Elmer Bancorp, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2019 Financial Results

ELMER BANCORP, INC. ("Elmer Bancorp" or the "Company") ELMA, the parent company of The First National Bank of Elmer (the "Bank"), announces its operating results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.

For the three months ended June 30, 2019, Elmer Bancorp reported net income of $467,000, or $0.41 per common share compared to $463,000, or $0.41 per common share for the quarter ended June 30, 2018. For the six months ended June 30, 2019 net income totaled $930,000, or $0.81 per common share compared to $925,000, or $0.81 per common share.

Net interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2019 totaled $2.789 million, a decrease of $56,000 from the three months ended June 30, 2018 total of $2.845 million. For the six months ended June 30, 2019, net interest income totaled $5.598 million compared to $5.497 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018, an increase of $101,000 resulting from loan growth throughout 2018 and a higher level of overnight investments. The loan loss provision for the three months ended June 30, 2019 totaled $70,000 compared to $135,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2018. The allowance for loan losses was 1.45% of total loans at June 30, 2019 compared to 1.35% at December 31, 2018.

Non-interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2019 was $30,000 lower than the same period last year. The prior year period included a $63,600 gain on the sale of other real estate owned ("OREO"). For the six months ended June 30, 2019, non-interest income was $161,000 lower than the 2018 six-month period. In addition to the gain on the sale of OREO, included in the six months ended June 30, 2018 was a $151,000 gain on the sale of an SBA loan. Service fee income and income from the increase in cash surrender value of Bank Owned Life Insurance ("BOLI") was $61,000 higher for the six months ended June 30, 2019 versus the prior year period. Non-interest expenses were lower for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 versus the prior year periods by $44,000 and $16,000, respectively. Higher OREO expenses resulting primarily from OREO write-downs were more than offset by lower loan collection expenses and lower legal and professional services, including regulatory assessments.

Elmer Bancorp's total assets at June 30, 2019 totaled $282.8 million, a slight increase from the December 31, 2018 level of $282.7 million and $600,000 lower than the June 30, 2018 total of $283.4 million. Total loans were $235.5 million at June 30, 2019, a decrease of $4.7 million from the year-end 2018 total of $240.2 million and $7.2 million lower than June 30, 2018 total loans of $242.7 million. The decline in total loans primarily resulted from several large payoffs in the six-month 2019 period consisting of construction related loans as well as troubled legacy credits.

Deposits totaled $255.1 million at June 30, 2019, a decrease of $600,000 from the December 31, 2018 level of $255.7 million and $2.3 million lower than the June 30, 2018 total of $257.4 million. Included in these declines was the maturity in the second quarter of 2019 of a $6.5 million CDARS one-way buy brokered deposit that was not renewed. Stockholders' equity totaled $26.1 million at June 30, 2019 compared to $25.2 million at December 31, 2018 and $24.3 million at June 30, 2018. Book value per share at June 30, 2019 was $22.71 per share compared to $21.97 per share at December 31, 2018 and $21.20 per share at June 30, 2018. The Company and the Bank met all regulatory capital requirements at June 30, 2019.

Brian W. Jones, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We are pleased with our earnings performance for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2019, matching our performance from last year's periods even though the prior year periods included the OREO gain of $63,600 in the second quarter and the one-time SBA gain of $151,000 in the six-month period. We continue to be diligent in our efforts to control non-interest expense as total non-interest expenses were $16,000 lower in the six-month 2019 period versus the 2018 period. We are equally pleased to continue to reduce problem legacy loan exposures. We continue to strive to gain market share and capitalize on recent in-market acquisitions. While deposits were $600,000 lower than last year-end, that decrease included the maturity of the $6.5 million CDARS one-way buy brokered deposit that was not renewed. Our continued successes are a direct result of the hard work and dedication of our staff and the loyalty of our customer base."

The First National Bank of Elmer, a nationally chartered bank headquartered in Elmer, New Jersey, has a long history of serving the community since its beginnings in 1903. We are a community bank focused on providing deposit and loan products to retail customers and to small and mid-sized businesses from our six full service branch offices located in Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties, New Jersey, including our main office located at 10 South Main Street in Elmer, New Jersey. Deposits at The First National Bank of Elmer are insured up to the legally maximum amount by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

For more information about Elmer Bank and its products and services, please visit our website at www.ElmerBank.com or call 1-856-358-7000.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release and other statements made from time to time by the Company's management contain express and implied statements relating to our future financial condition, results of operations, credit quality, corporate objectives, and other financial and business matters, which are considered forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are necessarily speculative and speak only as of the date made, and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, all of which may change over time. Actual results could differ materially from those expected or implied by such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from such forward-looking statements include economic conditions affecting the financial industry: changes in interest rates and shape of the yield curve, credit risk associated with our lending activities, risks relating to our market area, significant real estate collateral and the real estate market, operating, legal and regulatory risk, fiscal and monetary policy, economic, political and competitive forces affecting our business, our ability to identify and address cyber-security risks, and management's analysis of these risks and factors being incorrect, and/or the strategies developed to address them being unsuccessful. Any statements made that are not historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to make any public announcement when we consider forward-looking statements to no longer be accurate, whether as a result of new information of future events, except as may be required by applicable law or regulation.

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