Provident Financial reports Q4 EPS 26c, consensus 33c

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, net interest income increased $728,000, or nine percent, to $9.23 million from $8.51 million for the same quarter last year. The increase in net interest income was primarily due to a higher balance of interest-earning assets, partly offset by a lower net interest margin. The average balance of interest-earning assets increased by 11 percent to $1.28 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 from $1.16 billion in the same quarter last year. This increase was attributable to the increase in the average balance of loans receivable, partly offset by decreases in the average balance of investment securities and interest-earning deposits. The net interest margin during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 decreased five basis points to 2.88 percent from 2.93 percent in the same quarter last year. The average yield on interest-earning assets increased 85 basis points to 4.03 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 from 3.18 percent in the same quarter last year while the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased by 100 basis points to 1.27 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 from 0.27 percent in the same quarter last year.