First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2015 Earnings

WHEELING, W.Va., April 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE MKT: FWV) President and Chief Executive Officer, William G. Petroplus, today announced first quarter earnings for the Wheeling, West Virginia, based holding company. First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of Progressive Bank, N.A., Wheeling, West Virginia.

The Company reported net income of $1,038,000 or $.60 per share for the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to $446,000 or $.26 per share for the same period during 2014. The increase in net income for the three months ended March 31, 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014 of $592,000 was primarily the result of the increase in noninterest income as well as the increase in net interest income, offset in part by an increase in income tax expense and an increase in noninterest expenses.  Noninterest income increased $992,000, primarily due to the net gains on available for sale securities.  Net interest income increased $136,000, or 6.7%, primarily due to the increase in the interest and fees earned on loans combined with the slight reduction in the expense paid on interest bearing liabilities, offset in part by a decline in the interest earned on investment securities.  Income tax expense increased $433,000 during the first quarter of 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014 primarily due to the net gains on available for sale securities.  Noninterest expenses increased $103,000, or 5.4%, during the three month period ended March 31, 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 primarily due to an increase in salary and employee benefit expenses combined with slight increases in occupancy expenses and other operating expenses.  The ROAA was 1.26% for the three months ended March 31, 2015 as compared to .54% for the same period of the prior year. For the three months ended March 31, 2015 compared to March 31, 2014, the ROAE was 12.29% and 5.41%, respectively.

SOURCE First West Virginia Bancorp, Inc.