Landmark Bancorp, Inc. Stock

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Landmark Bancorp Q3 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over to Shelley Reed, Head of Corporate Strategy and Development and Head of Investor Relations. Shelley, please go ahead.

Thanks, Trevor. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Landmark Bancorp's Third Quarter Earnings Conference Call. Joining me today is our President and CEO, Abby Wendel; and our Chief Financial Officer, Mark Herpich. During today's call, we may make statements that constitute projections, plans, objectives, future performance, beliefs, expectations or similar forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We caution that such statements are predictions only and that actual results may differ materially.

We include more information on these factors in our earnings release furnished with our Form 8-K yesterday as well as our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings and subsequent filings with the SEC. Additionally, all statements, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they're made, and Landmark undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events. Also, our remarks may reference certain non-GAAP financial metrics, which we believe provide useful information to investors.

Additional disclosures regarding non-GAAP metrics, including the reconciliation of those non-GAAP metrics to GAAP, are contained in our earnings release, which we filed yesterday with the SEC and are also available in our Investors section of our website at banklandmark.com. We caution that these non-GAAP financial metrics should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP as contained in our earnings release and other filings with the SEC. A replay of this call will be available through November 5, 2026. Access information can be found in our earnings release. I will now turn the conference call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Abby Wendel.

Thanks, Shelley. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. Landmark delivered solid third quarter results driven by net interest margin expansion, stable credit quality and a strong balance sheet, reflective of our relationship-driven approach to banking, serving our communities and our core customer base. Net income increased to $5.5 million for the third quarter and diluted earnings per share increased to $0.89. Year-to-date net income increased to $15.9 million and diluted earnings per share increased to $2.59 compared to net income of $14 million or $2.29 per diluted share for the 9 months ended September 30, 2025.

Return on assets increased to an attractive 1.36% quarter-over-quarter and has increased significantly from 1.21% for the third quarter of 2025. Revenues totaled a record $19.2 million, driven by an increase in net interest income, demonstrating our disciplined approach to loan and deposit pricing. Although loan payoffs outpaced new loan production this quarter, we successfully grew interest income by maintaining pricing and underwriting practices reflective of the current market environment. New loan originations were at yields exceeding those of maturing and paid off loans, which contributed to improved earning asset performance.

Yield on average loans for the quarter increased to 6.46%. The decrease in loan balances was driven in part by continued declines in 1-4 family residential and consumer loan portfolios, which accounted for more than half of the overall decline. On the funding side, the decrease in deposits reported for the third quarter was due in part to a seasonal outflow of public fund deposits. We would expect this trend to reverse in the fourth quarter. We also made the decision in the quarter to replace this funding primarily with FHLB borrowings based on market dynamics and favorable pricing.

Our disciplined approach to deposit pricing enabled us to further reduce our cost of deposits to 1.29%. Noninterest-bearing deposits remained approximately 29% of total deposits, underscoring the quality of our deposit base and providing a meaningful competitive advantage as we navigate the current economic environment. Our core retail and commercial customer base continues to grow, which positions us favorably to support future balance sheet and revenue growth. Turning to fee income. We recorded noninterest income of $3.6 million during the third quarter of 2026, which was down compared to the second quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2025 due primarily to a decrease in gain on sale of mortgage loans.

The increase in interest rates during the third quarter slowed mortgage production. Expenses increased in the third quarter, driven by increases in compensation and benefits expense as well as continued technology investments. Investing in talent and talent development remains a key component of our strategy, helping us build a deep and sustainable pipeline of leadership and client-focused expertise. We are encouraged by our recent success in attracting and promoting emerging talent and remain committed to cultivating the next generation of bankers and leaders.

At the same time, we continue to selectively add experienced professionals across our footprint who share our commitment to relationship banking and can contribute to the ongoing expansion to our full-service banking model. This includes the recent addition of a couple of experienced executives to our leadership team as we further strengthen our credit and risk management capabilities and continue to scale in a prudent and profitable manner. Before I turn the call over to Mark to discuss our results in more detail, I wanted to quickly touch on our asset quality.

I'm pleased with our stable asset quality trends this quarter, including a slight decrease in nonaccrual loans and excellent charge-off levels of 0.01% of average loans. Our provision decreased in the third quarter versus the second quarter of 2026, while increasing our coverage of total loans and nonperforming loans. But we still have work to do on our loan portfolio and overall credit approach as we elevate expectations and strengthen our credit culture. We are committed to building a bank with sound underwriting and a credit-first mindset.

Lastly, I'm pleased to report that our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.21 per share payable on November 27, 2026, to shareholders of record as of November 12, 2026. This dividend marks the company's 101st consecutive quarterly cash dividend since the formation of the holding company in 2001, underscoring our long-standing commitment to delivering value to shareholders. The Board of Directors also declared a 5% stock dividend to be issued on December 16, 2026, to shareholders of record on December 2, 2026. This is the 26th consecutive year that Landmark has declared a 5% stock dividend. I will now turn the call over to Mark Herpich, our Chief Financial Officer, who will discuss our financial results in greater detail.

Thanks, Abby, and good morning to everyone. While Abby has just provided a highlight of our overall strong financial performance this year, I'll provide some further details on our third quarter results. Net income in the third quarter of 2026 increased to $5.5 million compared to $5.4 million in the second quarter of 2026 and $4.9 million in the third quarter of 2025, mainly due to continued growth in net interest income. In the third quarter of 2026, net interest income totaled $15.6 million, an increase of $562,000 compared to the second quarter of 2026, driven by increased earning asset yields, partially offset by higher funding costs.

Net interest income also grew $1.5 million compared to the same period of the prior year due primarily to lower deposit costs. Total interest income on loans increased to $17.5 million in the third quarter, while interest income on investments increased to $3.3 million. Average loans decreased by $12.3 million in the third quarter of 2026, while tax equivalent yield on the loan portfolio increased to 6.46% and the average yield on the securities portfolio increased to 3.80% from 3.66% in the second quarter of 2026. Interest expense on deposits in the third quarter of 2026 decreased $62,000 from the prior quarter due to lower cost of deposits, while average deposit balances decreased to $1.3 billion in the third quarter.

