WAKE FOREST, N.C., April 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc., (OTCBB:WAKE) parent company of Wake Forest Federal Savings and Loan Association, announced today that the Company reported earnings of $230,374 or $0.20 per share for its quarter ended March 31, 2015. The current quarter's results compared favorably to the same quarter last year when the Company reported earnings of $192,678 or $0.17 per share.
In announcing the earnings, Robert C. White, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated that the Company was pleased with the current quarter's results which were positively impacted by declining levels of nonperforming assets and the costs associated with foreclosed assets. Although the Company's returns continue to be impacted by compressed interest rate margins, those margins have increased slightly over the past twelve months because the Company has increasingly invested in brokered certificates that have yields higher than bonds but do not fluctuate with market interest rates. These investments guard against interest rate risk as does a significant portion of the Company's loan portfolio which has shorter maturities or variable rates. The Federal Reserve has kept interest rates at historic lows since December of 2008 but when rates rise in the future, the Company's performance should be enhanced by increased rate spreads generated by our ability to react quickly to such movements.
Although economic conditions are still challenging, residential home sales in our local markets continue to show signs of improvement. Our residential real estate markets have benefited because sales activity and home prices have increased while excess inventories of available homes once common in the recession have come down as the market continues to absorb existing product. As a historically high growth area, relocation sales have typically represented a sizable portion of our local real estate market but previously failed to keep pace in recent years because job growth, while positive, has been inconsistent. Although our local area's unemployment rate has continued to drop over the past two years, further declines are necessary for the Company's local markets to be considered back to pre-recession levels. When the area's employment shows further improvement, our markets and our performance should also follow.
The Company provided $37,500 and $15,000, respectively, during the current quarter and the same quarter last year in loan loss provisions. The Company had no loan charge-offs during the current quarter or the same quarter a year earlier. The Company's loan loss allowances amounted to approximately 2.46% of total loans outstanding at March 31, 2015. Foreclosed assets and non-performing loans amounted to $1,031,155 and $1,650,826 at March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Total assets of the Company amounted to $108,829,471 at March 31, 2015. Total loans receivable and deposits outstanding at March 31, 2015 amounted to $68,936,646 and $84,875,589, respectively. Wake Forest Bancshares Inc.'s tier 1 capital ratio was 20.70% at March 31, 2015.
Wake Forest Bancshares, Inc. has 1,150,097 shares of common stock outstanding. Based in Wake Forest, North Carolina since 1922, the Company conducts business as Wake Forest Federal from its office in Wake Forest, (Wake County), North Carolina.