Evans Bancorp (NYSE: EVBN) reported Q4 EPS of $0.93, $0.11 better than the analyst estimate of $0.82.

FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2019 HIGHLIGHTS (compared with prior-year period unless otherwise noted)

• Record annual net income of $17.9 million, up 9%
• Net interest income increased 8% to $52 million in 2019 driven by higher loan balances
• Insurance service and fee revenue increased 14% to $10.7 million during 2019
• Average demand deposits grew 10% in the fourth quarter
• Entered into an agreement to acquire Fairport Savings Bank

“2019 was an outstanding year for the organization. Our performance demonstrated solid growth and the success of our strategic focus as well as a continued commitment to building and strengthening the business for the long-term,” said David J. Nasca, President and CEO of Evans Bancorp, Inc. “We grew and rebalanced our deposit portfolio mix, continued to drive strong loan growth and increased non-interest income. Operations and offerings in insurance, employee benefits, cash management and municipal services were strengthened and bolstered fee-based business income.”

“2020 is an important milestone in Evans history, as this year marks a century of serving Western New York. Stable, prudent and strategic management has enabled us to effectively serve all our stakeholders, associates, shareholders, clients and the community over this long history. We believe this, along with a relationship focus and strong cultural foundation, provides sustainability and excellent prospects for the continued growth and success of our community based financial organization.”

Outlook

Mr. Nasca concluded, “We believe the economic environment within the markets we serve is solid and provides opportunity for us to expand our business and create deeper relationships with existing clients. The differentiators will continue to be our talented people and a focus on adding value to relationships while continuing to invest back into our communities.

“We expect that the current interest rate environment and geo-political issues will present their share of challenges. Our ability to focus on our clients, continue our growth and targeted strategic investments should help offset these pressures and allow us to continue to build earnings power. We are excited about the acquisition of FSB Bancorp and its Fairport Savings Bank, which was announced in December. The acquisition will let us bring our community focused commercial business model to an expanded market, scale the consumer and mortgage banking activities of the combined organization for efficiency and profitability, deliver additional deposit clients and allow Evans to expand its competitive fee-based businesses. We believe the combined capabilities of Evans and FSB create breadth and scale that will benefit clients, communities and associates while adding to returns.”

The Company expects the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2020, subject to the satisfaction of normal and customary closing conditions, including regulatory and FSB shareholder approvals.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Evans Bancorp (EVBN) click here.