The decline in deposits relates to a seasonal decline in public fund deposits. The average rate on interest-bearing deposits decreased slightly to 1.81%, down 1 basis point from the prior quarter, reflecting lower deposit costs. Additionally, we strategically elected to utilize our Federal Home Loan Bank borrowing line more heavily during the third quarter. Interest expense on borrowed funds increased by $100,000 compared to the prior quarter due to higher average balances and consistent borrowing rates. Landmark's net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis increased 13 basis points to 4.35% in the third quarter of 2026 as compared to the second quarter of 2026 and improved 52 basis points as compared to the third quarter of 2025.

Noninterest income totaled $3.6 million this quarter, a decrease of $493,000 compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of $466,000 compared to the third quarter of 2025. The decrease in comparison to the prior quarter resulted primarily from a $593,000 decrease in gains on the sale of loans due to a decrease in the volume of loans sold in the secondary market during the third quarter of 2026. Noninterest expense for the third quarter of 2026 totaled $12.3 million, an increase of $292,000 compared to the prior quarter. This increase related primarily to increases of $238,000 in compensation and benefits expense, $178,000 in occupancy and equipment expense and $148,000 in other expense.

Partially offsetting these increases was a decrease of $313,000 in professional fees. This quarter, we recorded tax expense of $1.3 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 19.3% as compared to tax expense of $1.3 million in the second quarter of 2026 as well for an effective tax rate of 19.7%. Gross loans decreased $22.2 million in the current quarter compared to the previous quarter and totaled $1.1 billion at quarter end. Average loans declined by $12.3 million in the current quarter as compared to the prior quarter. As of September 30, 2026, we experienced decreases in our commercial real estate portfolio of $12.5 million, our residential real estate portfolio of $10.6 million and commercial loan portfolio of $6.4 million, which were partially offset by increases in our construction and land development portfolio of $9.3 million.

Investment securities increased $2.5 million during the third quarter of 2026, mainly due to the reinvestment of maturities and cash flow from the portfolio. Our investment portfolio has an average duration of 4.8 years with projected 12-month cash flow of $60.4 million and a roll-off yield of less than 3% at September 30, 2026, which is lower than the current yields available on new investments purchased. Unrealized net losses on our investment portfolio increased by $10.9 million during the quarter to $18.5 million net of tax as a result of higher interest rates. Deposits totaled $1.2 billion at September 30, 2026, a decrease of $59.0 million in the third quarter compared to the prior quarter.

This quarter, public funds deposits declined by $61.7 million related to seasonal declines. The public fund deposit decreases were offset by growth in core customer deposits. Excluding the decline in public fund deposits and broker deposits, core customer deposits actually increased $4.9 million during the quarter. Our total borrowings increased by $49.5 million during the quarter as we continue to lever lower cost funding from other borrowing sources like the Federal Home Loan Bank. Our balance sheet continues to provide sufficient liquidity and flexibility to fund future growth as our loan-to-deposit ratio totaled 85.6% and securities were 21.8% of total assets at September 30.

Stockholders' equity decreased $6.6 million during the third quarter to $160.3 million at September 30, driven by higher other comprehensive losses due to the increase in interest rates, offset by retained earnings net of common stock cash dividends. Our book value was $26.24 per share at September 30, 2026, compared to $27.35 at June 30. Our tangible book value per share ended the quarter at $20.68, a decrease from June 30, 2026, but an increase of 3.6% compared to a year ago September 30, 2025. Our consolidated and bank regulatory capital ratios as of September 30, 2026, are strong and continue to exceed the regulatory levels required to be considered well capitalized.

Turning to credit quality. Nonperforming loans decreased $572,000 during the quarter to $12.5 million or 1.16% of gross loans compared to $13.1 million or 1.18% of gross loans at June 30, 2026. Loans delinquent 30 to 89 days and still accruing interest totaled $8.3 million or 0.77% of gross loans at September 30 compared to $6.3 million or 0.57% at June 30. The increase in delinquent loans was primarily driven by one borrower in the commercial real estate portfolio, which we continue to monitor closely. Net loan charge-offs during the third quarter totaled $14,000 compared to $452,000 during the second quarter.

On an annualized basis, net charge-offs represented approximately 0.01% of average loans compared to 0.17% of average loans in the prior quarter. Overall, we are pleased with our low net charge-off rates, which remain manageable relative to the size of the portfolio. The allowance for credit losses totaled $12.9 million or 1.19% of total gross loans at September 30. We recorded a $250,000 provision for credit losses for portfolio loans and reversed $45,000 of provision related to loan commitments during the quarter. We believe the allowance remains appropriate based on the composition of the portfolio, identified credit trends and our ongoing review process.

Overall, nonperforming loans decreased during the quarter, reflecting progress made on the borrower-specific situations that we have been actively monitoring and managing. Our focus remains on the timely identification of emerging issues, proactive portfolio management and working towards the resolution of challenged credits. I will now turn the call back over to Abby.

Thank you, Mark. I think we are now in a position to take questions.

[Operator Instructions] Your first question comes from the line of John Rodis with Brean Capital.

Abby, maybe a question for you. If not, I guess it's for Mark. But just on the loan performance during the quarter, you mentioned higher payoffs. Just your thoughts as you look out to the fourth quarter into early next year. Do you think -- I know payoffs are obviously hard to predict, but your thoughts on showing some net loan growth going forward?

Yes. Thanks for the question. Your thinking is where we're aligned with those thoughts as well. And I guess a couple of things I'd say is when you look at the long-run performance of what we're doing here and where we think we're going, we're still optimistic. You know me, I'm always a little bit cautiously optimistic. But in the third quarter, specifically, we had some payoffs that -- there's kind of lumpy.

There's not anything that indicates a trend. One of those was related to one specific relationship where some of that may be coming back. And then in another case, we did have some turnover in one of our markets, and I think that has precipitated some payoff, but it's not anything that has me nervous about the future. And I do think we're on still the same trajectory to be able to deliver organic growth.

