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Communities First Financial Corporation Earns a Record $ 4.20 Million for 1Q - 2021 , up 86 % from $ 2.26 Million for 1Q - 2020 Company Release - 4/20/2021 9:00 AM ET FRESNO , Calif . , April 20 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Communities First Financial Corporation ( the " Company " ) ( OTCQX : CFST ) , the parent company of Fresno First Bank ( the " Bank " ) , today reported net income increased 86 % to $ 4.20 million , or $ 1.37 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2021 ( 1Q - 2021 ) , compared to $ 2.26 million , or $ 0.75 per diluted share , for the first quarter of 2020 ( 1Q - 2020 ) , and grew 29 % compared to $ 3.25 million , or $ 1.07 per diluted share , for the fourth quarter of 2020 ( 4Q - 2020 ) . All results are unaudited . First Quarter 2021 Highlights : As of , or for the quarter ended March 31 , 2021 , compared to the quarter ended March 31 , 2020 : ■ Pre - tax , pre - provision income increased 88 % to $ 6.57 million . ■ Net income increased 86 % to $ 4.20 million or $ 1.37 per diluted share . ⚫ Return on average equity of 24.37 % . ■ Return on average assets of 1.87 % . ■ Operating revenue ( net interest income , before the provision for loan losses , plus non - interest income ) increased by 51 % to $ 11.02 million . • Total assets increased 75 % reaching $ 957.48 million . ■ Total loans ( ex . HFS ) increased 82 % to $ 691.97 million . ■ Total deposits increased 78 % to $ 836.31 million . ■ Shareholder equity increased 25 % to $ 70.92 million . ■ Book value increased 22 % to $ 23.12 per share . " Continuing the momentum of achieving record profits for 2020 , we generated record earnings for the first quarter of 2021 , supported by significantly higher fee and interest income , primarily as a result of our participation in the Small Business Administration's ( ' SBA ' ) Paycheck Protection Program ( ' PPP ' ) , " said Steve Miller , President and Chief Executive Officer . " Our one non - accrual loan that had been consistently paying down for almost three years , was paid off in full and contributed $ 509,000 to interest income in the first quarter of 2021. Even without this one - time event , we would still have delivered record profits for the first quarter of 2021 , as our substantial growth in earning assets over the last year outpaced our non - interest expense . " Nonperforming assets declined to $ 1.49 million from the linked quarter and there were no performing restructured loans at March 31 , 2021 . " In addition to higher interest income , our continued loan and total deposit growth also contributed to the bottom line with noninterest - bearing deposits increasing 75 % , and the total loan portfolio growing by 78 % , year - over - year . Noninterest - bearing deposits represented over 61 % of total deposits at March 31 , 2021 , " continued Miller . " We also sold approximately $ 7.0 million in certificates of deposit from our investment portfolio and realized $ 312,000 in gain on sale income which was recognized through our non - interest income . " First Quarter 2021 non - recurring events that positively impacted earnings : ■ The largest and only non - accrual loan relationship was paid off in full during the first quarter . As a result , the Company collected $ 509,000 in non - accrual interest as well as $ 5,000 in recovered collection expenses which reduced operating expenses . ■ $ 7.0 million of investment holdings sold during the first quarter , resulting in a gain on sale of $ 312,000 , increased non - interest income . The result of these one - time events increased after - tax net income by $ 606,000 , which impacted certain key financial ratios . The following table provides a more normalized run rate by adjusting out the non - recurring items : Financial Metric Select Financial Information - Reconciliation of one - time events Income as reported Non - accrued interest recovery Gain on sale of securities Normalized run rate Net interest income $ 9,239 - $ 509 Provision for loan losses $ 850 Net interest income after provision $ 8,389 Non - interest income Non - interest expense $ 1,778 $ 4,445 $ 5 $ 8,730 $ 850 $ 8,389 - $ 312 $ 1,466 $ 4,450 Net income before tax $ 5,722 - $ 514 - $ 312 $ 4,896 Tax provision $ 1,526 - $ 137 - $ 83 $ 1,306 Net income after tax $ 4,196 - $ 377 - $ 229 $ 3,590 ROAA ROAE 1.87 % -0.17 % 24.37 % -2.19 % -0.10 % -1.33 % 1.60 % 20.85 % Net Interest Margin 4.49 % -0.17 % N / A 4.32 % Efficiency Ratio 41.52 % 2.12 % N / A 43.64 %