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Lake City Bank Lakeland Financial Reports Record Third Quarter 2021 Performance ; Year - to - Date Record Net Income Improves by 20 % to $ 71.5 Million October 25 , 2021 WARSAW , Ind . , Oct. 25 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- Lakeland Financial Corporation ( Nasdaq Global Select / LKFN ) , parent company of Lake City Bank , today reported record third quarter net income of $ 24.1 million for the three months ended September 30 , 2021 , an increase of 6 % , versus $ 22.8 million for the third quarter of 2020. Diluted earnings per share increased 6 % to $ 0.94 for the third quarter of 2021 , versus $ 0.89 for the third quarter of 2020. On a linked quarter basis , net income decreased $ 229,000 , or 1 % , from the second quarter of 2021 , in which the company had net income of $ 24.3 million , or $ 0.95 , diluted earnings per share . Pretax pre - provision earnings 1 were $ 30.9 million for the third quarter of 2021 , an increase of 3 % , or $ 1.0 million , from $ 29.9 million for the third quarter of 2020. On a linked quarter basis , pretax pre - provision earnings increased 9 % , or $ 2.5 million , from $ 28.4 million for the second quarter of 2021 . The company further reported record net income of $ 71.5 million for the nine months ended September 30 , 2021 versus $ 59.7 million for the comparable period of 2020 , an increase of 20 % . Diluted earnings per share also increased 20 % to $ 2.79 for the nine months ended September 30 , 2021 versus $ 2.33 for the comparable period of 2020. Pretax pre - provision earnings¹ were $ 88.7 million for the nine months ended September 30 , 2021 , versus $ 87.1 million for the comparable period of 2020 , an increase of 2 % , or $ 1.7 million . David M. Findlay , President and Chief Executive Officer commented , " The Lake City Bank team continues to produce quality earnings in a unique and challenging operating environment . As we move into the last quarter of 2021 , our disciplined and execution - focused strategies continue to deliver consistent revenue growth despite the difficult interest rate environment . Financial Performance - Third Quarter 2021 Third Quarter 2021 versus Third Quarter 2020 highlights : • Return on average equity of 13.90 % , compared to 14.36 % • Return on average assets of 1.56 % , compared to 1.64 % • Average loan growth , excluding PPP loans , of $ 211.7 million , or 5 % • Core deposit growth of $ 665.4 million , or 14 % • Noninterest bearing demand deposit account growth of $ 341.2 million , or 24 % ⚫ Net interest income increase of $ 5.8 million , or 15 % • Net interest margin of 3.13 % compared to 3.05 % • Revenue growth of $ 3.8 million , or 7 % • Noninterest expense increase of $ 2.8 million , or 12 % • Provision expense of $ 1.3 million compared to provision expense of $ 1.8 million , a decrease of $ 0.5 million • Nonperforming loans of $ 31.0 million , an increase of $ 17.5 million • Dividend per share increase of 13 % to $ 0.34 from $ 0.30 Average total equity increase of $ 57.3 million , or 9 % • Total risk - based capital ratio improved to 15.44 % compared to 14.90 % • Tangible capital ratio of 10.92 % compared to 11.41 % 1 Non - GAAP financial measure - see " Reconciliation of Non - GAAP Financial Measures " 2 Beginning January 1 , 2021 calculation is based on the Current Expected Credit Loss methodology ( CECL ) . Prior to January 1 , 2021 calculation was based on the incurred loss methodology . Third Quarter 2021 versus Second Quarter 2021 highlights : • Return on average equity of 13.90 % , compared to 14.71 % • Return on average assets of 1.56 % compared to 1.58 % • Average loan growth , excluding PPP loans , of $ 71.5 million , or 2 % • Core deposit growth of $ 19.0 million • Noninterest bearing demand deposit account growth of $ 19.0 million , or 1 % • Net interest income increase of $ 2.1 million , or 5 % • Net interest margin of 3.13 % compared to 3.01 % • Revenue growth of $ 1.9 million , or 3 % • Noninterest expense decrease of $ 681,000 , or 3 % • Provision expense of $ 1.3 million compared to a reversal of provision expense of $ 1.7 million , an increase of $ 3.0 million Nonperforming loans of $ 31.0 million , an increase of $ 20.3 million • . Average total equity increase of $ 24.3 million , or 4 %