Okay. That makes sense. And just given the higher level of payoffs in the quarter, were there any, I guess, payoff fees or anything like that, that went through spread income and benefited the margin this quarter?

There were not. These were more payoffs when they hit maturity or in the one case that Abby alluded to a participation that was purchased that got consolidated a larger bank. We think we have an opportunity to get back in as a participant with the new bank. But during the quarter, we experienced a payoff of that individual credit.

Okay. So Mark, I guess, said another way, the margin expansion this quarter was all core, I guess. There was nothing unusual or anything.

Yes. We didn't have any early termination penalties or anything going through the margin. It was core regular routine earnings net of costs.

Okay. And can you just remind us as far as the bank's impact from a rising rate environment given the Fed's move, I guess, a few weeks ago and potentially moving later this year?

Yes. We're slightly asset sensitive at this point over the next year, John. I think we -- it's not a strong asset position, but we feel like we're well situated to take advantage and have some margin increase over the upcoming year.

We have reached the end of our Q&A session. I will now pass the call back to Abby Wendel for closing remarks.

Thank you, Trevor. To recap, we are pleased with our profitability in the first 9 months of 2026, which reflects continued earnings growth, strong profitability and disciplined loan and deposit pricing. We remain focused on driving long-term growth through attracting, training and retaining talented bankers, making continued investments in process improvements and operational efficiency and upgrading our digital capabilities.

As we continue to position the bank for the future, we are thoughtfully reevaluating long-standing practices and identifying opportunities to enhance how we serve our customers and communities. Our objective is to build scalable, responsive operating models that improve the client experience while strengthening credit administration, risk oversight and overall execution. These efforts reinforce our commitment to profitable relationship-based banking and further support our ability to deliver sustainable growth and shareholder value over the long term.

I want to thank our Landmark associates for their dedication and commitment. It's because of them that Landmark continues to deliver high-quality banking solutions to our customers and communities. If you have additional follow-up questions regarding today's call, please refer to our earnings release for Investor Relations and CFO contact information. Thank you for joining us today and for your continued interest in Landmark. We look forward to updating you on our progress next quarter.

This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.

Thank you for standing by. My name is Carly, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Landmark Bancorp, Inc. Second Quarter Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] I would now like to turn the conference over to Shelley Reed, Head of Investor Relations. You may begin.

Thanks, Carly. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Landmark Bancorp's Second Quarter Earnings Conference Call. My name is Shelley Reed. I'm the Head of Corporate Strategy and Development and Investor Relations. Joining me today are several members of our executive leadership team, including our President and CEO, Abby Wendel; Chief Financial Officer, Mark Herpich; and Chief Credit Officer, Raymond McLanahan.

During today's call, we may make statements that constitute projections, plans, objectives, future performance, beliefs, expectations or similar forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We caution that such statements are predictions only and that actual results may differ materially.

We include more information on these factors in our earnings release furnished with our Form 8-K yesterday as well as our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings and subsequent filings with the SEC.

Additionally, all statements, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and Landmark undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events. Also, our remarks may reference certain non-GAAP financial metrics we believe provide useful information to investors.

Additional disclosures regarding non-GAAP metrics, including the reconciliation of those non-GAAP metrics to GAAP, are contained in our earnings release, which we filed yesterday with the SEC and are also available on the Investors section of our website at banklandmark.com.

We caution that these non-GAAP financial metrics should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP as contained in our earnings release and other filings with the SEC. A replay of this call will be available through August 6, 2026. Access information can be found in our earnings release. I will now turn the conference call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Abby Wendel.

Thanks, Shelley. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. I am pleased to report that Landmark delivered strong second quarter 2026 financial results. Highlights from these results included record revenue and increased profitability driven by continued execution of our disciplined growth strategy. Second quarter revenue increased to a record $19.2 million, driven by higher net interest income and increased gain on sale revenue.

Earnings per share increased to $0.88, return on average assets improved to 1.35% and return on average equity increased to 13.23%. I am pleased with these results, which reflect the strength of our relationship-based banking model, disciplined pricing strategies and prudent balance sheet management.

Landmark's commercial lending teams found opportunities to win new and expand existing customer relationships within markets we serve in the second quarter. Their efforts resulted in positive loan growth in commercial and agriculture-related portfolios.

Compared to the first quarter of 2026, commercial loan payoffs moderated during the second quarter, also contributing to the quarter-over-quarter growth in these portfolios. We remain cautiously optimistic, however, about our growth outlook for the second half of the year.

Competition remains strong across the markets we serve, not only for customer relationships, but also for talent. As part of our growth initiatives, we are investing in practices to acquire, develop and retain exceptional talent to strengthen our portfolio management capabilities and drive future relationship-based growth.

During the quarter, for example, we elevated an internal candidate to lead commercial banking in our Central, Western and Southeastern Kansas regions, who is reporting directly to me. These regions represent important markets for Landmark, and this investment reinforces our long-term commitment to the customers and communities we serve. These investments in leadership and talent are supporting growth across our footprint, including in larger metro areas like the Kansas City metropolitan market, where we continue to successfully expand our customer base.

Moving to deposits. Total deposits declined $17.7 million from the end of the first quarter, primarily due to a $28.7 million reduction in broker deposits. Core deposits, which represents total deposits, excluding broker deposits, increased $11.0 million during the quarter, representing an annualized linked quarter growth rate of 3.4%.

Noninterest-bearing deposits represented 29.2% of total deposits at June 30, while our total cost of deposits improved to 1.3%, reflecting the benefits of our disciplined adjustments to our funding strategy.

Growing our core deposit franchise remains a strategic priority, and we are focused on acquiring new customers and expanding full-service banking relationships across all business lines.

Turning to asset quality, which Mark and Raymond will discuss in greater detail later in the call. Nonperforming loans increased by $2.7 million during the second quarter to $13.1 million, yet net charge-offs remained low at 0.17% of average loans compared to 0.13% of average loans in the first quarter of 2026.

As we monitor our loan portfolio, we are doing so with a bias toward action and proactively addressing deteriorating credit. As we elevate expectations across the board, we are strengthening our credit culture simultaneously. We are proactively addressing credits that no longer meet our credit risk profile and strengthening the overall quality of the loan portfolio.

