Home Savings posts robust first quarter

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

United Community Financial Corp., parent company of Youngstown-based Home Savings Bank, reported first-quarter net income of $8.6 million, up from $1.5 million reported in the first quarter of 2017.

The first quarter of 2017 results included two months of operations from Premier Bank & Trust that was acquired Jan. 31, 2017.

In comparison, the first quarter of 2018 results include a full quarter of operations.

Loans grew 2.7 percent for the quarter, and customer deposits grew 5.8 percent.

“I am very pleased with the first-quarter results,” said Gary M. Small, president and chief executive officer of the company in a statement. “We achieved excellent loan and deposit growth while margin metrics remained very strong. The investments made in our team and the expansion of our product offerings in 2017 are clearly making a difference in our results today.”

On Tuesday, a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per common share was declared payable May 11 to shareholders of record at the close of business April 27.