Southern Michigan Bancorp, Inc. (OTC Pink: SOMC) reported record net income of $5,806,000 for 2015 compared to $4,792,000 for 2014, an increase of $1,014,000, or 21.2%. Earnings per share were $2.42 for 2015 compared to $1.99 in 2014. Fourth quarter 2015 net income was $1,194,000, or $0.50 per share, compared to $1,252,000, or $0.51 per share in the fourth quarter of 2014.
“We are pleased to deliver the fourth consecutive year of record earnings,” said John H. Castle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Michigan Bancorp, Inc. “Positive contributions to income came from balance sheet and loan growth, and improvement in credit quality metrics including net charge-offs and past due loans.”
Total consolidated assets at December 31, 2015 were $582.8 million compared to $543.3 million at December 31, 2014. Total loans reached a record high of $422.0 million as of December 31, 2015, an increase of $11.9 million or 2.9%, as compared to $410.1 million at year end 2014.
Southern provided $250,000 for loan losses in 2015, with an allowance for loan losses at December 31, 2015 of $5,273,000, or 1.25% of loans. This compared to a provision for loan losses of $400,000 for 2014, with an allowance for loan losses at December 31, 2014 of $5,177,000, or 1.26% of loans. The decrease in the provision for loan losses resulted from a reduction in net charge-offs offset by loan growth in the commercial loan portfolio. Net charge-offs for 2015 totaled $154,000, or .04% of loans, down from $461,000, or .11% of loans in 2014.
The annualized return on average assets for 2015 was 1.02% compared to 0.87% for 2014. The annualized return on average equity was 8.82% for 2015 compared to 7.79% for 2014.
Chairman Castle continued “After months of planning and preparation, our new Portage Branch office opened February 1, 2016. Growth of small and medium-sized business relationships remains favorable, and our pipeline of approved commercial loans from across all the markets that we serve, suggests that we will continue to experience loan growth in 2016.”
Southern Michigan Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and the parent company of Southern Michigan Bank & Trust. It operates 15 branches within Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph Counties, and a loan production office in Steuben County, providing a broad range of consumer, business and wealth management services throughout the region.