Before turning the call over to Mark, I would also like to highlight the continued strength of our balance sheet and the growth in our tangible equity. During the quarter, tangible book value per share increased to $21.76, representing annualized linked quarter growth of 16.8% and tangible common equity to assets increased to 8.44%.

The Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.21 per share payable on August 27, 2026, to shareholders of record as of August 13, 2026. This dividend marks the company's 100th consecutive quarterly cash dividend since the formation of the holding company in 2001, underscoring our long-standing commitment to delivering value to shareholders.

I will now turn the call over to Mark Herpich, our Chief Financial Officer, who will discuss our financial results in greater detail.

Thanks, Abby, and good morning to everyone. While Abby has just provided a highlight of our overall strong financial performance this year, I'll provide some further detail on our second quarter results. Net income in the second quarter of 2026 totaled $5.4 million compared to $5.1 million in the first quarter of 2026, mainly due to continued growth in net interest income and gain on sale of loans income.

In the second quarter of 2026, Net interest income totaled $15.1 million, an increase of $57,000 compared to the first quarter of 2026, driven by increased investment portfolio yields and lower funding costs. Net interest income also grew $1.4 million compared to the same period of the prior year.

Total interest income on investments increased $124,000 as compared to the prior quarter to $3.1 million due to higher yields on investments, improving from 3.55% to 3.66%.

Average loans decreased by $3.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, while tax equivalent yields on the loan portfolio declined slightly to 6.31% due in part to the $2.7 million increase in nonaccrual loans.

Interest expense on deposits in the second quarter of 2026 decreased $262,000 from the prior quarter due to lower cost of deposits, while average deposit balances decreased to $1.3 billion in the second quarter. The decline in deposits relates to a reduction in the level of broker deposits as we strategically elected to utilize our Federal Home Loan Bank borrowing line more heavily during the second quarter.

Excluding these broker deposits, our core deposits actually grew by $11.0 million. The average rate on interest-bearing deposits decreased 8 basis points to 1.82% compared to the prior quarter, mainly due to lower rates on deposits.

Interest expense on borrowed funds increased by $208,000 compared to the prior quarter due to higher average balances, which were partially offset by lower borrowing rates. The average rate on other borrowed funds decreased 31 basis points to 4.54% in the second quarter as a result of the lower short-term rates.

Landmark's net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis declined 2 basis points to 4.22% in the second quarter of 2026 as compared to the first quarter of 2026 and improved 39 basis points as compared to the second quarter of 2025.

Noninterest income totaled $4.1 million this quarter, an increase of $331,000 compared to the prior quarter and an increase of $469,000 compared to the second quarter of 2025. The increase in comparison to the prior quarter resulted primarily from a $356,000 increase in gains on sale of loans due to an increase in the volume of loans sold in the secondary market during the second quarter of 2026.

Noninterest expense for the second quarter of 2026 totaled $12.0 million, an increase of $63,000 compared to the prior quarter. This increase related primarily to increases of $487,000 in professional fees and $246,000 in compensation and benefits expense, which were partially offset by decreases of $364,000 in other expense and $243,000 in occupancy and equipment expense.

The increase in professional fees related primarily to forensic accounting and onetime legal costs associated with previously disclosed fraudulent activity by a nonexecutive officer, along with an increase in talent recruitment and development costs. The decrease in other expense was primarily related to $433,000 of fraud losses recognized during the first quarter as previously disclosed. The recorded fraud loss excludes any potential insurance recoveries we may receive.

This quarter, we recorded tax expense of $1.3 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 19.7% as compared to tax expense of $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2026 for an effective tax rate of 19.8%.

Gross loans, including net deferred fees and loans in process increased $4.4 million in the current quarter compared to the previous quarter and totaled $1.1 billion at quarter end. Average loans declined by $3.2 million in the current quarter as compared to the prior quarter. As of June 30, 2026, we experienced increases in our construction and land development portfolio of $4.5 million, our commercial loan portfolio of $2.8 million and our agricultural loan portfolio of $1.5 million, which were partially offset by a $4.0 million decrease in our residential real estate portfolio.

Investment securities decreased $1.3 million during the second quarter of 2026, mainly due to maturities slightly exceeding our level of purchases. Our investment portfolio has an average duration of 4.2 years with projected 12-month cash flow of $78.6 million at a roll-off yield of less than 3%, which is lower than current yields available on new investments purchased.

Unrealized net losses on our investment portfolio decreased by $1.0 million during the quarter to $7.6 million as a result of lower interest rates. Deposits totaled $1.3 billion at June 30, 2026, a decrease of $17.7 million in the second quarter compared to the prior quarter.

This quarter, certificates of deposits declined by $33.5 million, of which $28.8 million was related to lower brokered CDs as we were able to leverage slightly lower cost of funding from other borrowing sources like the Federal Home Loan Bank.

The broker deposit decreases were offset by growth in core customer deposits, most notably a $12.8 million increase in noninterest-bearing deposits and $6.7 million growth in money market and checking account balances.

Our total borrowings increased by $15.7 million during the quarter as we reduced our brokered deposit balances in connection with the previously discussed transition to less expensive short-term borrowing sources. Our loan-to-deposit ratio totaled 83.5% at June 30 and continues to provide sufficient liquidity to fund expected future loan growth.

Stockholders' equity increased $5.2 million during the second quarter to $166.9 million at June 30, 2026, and our book value increased to $27.35 per share at June 30 compared to $26.50 at March 31. The increase in stockholders' equity this quarter mainly resulted from net earnings from the quarter, along with a decrease in other comprehensive losses.

Our consolidated and bank regulatory capital ratios as of June 30, 2026, are strong and exceed the regulatory levels required to be considered well capitalized. Now let me turn the call over to Raymond to review highlights of our loan portfolio and credit risk outlook.

Thank you, Mark, and good morning to everyone. As discussed, overall loan balances grew modestly during the second quarter. Total gross loans, including net deferred fees and loans in process, ended the quarter at approximately $1.1 billion, increasing $4.4 million from the prior quarter. As you can see in our earnings release and as Mark mentioned earlier during this call, we enjoyed growth in construction and land, commercial and agricultural loans.

