Hanover Bancorp reports Q4 EPS 72c vs $1.16 last year

Michael Puorro, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the Company’s quarterly results: "We are pleased with our results of the fourth calendar quarter of 2022 given the challenging economic environment the industry is currently experiencing. We again demonstrated strong organic loan growth of $123.3 million, or 30.4% annualized, during the fourth quarter, while continuing to generate solid credit quality metrics as evidenced by the decrease in non-performing assets. Despite the rapid and significant rise in interest rates, we were able to increase core deposits by $278 million or 33% year over year and, excluding purchase accounting, were able to minimize NIM compression for the first three quarters of the year. Although we experienced delayed deposit pricing pressure during the fourth quarter, which resulted in an increase in our cost of funds and a reduction in net interest income, we generated quality earnings of $5.3 million for the quarter, coupled with competitive financial performance metrics as evidenced by our continued growth in tangible book value per share and an operating efficiency ratio of 49.6%. In 2023, we will continue to focus on low-cost core deposit generation, growing our lending verticals while maintaining strong credit quality, and prudent expense management. We are also progressing on the buildout and talent acquisition of the planned Hauppauge location."