With Horizon Bank branches scattered throughout Michigan’s Great Southwest and Northwest Indiana, Horizon Bancorp, Inc. has announced another record year of earnings for 2019.
Craig Dwight, Chairman and CEO of Horizon, says, “I am pleased to announce another record year of earnings for Horizon. The 2019 results are attributed to the hard work and dedication of our entire team and their focus on the customer and executing a smooth integration of Salin Bancshares, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Salin Bank and Trust Company. As a result of this acquisition and organic growth, Horizon’s operational leverage and efficiency ratio continued to exhibit improvement, which is evidence that our mass and scale strategy is working.”
Dwight adds, “At December 31, 2019, Horizon’s total assets were $5.2 billion, which is an increase of $997.7 million when compared to year-end 2018. In addition to the loans acquired from Salin Bank during the first quarter of 2019, which totaled approximately $568.9 million, Horizon continued to experience loan growth of $153.3 million from our key growth markets in Indiana and Michigan.”
Net income for the year ended December 31, 2019 for Horizon was $66.5 million, or $1.53 diluted earnings per share, compared to $53.1 million, or $1.38 diluted earnings per share, for the year ended December 31, 2018. That represents the highest annual net income and diluted earnings per share in the company’s history.
Core net income for the year 2019 increased 31.6-percent to $70.7 million, or $1.63 diluted earnings per share, compared to $53.7 million, or $1.40 diluted earnings per share, for the year 2018.
Net income for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $18.5 million, or $0.41 diluted earnings per share, compared to $13.1 million, or $0.34 diluted earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2018.
Core net income for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $18.5 million, or $0.41 diluted earnings per share, compared to $13.8 million, or $0.36 diluted earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2018.
Consumer loans increased at a rate of 21.8-percent, or $119.7 million, during the year ended December 31, 2019. Excluding acquired loans, consumer loans increased at a rate of 6.3-percent, or $34.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2019.
On July 16, 2019, Horizon’s Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program for up to 2,250,000 shares of Horizon’s issued and outstanding common stock, no par value. As of December 31, 2019, Horizon had repurchased a total of 99,407 shares at an average price per share of $16.04.
Dwight concludes, “The improvement in Horizon’s core efficiency ratio demonstrates our ability to gain operational leverage through an increase in mass and scale. Horizon’s adjusted efficiency ratio, excluding merger expenses, gain/loss on sale of investment securities and death benefit on bank owned life insurance, decreased to 57.23-percent for the year ended December 31, 2019 from 60.28-percent for the same prior year period. Along with an improved adjusted efficiency ratio, Horizon has also experienced a decrease in non-interest expense, excluding merger expenses, as a percentage of average assets from 2.51-percent for the year ended December 31, 2018 to 2.36-percent for the year ended December 31, 2019, a 15-basis point improvement. Horizon improved branch efficiencies during 2019 by closing four full-service branches and one loan production office, and consolidating five full-service branches acquired from Salin.”