Excluding the decline in 1 to 4 family residential real estate loan balances, the portfolio grew 4% annualized over the linked quarter. We continue to thrive in working with high-quality operators and remain focused on disciplined growth, strong underwriting standards and pursuit of opportunities that align with our long-term credit strategy.

Turning to credit quality. Nonperforming loans increased during the quarter to $13.1 million or 1.18% of gross loans compared to $10.4 million or 0.94% of gross loans at the end of the first quarter. The increase was largely attributed to two borrower relationships that migrated to nonaccrual status during the quarter. These credits continue to receive heightened attention from management as we work toward the resolution of each relationship.

Loans delinquent 30 to 89 days and still accruing interest totaled $6.3 million or 0.57% of gross loans at June 30 compared to $7.4 million or 0.68% at March 31. While we continue to monitor these relationships closely, the decline in early-stage delinquencies is an encouraging trend and reflects progress on several borrower-specific situations.

Net loan charge-offs during the second quarter totaled $452,000 compared to $349,000 during the first quarter. On an annualized basis, net charge-offs represented approximately 0.17% of average loans compared to 0.13% of average loans during the prior quarter.

Historically, we have enjoyed low net charge-off rates and while charge-offs increased modestly during the quarter, we remain -- they remain manageable relative to the size of the portfolio.

Allowance for credit losses totaled $12.7 million or 1.15% of gross loans at June 30, consistent with the prior quarter. We recorded a $500,000 provision for credit losses during the quarter and believe the allowance remains appropriate based on the composition of the portfolio, identified credit trends and our ongoing review process.

While nonperforming loans increased during the quarter due to a limited number of borrower-specific situations that we have been actively monitoring and managing, the increases were partially offset by progress made on other credits. Our focus remains on timely identification of emerging issues, proactive portfolio management and working toward a resolution of challenged credits. With that, I thank you. I'll turn the call back over to Abby.

Thank you, Raymond. We will now pause for a brief Q&A session.

[Operator Instructions]

I'll now turn the call over I'm sorry, we do have a question from the line of John Rodis with Brean Capital.

Abby, in your prepared remarks, talking about loan growth. I think I wrote down, you said cautiously optimistic about growth going forward. Do you think you can build on the growth you saw in the second quarter and maybe improve that a little bit in the second half of the year? And sort of what are the puts and takes to that?

Yes. That's a great question, John. Thank you for asking, and thanks for joining our call this morning. I also mentioned we're finding opportunities, both winning new customer relationships and expanding on ones that we've enjoyed for many years. And the other dynamic to this is that we're onboarding a number of new commercial lenders out across our footprint. So those things indicate, and I'll point back to cautious optimism around building on the growth that we enjoyed in the second quarter.

And as you saw, we did have some nice activity both in the commercial space, commercial focused mortgages, I guess, you could say, to some ag. And really, it was offset by some declines, which was a strategic decision, allowing not putting on more mortgages on the balance sheet, so allowing those payoffs to roll down, leaving room for more opportunities on the commercial side of our business.

So without giving specific numbers, I mean, I feel really good about it. We just want to be steady. We want to be prudent. We want to work through the things that we have right in front of us. And we think we have a really nice value proposition for owner-operated businesses across our footprint.

Okay. Makes sense. And then I think Raymond said the increase in nonperforming assets was related to two relationships. Can you maybe, to the extent you can give any more detail as far as what type of loans those were?

Yes, John, one of them was an ag borrower relationship. And the other one is a commercial relationship. Relative to both of those, they've been on our radar for some time, and we're working through the resolution of both of those credits. As far as do we feel like there's any potential exposure relative to those, we're not seeing that at this time relative to those. So we feel good about where they are and our ability to work out.

Okay. And then, Mark, maybe just a quick question for you on the margin. So the margin was down 2 basis points from the first quarter, but still pretty strong. Do you think all things equal, if the Fed does not move -- if the Fed does nothing, do you think you can kind of hold the margin in the, call it, 420 area for the second half of the year?

At the risk of stealing Abby's comment of cautiously optimistic, I am cautiously optimistic that we can stay in that 420 range, John. I mean I think that we had some nonaccruals that we kind of forced the hand on during the second quarter that impacted our decrease from Q1 to Q2, and I think we'll be able to hold in there for the rest of the year.

I might just add a little bit to that. I think Mark's comments are spot on, especially with respect to -- on the interest income side. And we also saw some nice growth in the second quarter, relatively speaking, on the noninterest-bearing checking account acquisitions. We have a new leader and some new programming in our -- for our retail branches. And they've had some nice wins. And if we can continue on that trend, that definitely would help our margin overall or help it hang in there, I guess, I would say. But that's the only thing I would add beyond what Mark was saying.

As we alluded in my comments, I guess we've got -- we continue to have the investment portfolio opportunity to have yields that are coming off in the 3% or lower, get reinvested in the mid-4% range. Going to be helpful for the rest of the year as well.

There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call back over to Abby Wendel for any closing remarks.

Thank you. We are pleased with our performance in the first half of 2026, which reflects continued earnings growth, strong profitability and disciplined expense management. Looking ahead, we remain focused on strengthening customer relationships, developing our talented associates, improving operational efficiency and pursuing strategic growth opportunities that align with our long-term objectives.

Every day, I see Landmark associates sharing knowledge, training coworkers, solving problems and helping one another succeed. Those efforts may not always be highlighted on the balance sheet, but they are the foundation that drives our long-term success and long-term value creation.

I want to thank our associates for their dedication and commitment to our customers, communities and shareholders. If you have any questions regarding today's call, please refer to our earnings release or -- excuse me, please refer to our earnings release for Investor Relations and CFO contact information. Thank you for joining us today and for your continued interest in Landmark. We look forward to updating you on our progress next quarter.

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

Hello, everyone, and thank you for standing by. My name is Ian, and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Landmark Bancorp, Inc. Q1 Earnings Call. [Operator Instructions] I would like to now turn the call over to Shelley Reed. Please go ahead.

