Southern States Bancshares, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

First Quarter 2025 Performance and Operational Highlights

• Net income of $10.4 million, or $1.03 per diluted share
• Core net income⁽¹⁾ of $10.3 million, or $1.03 per diluted share⁽¹⁾
• Pretax pre-provision core net income⁽¹⁾ of $14.2 million
• Net interest income of $24.9 million, a decrease of $171,000 from the prior quarter
• Net interest margin (“NIM”) of 3.75%, up 9 basis points from the prior quarter
• Return on average assets (“ROAA”) of 1.48%; return on average stockholders’ equity (“ROAE”) of 14.67%; and return on average tangible common equity (“ROATCE”)⁽¹⁾ of 17.19%
• Core ROAA⁽¹⁾ of 1.47%; and core ROATCE⁽¹⁾ of 17.16%
• Efficiency ratio of 46.42%
• Linked-quarter loans grew 6.1% annualized
• Linked-quarter deposits grew 2.4% annualized

^{(1) See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.}

ANNISTON, Ala., April 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southern States Bancshares, Inc. ( SSBK) (“Southern States” or the “Company”), the holding company for Southern States Bank, an Alabama state-chartered commercial bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income of $10.4 million, or $1.03 diluted earnings per share, for the first quarter of 2025. This compares to net income of $11.2 million, or $1.11 diluted earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2024, and net income of $8.1 million, or $0.90 diluted earnings per share, for the first quarter of 2024. The Company reported core net income of $10.3 million, or $1.03 diluted core earnings per share, for the first quarter of 2025. This compares to core net income of $10.5 million, or $1.04 diluted core earnings per share, for the fourth quarter of 2024, and core net income of $8.1 million, or $0.90 diluted core earnings per share, for the first quarter of 2024 (see “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures”).

As previously disclosed on March 31, 2024, FB Financial Corporation, the parent company of FirstBank, and Southern States, jointly announced their entry into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Southern States will be merged with and into FB Financial (the “Merger”).

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2025 was $24.9 million, a decrease of 0.7% from $25.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. The decrease was primarily driven by a lower yield on interest-earning assets resulting from lower interest rates on loans and a reduction in other interest-earning assets earning lower interest rates, which was significantly offset by a lower cost of interest-bearing deposits primarily resulting from lower interest rates.

Relative to the first quarter of 2024, net interest income increased $4.0 million, or 19.4%. The increase was mainly driven by significant organic growth, coupled with the acquisition of Century Bank on July 31, 2024.

Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2025 was 3.75%, compared to 3.66% for the fourth quarter of 2024. The increase was primarily due to a reduction in earning assets, coupled with cost savings attributed to calls and repayments at maturity on higher-cost brokered deposits.

Relative to the first quarter of 2024, net interest margin increased from 3.59% to 3.75%. The increase in the margin was primarily the result of a decrease in interest rates paid on interest-bearing deposits. The acquisition of Century Bank resulted in a positive impact to the net interest margin, helping to reduce the cost of interest-bearing liabilities.

Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2025 was $1.7 million, a decrease of 44.7% from $3.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. The Company applied for the Voluntary Disclosure Program (“VDP”) associated with the ERC program during the third quarter of 2023 and received approval during the fourth quarter of 2024. The fourth quarter of 2024 included $1.2 million in ERC as a participant in the program.

Relative to the first quarter of 2024, noninterest income increased 30.4% from $1.3 million. The acquisition of Century Bank on July 31, 2024 contributed to additional noninterest income during the first quarter of 2025.

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2025 was $12.3 million, a decrease of 5.9% from $13.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2024. The fourth quarter of 2024 included professional fees paid to a third party related to ERC, as well as additional expenses related to a nonperforming loan that is in collection, legal fees and fraud/forgery losses, compared to the first quarter of 2025.

Relative to the first quarter of 2024, noninterest expense increased 18.6% from $10.4 million. The acquisition of Century Bank on July 31, 2024 contributed to additional noninterest expense during the first quarter of 2025.

Loans, net of unearned income, were $2.3 billion at March 31, 2025, up $33.5 million from December 31, 2024 and up $294.9 million from March 31, 2024. The linked-quarter increase in loans was attributable to new business growth across our footprint. The year-over-year increase in loans was primarily attributable the new business growth across our footprint, coupled with the acquisition of Century Bank, which resulted in additional loans of $134.0 million at March 31, 2025.

