Plumas Bancorp (NASDAQ:PLBC), the holding company for Plumas Bank, today announced a significant increase in its first-quarter earnings for 2025.
The company reported net income of $7.2 million, or $1.21 per share, a notable rise from the $6.3 million, or $1.06 per share, recorded during the same period in 2024.
Diluted earnings per share also saw an increase, reaching $1.20 compared to $1.05 in the first quarter of the previous year.
The positive results were further highlighted by an improved return on average assets, which climbed to 1.79% from 1.55% in the first quarter of 2024.
However, the return on average equity slightly decreased to 16% from 16.4% year-over-year.
Driving the earnings growth was a $1.1 million increase in net-interest income, which reached $18.5 million in the current quarter compared to $17.4 million in the first quarter of 2024.
Additionally, non-interest income saw a substantial boost of $1.1 million, rising to $3.2 million, primarily due to a $1.1 million legal settlement.
This settlement was related to the devastating Dixie Fire of August 2021, which significantly impacted the town of Greenville, California, and disrupted the bank's ability to serve customers in the area due to damage to telecommunications infrastructure.
The company also reported a decrease in the provision for credit losses, which fell from $821 thousand in the first quarter of 2024 to $250 thousand in the current quarter.
Despite the strong earnings, non-interest expense increased by $1.1 million to $11.5 million, up from $10.4 million in the same period last year.
A significant portion of this increase, $569 thousand, was attributed to costs associated with the pending acquisition of Cornerstone Community Bancorp, a definitive agreement for which was signed on January 28, 2025.
Finally, Plumas Bancorp reported an increase in its provision for income taxes, which rose to $2.9 million (28.5% of pre-tax income) from $2.1 million (25.4% of pre-tax income) in the first quarter of 2024.