Thanks, Ian. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Landmark Bancorp's First Quarter Earnings Conference Call. My name is Shelley Reed, and I'm the Head of Corporate Strategy and Development and Head of Investor Relations. Joining me today are several members of our executive leadership team, including our President and CEO, Abby Wendel; Chief Financial Officer, Mark Herpich; and Chief Credit Officer, Raymond McLanahan. During today's call, we may make statements that constitute projections, plans, objectives, future performance, beliefs, expectations and similar forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements.

We caution that such statements and predictions only and that actual results may differ materially. We include more information on these factors in our earnings release furnished with our Form 8-K yesterday as well as our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings and subsequent filings with the SEC. Additionally, all statements, including forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Landmark undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events. Also, our remarks may reference certain non-GAAP financial metrics, which we believe provide useful information to investors.

Additional disclosures regarding non-GAAP metrics, including the reconciliation of those non-GAAP metrics to GAAP are contained in our earnings release, which we filed yesterday with the SEC and are also available on the Investors section of our website at banklandmark.com. We caution that these non-GAAP financial metrics should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP as contained in our earnings release and other filings with the SEC. A replay of this call will be available through May 7, 2026. Access information can be found in our earnings release. I will now turn the conference call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Abby Wendel.

Thank you, Shelley. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we discuss Landmark's earnings and operating results for the first quarter of 2026. Landmark is off to a strong start this year, reflected in solid performance across several key areas that position us favorably for the remainder of the year. Total revenue reached a record $18.8 million for the quarter. Earnings per share increased to $0.83, an increase of 6.7% over the fourth quarter of 2025 and 7.2% compared to the first quarter of 2025.

Our return on assets rose to 1.29%, which is an increase of 12 basis points on a linked-quarter basis and an increase of 7 basis points year-over-year. I am very pleased with the bank's performance and improved profitability levels, which are a direct reflection of our associates' hard work and advancement of our strategic initiatives. Our market positioning is strengthening as well, and we look forward to the months and years ahead. Net interest income increased 1.6% on a linked-quarter basis to $15 million, while our net interest margin expanded to 4.24%, up 21 basis points versus the fourth quarter of 2025.

Our favorable net interest margin is supported by our solid core customer base and disciplined pricing approach, enabling us to sustain a healthy core revenue base. Loans ended the quarter at $1.1 billion, down slightly $13.5 million from year-end 2025, but up $23.3 million from a year ago. We are seeing strong growth in our commercial real estate portfolio, which offset reductions in our agriculture portfolio. Our residential mortgage portfolio was also down as more of our originations were sold into the secondary market versus retention on our balance sheet. The impact of selling more originations, coupled with payoffs and paydowns during the quarter accounted for slightly more than $7 million of the $13.5 million decrease in loan balances this quarter.

Mortgage originations, however, were up 9% over the first quarter of 2025, driving an increase in gain on sale income as we sold more loans into the secondary market. On the deposit side, the reduction in balances for the quarter was largely driven by seasonal outflows of public fund deposits, coupled with the strategic decision to replace some brokered funding with FHLB borrowings. What I'm most excited about is the continued growth in our core customer deposits, which increased 1.6% on a linked-quarter basis, reinforcing the value our customers place in our relationship-based banking approach. We remain focused on growing our core customer accounts in our local communities to strengthen our presence and deepen our relationships within the communities we serve.

Later in the call, Mark Herpich, our CFO, will provide additional details on our financial results. Net charge-offs were 13 basis points of average loans during the quarter, while nonperforming loans increased $384,000. Raymond will provide more details on our asset quality later in this call as well, but I want to highlight that credit risk management remains a top priority as we work to further enhance the stability and quality of our portfolio. Additionally, we remain focused on strengthening overall risk oversight and thoughtfully reinforcing our balance sheet and capital position. These priorities ensure we are well positioned to remain resilient and adaptable across all economic environments.

Tangible common equity to assets increased 8.11%, while tangible book value per share ended the quarter at $20.89. I am pleased to report that our Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid May 28 to shareholders of record as of May 14, 2026. This represents the 99th consecutive quarterly cash dividend since the parent company's formation in 2001.

Looking ahead, we will continue making targeted investments in revenue-generating activities to better meet evolving customer needs. At the same time, we are actively evaluating opportunities to improve efficiency and modernize how we deliver banking services across our footprint. I will now turn the call over to Mark Herpich, our CFO, who will review the financial results in more detail with you.

Thanks, Abby, and good morning to everyone. While Abby has just provided a highlight of our overall strong financial performance for this year, I'll provide some further details on our first quarter results. Net income in the first quarter of 2026 totaled $5.1 million compared to $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, mainly due to continued growth in net interest income. In the first quarter of 2026, net interest income totaled $15.0 million, an increase of $234,000 compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, driven by increased investment portfolio yields and lower funding costs.

Net interest income also grew $1.9 million compared to the same period last year. Total interest income on investments increased $21,000 as compared to the prior quarter to $2.9 million due to higher yields on investments improving from 3.39% to 3.55%. Average loans decreased by $12.8 million and while the tax equivalent yield on the loan portfolio remained flat at 6.4%. Interest expense on deposits in the first quarter of 2026 decreased $527,000 from the prior quarter, resulting from lower cost of deposits, while average deposit balances decreased slightly but remained steady at $1.4 billion in the first quarter.

Interest expense on borrowed funds also decreased by $296,000 due to lower average balances and lower borrowing rates. The average rate on interest-bearing deposits decreased 16 basis points to 1.90%, mainly due to lower rates on deposits. The average rate on other borrowed funds decreased 8 basis points to 4.85% in the first quarter as a result of the lower short-term Fed funds rate. Landmark's net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis improved 21 basis points to 4.24% in the first quarter of 2026 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2025 and has improved 48 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2025.

Noninterest income totaled $3.8 million this quarter, a decrease of $135,000 compared to the prior quarter, but an increase of $406,000 as compared to the first quarter of 2025. The decrease in comparison to the prior quarter resulted primarily from a $308,000 decline in fees and service charges, driven by a seasonal decrease in interchange income and lower overdraft income during the first quarter of 2026. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in gains on sales of investment securities, driven by $101,000 of losses recognized during the fourth quarter as part of our strategy to reposition our investment securities portfolio to improve future income and an increase of $87,000 in bank-owned life insurance income.

