Limestone Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMST) (the “Company”), parent company of Limestone Bank, Inc. (the “Bank”), today reported unaudited results for the first quarter of 2022. Net income available to common shareholders for the first quarter of 2022 was $3.6 million, or $0.47 per basic and diluted common share, compared with $3.2 million, or $0.43 per basic and diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2021.

John T. Taylor, Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We continue to be pleased with the Company’s strong financial performance. We were able to build on our loan growth momentum from last year and achieve loan growth of 4.5% for the first quarter. Additionally, given the Company’s solid capital position and earnings levels, we instituted a quarterly common share dividend on April 1, 2022, as a return of profits to our shareholders. I continue to be excited about the future of our franchise.”

Total assets were $1.41 billion at March 31, 2022. The loan portfolio increased $45.4 million, or 4.5%, during the first quarter to $1.05 billion at March 31, 2022. Lower earning fed funds sold were reduced by $45.6 million during the quarter.

Net Interest Income and Average Earning Assets – Net interest income was $11.1 million for the first quarter of 2022, compared to $11.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, and $10.7 million for the first quarter of 2021. Net interest margin increased to 3.42% for the first quarter of 2022, compared with 3.32% for the fourth quarter of 2021, and decreased from 3.53% for the first quarter of 2021.

The yield on earning assets increased to 3.82% in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 3.71% in the fourth quarter of 2021, and decreased from 4.05% in the first quarter of 2021. Quarter over quarter, average loans increased $73.0 million to $1.03 billion, while lower yielding fed funds sold decreased $73.8 million. PPP loans averaged $605,000 and $3.5 million for the first quarter of 2022 and the fourth quarter of 2021, respectively. Compared to the prior year first quarter, average loans increased $64.2 million and investment securities increased $54.3 million, while lower yielding fed funds sold decreased $22.1 million. PPP loans averaged $21.1 million for the first quarter of 2021.

While the Federal Reserve recently increased the federal funds target rate by 25 basis points on March 16, 2022, the yield on earning assets for the first quarter of 2022 and for the 2021 fiscal year were negatively impacted by the low interest rate environment on the Bank’s fed funds sold, certain floating rate investment securities, loans with variable rate pricing features, and new loan originations, including PPP loans which carry a rate of 1.0%. The negative impact of low rates was offset by an increase in loan fee income discussed below.

Loan fee income can meaningfully impact net interest income, loan yields, and net interest margin. The amount of loan fee income included in total interest income was $324,000, $967,000, and $844,000 for the quarters ended March 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, and March 31, 2021, respectively. This represents 10 basis points, 29 basis points, and 28 basis points of yield on earning assets and net interest margin for the quarters ended March 31, 2022, December 31, 2021, and March 31, 2021, respectively. Loan fee income for the first quarter of 2022 included $45,000 in fees earned on PPP loans, compared to $261,000 in the fourth quarter of 2021, and $436,000 in the first quarter of 2021, which represents two basis points, eight basis points, and 14 basis points of earning asset yield and net interest margin for those quarters, respectively. At March 31, 2022, PPP loans totaled $180,000 with no significant unearned PPP origination fees remaining.

The cost of interest-bearing liabilities was unchanged at 0.53% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021, and decreased from 0.68% in the first quarter of 2021. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities continued to benefit as a result of continued improvement in deposit mix, as well as the downward repricing of time deposits between periods. Time deposits declined $5.9 million during the first quarter of 2022 as approximately $55.0 million of time deposits with an average rate of 0.33% matured and redeemed or repriced at lower interest rates. During the first quarter of 2022, newly originated or renewed time deposits had an average rate of 0.26% and an average term of approximately 16 months.

As of March 31, 2022, time deposits comprised $260.1 million of the Company’s liabilities including $59.4 million with a current average rate of 0.29%, which reprice or mature in the second quarter of 2022. The following table denotes contractual time deposit maturities and average rates as of March 31, 2022:

Provision and Allowance for Loan Losses – The allowance for loan losses to total loans was 1.16% at March 31, 2022, compared to 1.15% at December 31, 2021, and 1.30% at March 31, 2021.

Net loan charge-offs were $86,000 for the first quarter of 2022, compared to net loan charge-offs of $1.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, and net loan charge-offs of $38,000 for the first quarter of 2021. A provision for loan loss of $750,000, or $0.07 per common share after taxes, was recorded in the first quarter of 2022, compared to $500,000, or $0.05 per common share after taxes, in the fourth quarter of 2021, and compared to $350,000, or $0.04 per common share after taxes, in the first quarter of 2021. The 2022 and 2021 loan loss provisions were attributable to net loan charge-offs impacting historical loss percentages and growth trends within the portfolio during the quarters.

Non-interest Income and Expense – Non-interest income for the first quarter of 2022 increased $461,000 to $2.2 million, compared with $1.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, and $354,000 compared with $1.9 million for the first quarter of 2021. The increase for the first quarter of 2022 was primarily related to a $163,000 gain on the sale of premises held for sale. Non-interest expense was $8.0 million for the first quarter of 2022, the fourth quarter of 2021, and the first quarter of 2021. Salaries and benefits represent our most significant non-interest expense. Salaries and benefits expense decreased $37,000 from the fourth quarter of 2021 and increased $82,000 from the first quarter of 2021. These fluctuations are generally driven by changes in FTEs during each period. Given current market conditions, we expect inflationary pressure to impact salaries and benefits in the range of four to five percent in 2022 as we compete for talent and administer our wage and benefit programs.

About Limestone Bancorp, Inc.

Limestone Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMST) is a Louisville, Kentucky-based bank holding company which operates banking centers in 14 counties through its wholly-owned subsidiary Limestone Bank. The Bank’s markets include metropolitan Louisville in Jefferson County and the surrounding counties of Bullitt and Henry and extend south along the Interstate 65 corridor. The Bank serves south central, southern, and western Kentucky from banking centers in Barren, Butler, Daviess, Edmonson, Green, Hardin, Hart, Ohio, and Warren counties. The Bank also has banking centers in Lexington, Kentucky, the second largest city in the state, and Frankfort, Kentucky, the state capital. Limestone Bank is a traditional community bank with a wide range of personal and business banking products and services.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release relating to Limestone Bancorp’s plans, objectives, expectations or future performance are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “believe,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “objective,” “possible,” “seek,” “plan,” “strive” or similar words, or negatives of these words, identify forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company's management believes the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of these assumptions could be inaccurate. Therefore, there can be no assurance the forward-looking statements included herein will prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; economic conditions both generally and more specifically in the markets in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate; competition for the Company's customers from other providers of financial services; government legislation and regulation, which change from time to time and over which the Company has no control; changes in inflation and efforts to control it; changes in interest rates; material unforeseen changes in liquidity, results of operations, or financial condition of the Company's customers; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company. See Risk Factors outlined in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Additional Information

Unaudited supplemental financial information for the first quarter ending March 31, 2022, follows.