Nonperforming loans totaled $7.2 million, or 0.32% of gross loans, at March 31, 2025, compared with $6.5 million, or 0.29% of gross loans, at December 31, 2024, and $3.4 million, or 0.17% of gross loans, at March 31, 2024. The $642,000 net increase in nonperforming loans in the first quarter was primarily attributable to one significant commercial real estate loan being placed on nonaccrual status. The $3.7 million net increase in nonperforming loans from March 31, 2024 was primarily attributable to one significant commercial and industrial loan and the aforementioned commercial real estate loan being placed on nonaccrual status. These increases were partially offset by a commercial and industrial loan that was charged-off.

The Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $775,000 for the first quarter of 2025, compared to $72,000 for the fourth quarter of 2024. Provision in the first quarter of 2025 was based on loan growth, qualitative economic factors and individually analyzed loans.

Net charge-offs for the first quarter of 2025 were $237,000, or 0.04% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to net recoveries of $205,000, or (0.04)% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the fourth quarter of 2024, and net charge-offs of $470,000, or 0.10% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the first quarter of 2024. The net charge-offs recorded during the first quarter of 2025 were substantially related to a commercial and industrial loan. The net recoveries received in the fourth quarter of 2024 were primarily related to a pool of consumer loans charged-off in the third quarter of 2024. The net charge-offs recorded during the first quarter of 2024 were substantially related to a partial charge-off of the aforementioned pool of consumer loans.

The Company’s allowance for credit losses was 1.28% of total loans and 402.45% of nonperforming loans at March 31, 2025, compared with 1.27% of total loans and 433.77% of nonperforming loans at December 31, 2024. Allowance for credit losses on unfunded commitments was $1.4 million at March 31, 2025.

Total deposits were $2.4 billion at March 31, 2025, $2.4 billion at December 31, 2024 and $2.1 billion at March 31, 2024. The $14.3 million increase in total deposits in the first quarter was primarily due to an increase of $56.5 million in interest-bearing deposits, which includes a $12.5 million increase in brokered deposits, partially offset by a $42.1 million decrease in noninterest-bearing deposits. Total brokered deposits were $162.5 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $150.0 million at December 31, 2024.

As of March 31, 2025, total stockholders’ equity was $290.2 million, up from $279.9 million at December 31, 2024. The increase of $10.3 million was substantially due to earnings growth.

Headquartered in Anniston, Alabama, Southern States Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company that operates primarily through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southern States Bank. The Bank is a full service community banking institution, which offers an array of deposit, loan and other banking-related products and services to businesses and individuals in its communities. The Bank operates 15 branches in Alabama and Georgia and two loan production offices in Atlanta.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which reflect our current expectations and beliefs with respect to, among other things, future events and our financial performance. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond our control. This may be especially true given recent events and trends in the banking industry and the pending Merger. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the dates made, we cannot give any assurance that such expectations will prove correct and actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 under the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors”. Accordingly, we caution you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are difficult to predict.

These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “can,” “should,” “could,” “to be,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “expect,” “continue,” “will,” “likely,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “target,” “project,” “would” and “outlook,” or the negative version of those words or other similar words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places in this press release and may include statements about our acquisition of Century Bank of Georgia, business strategy and prospects for growth, operations, ability to pay dividends, competition, regulation and general economic conditions.

^{(1) See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.
(2) Includes total interest-bearing liabilities and noninterest deposits.}

^{(1) We define core deposits as total deposits excluding brokered deposits and time deposits greater than $250,000.
(2) Ratio is annualized.
(3) See "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below for reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures.}

^{(1) Includes nonaccrual loans.
(2) Net interest spread is the difference between interest rates earned on interest earning assets and interest rates paid on interest-bearing liabilities.
(3) Net interest margin is a ratio of net interest income to average interest earning assets for the same period.
(4) Net interest margin - FTE is a ratio of fully-taxable equivalent net interest income to average interest earning assets for the same period. It assumes a 24.0% tax rate.
(5) Refer to “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures”.
(6) Includes total interest-bearing liabilities and noninterest deposits.}

^{(1) Financial difficulty modification loans are excluded from nonperforming loans unless they otherwise meet the definition of nonaccrual loans or are more than 90 days past due.}

(1) Ratio is annualized.

In addition to reporting GAAP results, the Company reports non-GAAP financial measures in this earnings release and other disclosures. Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures and the information they provide are useful to investors since these measures permit investors to view our performance using the same tools that our management uses to evaluate our performance. While we believe that these non-GAAP financial measures are useful in evaluating our performance, this information should be considered as supplemental in nature and not as a substitute for or superior to the related financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. Additionally, these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from similar measures presented by other companies.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with GAAP.