Jan. 26. Aquesta Financial Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Aquesta Bank and Aquesta Insurance Services, today announced earnings and loan growth for the fourth quarter of 2017.

For the fourth quarter of 2017, Aquesta had unaudited net income of $204,000 at 6 cents per share compared to 2016 fourth quarter net income of $529,000 at 16 cents per share. Net income decreased in 2017 to $1.9 million at 58 cents per share from 2016’s net income of $2.2 million at 69 cents per share.

The decrease in Aquesta’s 2017 net income was due to a one-time tax adjustment relating to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.  The legislation lowered Aquesta’s federal corporate tax rate from 34% to 21%, which is expected to result in reduced taxes and higher earnings in the future. Net income for 2017, excluding this one-time adjustment, was $2.3 million, a new record for Aquesta earnings.

Aquesta trades under the symbol AQFH.

“I am pleased to announce continued excellent earnings excluding a one-time charge combined with excellent growth for the year,” said Jim Engel, Aquesta CEO & President. “Our almost 22 percent loan
growth for the year reflects positively on our people and our strategy. While this quarter’s net income was negatively impacted by the accounting adjustment resulting from tax reform, we believe the reduced tax expense going forward will quickly repay the adjustment. ”