Primis Financial Corp. reported a net loss available to common shareholders of $14.7 million, or $0.59 loss per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024. For the full year 2024, the company reported a net loss of $7.5 million, or $0.31 loss per diluted share. These results were significantly affected by the decision to move a third-party originated consumer loan portfolio to held for sale.
The company made a strategic decision to cease originating new loans under the Consumer Program effective January 31, 2025. A large portion of this portfolio, with an amortized cost of $133 million, was moved to loans held for sale and marked to fair market value, resulting in an additional $20.0 million in provision expense and charge-offs in Q4 2024.
Primis also completed the sale of its Life Premium Finance business and launched a meaningful mortgage warehouse lending business, which management expects to add up to 15 basis points of additional return on assets once scaled in 2025. The company's digital platform continued to grow, with nearly $1 billion of deposits and a significant decline in deposit costs, implying annual savings of approximately $6.5 million.
Net interest income decreased by approximately $1.9 million, or 7%, to $26.1 million in Q4 2024, primarily due to interest reversals on charged-off Consumer Program loans and the sale of the Life Premium Finance portfolio. However, recurring net interest income, excluding these impacts, would have been $28.6 million, up 11.3% year-over-year.
The Mortgage division earned approximately $2.6 million pre-tax in 2024, with production of $800 million, and anticipates $1.25 billion in production in the current rate environment. The Panacea Financial division also showed strong growth, with loans outstanding up 11% from Q3 2024 to $434 million. Management projects an adjusted 2024 ROAA of 0.65%, with further improvements expected from strategic initiatives.
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