Exhibit 99.1
Gouverneur Bancorp Announces 2008 Third
Quarter and Nine Months Results
Gouverneur, New York, August 5, 2008: Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. (AMEX: GOV) (the
"Company") and its subsidiary, Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association (the
"Bank"), today announced the results for the third quarter and nine months ended
June 30, 2008.
For the three months ended June 30, 2008, the Company reported net income of
$227,000, or $0.10 per diluted share, representing a decrease of $41,000, or
15.30% from last year's net income of $268,000, or $0.12 per diluted share. The
annualized return on average assets and average equity for the three months
ended June 30, 2008 was 0.69% and 4.39% respectively, compared to 0.81% and
5.29% for the three months ended June 30, 2007.
For the nine months ended June 30, 2008, the Company reported net income of
$703,000, or $0.31 per diluted share, representing an increase of $36,000, or
5.40% over last year's net income of $667,000, or $0.29 per diluted share. The
annualized return on average assets and average equity for the nine months ended
June 30, 2008 was 0.71% and 4.55% respectively, compared to 0.68% and 4.42% for
the same period last year.
Since September 30, 2007, total assets grew $2.0 million, or 1.51%, from $132.6
million to $134.6 million at June 30, 2008, while net loans increased $777,000,
or 0.73%, from $106.1 million to $106.9 million over the same period.
Deposits increased $6.6 million, or 8.66%, from $76.2 million at September 30,
2007 to $82.8 million at June 30, 2008. Brokered CDs decreased $0.7 million over
the same period. Advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York decreased
from $33.2 million at September 30, 2007 to $28.0 million at June 30, 2008.
Shareholders' equity was $20.8 million at June 30, 2008, an increase of 1.96%
over the September 30, 2007 balance of $20.4 million. The book value of
Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. was $9.06 per common share based on 2,299,384 shares
outstanding at June 30, 2008. The company paid a semi-annual cash dividend of
$0.16 per share to public shareholders on March 31, 2008. Cambray Mutual Holding
Company, Gouverneur Bancorp Inc.'s parent mutual holding company and holder of
57.0% of the Company's issued and outstanding stock, waived its right to receive
that dividend.
Mr. Richard F. Bennett, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer,
said, "We have announced that we are moving to reduce our number of shareholders
below 300 through a stock split transaction ("the transaction") to allow us to
deregister our common stock and suspend our reporting obligations under federal
security laws. We expect to complete this transaction at a special meeting to be
scheduled in late September. We expect to realize significant savings in
operating costs once the transaction is completed, helping our bank to improve
profitability over the coming years."
Commenting on the year's results, Mr. Bennett said, "The market price of our
stock has hit new lows over the past few months, reaching values now below our
book value. The current condition of the housing market and recent discussions
about bank failures has hit bank stocks very hard. We continue to grow slowly
and profitably as demand for loans has decreased in our markets. However, we are
not seeing the drop in housing prices experienced in many areas of the country.
We expect that the economy will continue to struggle as the effects of oil price
increases continue to impact us all.
The cost of deposits and borrowed funds continues to edge downward as maturities
price lower. We are pleased that our net interest income increased $9,000 during
the first nine months of the 2008 fiscal year as compared to the first nine
months of the 2007 fiscal year. It appears that the decreases in our costs of
funds are keeping pace with the decreases in earnings on interest earning
assets, mostly loans."
The Company, which is headquartered in Gouverneur, New York, is the holding
company for Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association. Founded in 1892, the Bank
is a federally chartered savings and loan association offering a variety of
banking products and services to individuals and businesses in its primary
market area in southern St. Lawrence and northern Lewis and Jefferson Counties
in New York State.
Statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements as that term
is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
statements are based on the beliefs of management as well as assumptions made
using information currently available to management. Since these statements
reflect the views of management concerning future events, these statements
involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. These risks and uncertainties
include among others, the impact of changes in market interest rates and general
economic conditions, changes in government regulations, changes in accounting
principles and the quality or composition of the loan and investment portfolios.
Therefore, actual future results may differ significantly from results discussed
in the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, which include, but
are not limited to, factors discussed in the documents filed by the Company with
the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.
For more information, contact Robert J. Twyman, Vice President and Chief
Financial Officer at (315) 287-2600.
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