GOUVERNEUR, N.Y., April 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. (OTC:GOVB) (BULLETIN BOARD: GOVB) (the "Company") and its subsidiary, Gouverneur Savings and Loan Association (the "Bank"), which operate on a fiscal year ending on September 30, today announced results for the second quarter and six month period ended March 31, 2009. For the three months ended March 31, 2009, the Company reported net income of $348,000, or $0.15 per diluted share, representing an increase of $111,000, or 46.8% over last year's net income of $237,000, or $0.10 per diluted share. The annualized return on average assets and average equity for the three months ended March 31, 2009 were 1.03% and 6.61%, respectively, compared to 0.73% and 4.61%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2008. For the six months ended March 31, 2009, the Company reported net income of $699,000, or $0.31 per diluted share, representing an increase of $223,000, or 46.8% from last year's net income of $476,000, or $0.21 per diluted share. The annualized return on average assets and average equity for the six months ended March 31, 2009 were 1.02% and 6.64%, respectively, compared to 0.72% and 4.63%, respectively, during the six months ended March 31, 2008. Since September 30, 2008, total assets fell $0.4 million, or 0.3%, from $136.7 million to $136.3 million at March 31, 2009, while net loans increased $3.1 million, or 2.8%, from $110.5 million to $113.6 million over the same period. Deposits decreased $0.1 million, or 0.1%, from $85.3 million at September 30, 2008 to $85.2 million at March 31, 2009. Advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York decreased $0.7 million, or 2.5%, from $27.8 million at September 30, 2008 to $27.1 million at March 31, 2009. Shareholders' equity was $21.4 million at March 31, 2009, an increase of 3.4% over the September 30, 2008 balance of $20.7 million. The book value of Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. was $9.35 per common share based on 2,286,979 shares outstanding at March 31, 2009. On March 31, 2009 the Company paid a semi-annual cash dividend of $0.17 per share to public shareholders of record on March 15, 2009. Cambray Mutual Holding Company, the Company's parent mutual holding company and majority shareholder, waived its right to receive that dividend. Commenting on the year's results, Mr. Richard F. Bennett, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Interest rate spread, the difference between the average rate we earn on our interest-earning assets and the cost of our interest-bearing liabilities, is strong as decreases in interest costs have exceeded decreases in interest income. For the six months ended March 31, 2009 net interest income increased by $288,000 as interest income decreased $88,000 and interest expense decreased $376,000. The Federal Reserve has decided to buy back longer-term treasuries to lower mortgage rates. The move will impact mortgages packaged and sold in the secondary market as investments. Since we have not sold mortgages, we hold our mortgages to term, we may not be able to offer competitive rates with banks that do sell their mortgages and may lose mortgage volume as a result." Mr. Bennett continued, "Results for the six months ended March 31, 2009 show that non-interest income increased by $4,000 from increases of $44,000 in service charge income and $9,000 in other income were mostly offset by a $50,000 decrease in the market value of the investments held in the deferred directors' fees plan. Service charge income has been bolstered by the addition of an overdraft privilege program established two years ago. Non-interest expense decreased by $67,000 during the first six months of this fiscal year mainly resulted from the $50,000 decrease in the market value of the underlying plan assets for the deferred directors fees plan. Decreases of $28,000 and $11,000 in professional fees and other expenses were partially offset by increases of $9,000 in occupancy and equipment, $6,000 in postage and supplies and $5,000 in data processing costs The decreases in professional fees and other expenses resulted in part from the decision to 'go private.'" "We have decided not to participate in the U.S. Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)," said Mr. Bennett. "Even though this program is now available to Mutual Holding Companies, such as ours, we do not believe that taking part in this program would be in the best interest of our shareholders. We are confident in our ability to manage our company without TARP assistance in the current economic climate." 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. DATASOURCE: Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc. CONTACT: Robert J. Twyman, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Gouverneur Bancorp, Inc., +1-315-287-2600 Web Site: http://www.gouverneurbank.com/

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