Noninterest expense for the first quarter of 2026 totaled $11.9 million, a decrease of $362,000 compared to the prior quarter. This decrease related primarily to decreases of $492,000 in compensation and benefits expense and an impairment loss taken on repossessed assets held for sale of $356,000 in the prior quarter. These decreases were partially offset by an increase of $472,000 in other expense. The decrease in compensation and benefits resulted from lower incentive compensation in the first quarter of 2026 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2025. The increase in other expense was primarily related to $433,000 of fraud losses recognized during the quarter related to previously disclosed fraudulent activity by a nonexecutive officer of the bank, coupled with higher insurance loss reserves at our captive insurance subsidiary.

The recorded fraud loss excludes any potential insurance recoveries we may receive. This quarter, we recorded tax expense of $1.3 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 19.8% as compared to tax expense of $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 for an effective tax rate of 20.0%. Gross loans decreased $13.5 million in the current quarter compared to the previous quarter and totaled $1.1 billion at quarter end. Average loans also declined by $12.8 million in the current quarter as compared to the prior quarter. As of March 31, we experienced decreases in our agricultural portfolio of $16.2 million and our residential real estate loan portfolio of $7.0 million, which were partially offset by a $13.6 million increase in our commercial real estate portfolio.

Investment securities decreased $6.1 million during the first quarter of 2026, mainly due to maturities exceeding our levels of purchases. Our investment portfolio has an average duration of 4.3 years with a projected 12-month cash flow of $68.7 million. Pretax unrealized net losses on our investment portfolio increased by $3.8 million to $11.3 million this quarter due to rising interest rates. Deposits totaled $1.3 billion at March 31, 2025, and decreased by $66.2 million in the first quarter compared to the prior quarter. This quarter, interest checking and money market deposits decreased by $61.6 million, while certificates of deposits declined by $10.8 million.

The quarterly decrease in deposits was driven primarily by seasonal outflows in public fund deposit account balances, along with a decline in broker deposits as we were able to leverage slightly lower cost of funding from other borrowing sources like the Federal Home Loan Bank. These decreases were offset by growth in core customer deposits. Our total borrowings increased by $57.3 million during the quarter as deposit growth allowed us to reduce more expensive short-term borrowings. Our loan-to-deposit ratio totaled $82.1 million at March 31 and continues to provide sufficient liquidity to fund future loan growth.

Stockholders' equity increased $980,000 during the first quarter to $161.6 million at March 31, 2026, and our book value increased to $26.50 per share at March 31 compared to $26.44 at December 31. The increase in stockholders' equity this quarter mainly resulted from net earnings from the quarter, partially offset by an increase in other comprehensive losses. Our consolidated and bank regulatory capital ratios as of March 31, 2026, are strong and continue to exceed the regulatory levels considered well capitalized. Now let me turn the call over to Raymond to review highlights of our loan portfolio and the credit risk outlook.

Thank you, Mark, and good morning to everyone. As discussed earlier, overall loan balances declined modestly during the first quarter, reflecting our continued focus on disciplined growth and active balance sheet management. While total gross loans ended the quarter at $1.1 billion, down approximately $13.5 million from year-end, we continue to see targeted growth in our commercial real estate portfolio, which increased by $13.6 million during the quarter. This growth was offset primarily by seasonal paydowns and planned reductions in agricultural loans which declined $16.2 million, along with modest decreases in the one-to-four family residential, commercial and commercial construction and land portfolios.

Consistent with our long-standing credit philosophy, we remain selective in new originations and proactive in managing exposures that no longer align with our risk appetite. While strategic exits were more limited this quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2025, we continue to actively work down select relationships where credit fundamentals or longer-term outlooks warrant a reduction in exposure.

Turning to credit quality. As of March 31, 2026, nonperforming loans totaled $10.4 million or 0.94% of gross loans, reflecting a slight increase from 0.90% at year-end. The increase was primarily attributed to a single $1.3 million commercial relationship that ceased operations shortly after quarter end. While no specific impairment had been identified at quarter end, we prudently moved the relationship to nonaccrual following the change in operating status. The borrower is working cooperatively with the bank to self-liquidate and subsequent to quarter end, the outstanding balance was reduced by approximately $500,000. We continue to closely monitor this situation and believe it is being addressed appropriately.

Loans delinquent 30 to 89 days and still accruing interest totaled $7.4 million or 0.68% of gross loans compared to $4.3 million or 0.38% at December 31. The increase in past due balances was primarily attributed to a $2.2 million agricultural relationship and a $1.8 million loan secured by several 1-to-4 family residential properties. While this represents a quarter-over-quarter increase, the underlying drivers are borrower-specific, and we believe these metrics remain manageable as we work through resolution and expect improvement over time. We continue to benefit from a well-diverse loan portfolio and consistent underwriting standards, which have helped limit broader adverse credit migration.

Net loan charge-offs during the first quarter totaled $349,000, consistent with the $341,000 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025. On an annualized basis, net charge-offs represented approximately 0.13% of average loans, which we continue to view as manageable and reflective of the underlying strength of our portfolio. The allowance for credit losses increased slightly to $12.6 million, representing 1.15% of gross loans compared to 1.12% at year-end. We recorded a $500,000 provision for credit losses during the quarter, reflecting portfolio mix changes, updated economic assumptions and continued prudence in reserving practices.

We believe the allowance for credit losses remains appropriately -- appropriate relative to the current portfolio risk and identified credit trends. From an economic standpoint, conditions across Kansas remains generally stable. Employment levels continue to support borrower cash flows. And while certain sectors are experiencing pressure from higher operating costs and interest rates, we have not observed systemic stress within the portfolio. Overall, certain credit metrics remain modestly elevated. We believe these trends are manageable and should improve over time as we work through a small number of borrower-specific situations. Our focus remains on disciplined underwriting and proactive risk management. Thank you, and I'll turn the call back over to Abby.

