Macatawa Bank reports higher fourth quarter, 2018 earnings

Macatawa Bank reports higher fourth quarter, 2018 earnings
Ronald Haan

HOLLAND — Macatawa Bank Corp. nearly tripled earnings for the fourth quarter.

The Holland-based Macatawa Bank (Nasdaq: MCBC) on Thursday reported quarterly net income of $7 million, or 21 cents per diluted share. That’s compares to net income of $2.1 million, or 6 cents per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Net income for all of 2018 grew to $26.3 million, or 78 cents per diluted share, from $16.2 million, or 48 cents per diluted share, a year ago.

“Our focus on profitable growth continues to deliver strong and consistent financial performance for our shareholders,” President and CEO Ronald Haan said. “We remain committed to operating a well-disciplined company in order to produce these kinds of results again in the upcoming year and beyond.”

Earnings were helped by federal tax reform that lowered Macatawa Bank’s quarterly income tax to $1.7 million from $4.4 million. For all of 2018, the bank’s taxes dropped to $5.9 million from $10.7 million the previous year.

Earnings for the quarter a year earlier and for all of 2017 also were reduced by $2.5 million because of an increase in federal income tax expense needed to revalue the net deferred tax assets at the end of the year because of federal tax reform.

Macatawa Bank has 26 offices in Ottawa, Kent and Allegan counties with total assets of $1.97 billion and $1.67 billion in deposits.

Total loans grew about 6 percent during the year, or $85 million to $1.41 billion. Macatawa Bank’s commercial loans increased more than 7 percent for 2018, or $75 million, to $1.08 billion.