West Bend-based Westbury Bancorp Inc., parent company of Westbury Bank, reported fiscal fourth quarter net income of $2.5 million, or 64 cents per share, up from $227,000, or 4 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The increase was driven primarily by an increase in real estate loans. The net loan portfolio was up 5.7 percent year-over-year.
Full-year net income was $3.5 million, or 85 cents per share, up from a net loss of $1.4 million, or 31 cents lost per share, in 2014.
The company had total assets of $639 million at the end of the fourth quarter, up from $568.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The bank’s loan portfolio grew 18.4 percent during the year, driven primarily by single family, multifamily and commercial real estate loans.
“Our earnings were positively impacted by the reversal in full of our deferred tax asset valuation allowance of $2.4 million in September,” said Kirk Emerich, chief financial officer and executive vice president-investor relations. “The reversal is a result of improvement in our core operating results and our earnings outlook going forward.”
“We are excited to see that our strategic initiatives to build strong banking relationships, reduce non-performing assets, control operating expenses and increase non-interest income are leading to improved performance,” said Greg Remus, president and chief executive officer. “We are also using capital management initiatives such as our stock repurchase program to deploy excess capital, improve our return on equity and earnings per share, and enhance the return on our shareholders’ investment in the company. We are confident that our current strategy will continue to provide revenue and earnings growth and build long-term shareholder value.”
