and available on Farmers’ website (www.farmersbankgroup.com) and on the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date. Farmers does not undertake any obligation to update the forward-looking statements to reflect the impact of circumstances or events that may arise after the date of the forward-looking statements.