Thank you, Raymond. As 2026 continues, we will continue investing in our associates and making thoughtful strategic decisions that enhance our customers' experience and position us to grow in the markets we serve. I am sincerely grateful to our associates for their continued dedication to putting people first and for fostering the meaningful connections that support our customers and strengthen the communities we proudly serve. If there are any follow-up questions to today's call, please see our earnings release for our CFOs and our Investor Relations contact information. We appreciate everyone being on today's call, and we look forward to talking with you again in July.

Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's conference call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

Hello, everyone. Thank you for attending today's Landmark Bancorp, Inc. Q4 Earnings Call. My name is William, and I will be your moderator today. [Operator Instructions]

At this time, I would now like to pass the conference over to our host, Shelley Reed, Investor Relations with Landmark Bancorp. Shelley?

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to Landmark Bancorp's Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Earnings Conference Call. My name is Shelley Reed, new to Landmark as of August 2025. Joining me today are several members of our executive leadership team, including our President and CEO, Abby Wendel; Chief Financial Officer, Mark Herpich; and Chief Credit Officer, Raymond McLanahan.

During today's call, we may make statements that constitute projections, plans, objectives, future performance, beliefs, expectations or similar forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We caution that such statements are predictions only and that actual results may differ materially. We include more information on these factors in our earnings release furnished with our Form 8-K yesterday as well as our Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings and subsequent filings with the SEC. Additionally, all statements, including forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Landmark undertakes no obligations to update any statement in light of new information or future events.

Also, our remarks may reference certain non-GAAP financial metrics we believe provide useful information to investors. Additional disclosures regarding non-GAAP measures including the reconciliation of those non-GAAP metrics to GAAP are contained in our earnings release, which we filed yesterday with the SEC and is also available on the Investors section of our website at banklandmark.com. We caution that these non-GAAP financial metrics should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP as contained in our earnings release and other filings with the SEC. A replay of this call will be available through February 5. Access information can be found in our earnings release.

I will now turn the conference call over to our President and Chief Executive Officer, Abby Wendel.

Thank you, Shelley, and welcome to the team. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining our call today to discuss Landmark's earnings and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2025. Landmark's strong fourth quarter results capped off a year of outstanding revenue growth, increased profitability, pricing discipline and per share increases in earnings and tangible book value. These results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our talented associates.

We are pleased to report net income of $4.7 million or diluted earnings per share of $0.77 for the fourth quarter. Tangible book value increased to $20.79 per share, an increase of $0.83 versus the prior quarter and an increase of $4.09 or 24% over year-end 2024. For full year 2025, we reported net income of $18.8 million or $3.07 per share. That's a 43% increase over our 2024 earnings per share.

We achieved positive operating leverage in 2025 driven by 17% revenue growth, which outpaced our overhead expense growth. Revenue growth was largely driven by continued expansion in net interest income which increased each quarter throughout 2025. Our net interest margin increased 58 basis points to 3.86% for the full year of 2025, driven by our attractive cost of deposits which improved to 1.56%.

For the fourth quarter of 2025, our total cost of deposits was 1.50%, driven by our pricing discipline and the nature of our core deposit base. Our efficiency ratio improved to 62.7% in 2025 from 69.1% in 2024 as we controlled expense growth while enhancing our capabilities to better serve our customers and invest in our talent throughout the organization and across our footprint. Throughout the year, we delivered 11.5% average total loan growth, with loans ending the year at $1.1 billion. Commercial loan production was strong, led by growth in commercial real estate loans and our mortgage team delivered robust results, increasing originations 11% year-over-year.

We also worked diligently throughout the year to address a few problem credits to better position our loan portfolio and strengthen our overall balance sheet. We remain diligent in our efforts to monitor and constructively address our nonperforming loans. Our capital ratios remain above well capitalized and our tangible common equity to assets now exceeds 8%. I am pleased to report our Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid February 26 to shareholders of record as of February 12, 2026. This represents the 98th consecutive quarterly cash dividend since the parent company's formation in 2021 -- excuse me, in 2001.

I will now turn the call over to Mark Herpich, our CFO, who will review the financial results in detail with you.

Thanks, Abby, and good morning to everyone. While Abby has just provided a highlight of our overall strong financial performance this year, I'll provide some further details on our fourth quarter results.

Net income in the fourth quarter of 2025 totaled $4.7 million compared to $3.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, mainly due to continued growth in net interest income. In the fourth quarter of 2025, net interest income totaled $14.8 million, an increase of $695,000 compared to the third quarter of 2025, driven by increased asset yields and lower funding costs. Net interest income also grew $2.4 million compared to the same period last year. Interest income on loans increased $75,000 this quarter to $17.9 million due to higher yields on loans. Average loan balances decreased by $2.1 million, while the tax equivalent yield on the loan portfolio improved 3 basis points to 6.40%.

Interest expense on deposits in the fourth quarter of '25 decreased $272,000 compared to the prior quarter as a result of lower cost of deposits despite an increase in average deposit balances during the fourth quarter. Interest expense on borrowed funds also decreased by $325,000 due to lower average balances and borrowing rates. The average rate on interest-bearing deposits decreased 12 basis points to 2.06% mainly due to lower rates on deposits. The average rate on other borrowed funds decreased 16 basis points to 4.93% in the fourth quarter, resulting from lower short-term Fed funds rates.

Landmark's net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis improved 20 basis points to 4.03% in the fourth quarter of 2025 as compared to the third quarter of 2025 and improved 52 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. This quarter, we provided $500,000 to our allowance for credit losses after taking $850,000 provision in the prior quarter. Net charge-offs totaled $341,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to net charge-offs of $2.3 million in the prior quarter. As discussed previously, the third quarter charge-offs were elevated as we reached resolution with a single commercial credit. At December 31, 2025, our allowance for credit losses of $12.5 million remains strong and represents 1.12% of gross loans.

Noninterest income totaled $3.9 million this quarter, a decrease of $169,000 compared to the prior quarter. The decrease was primarily due to a $101,000 loss on the sale of lower-yielding investment securities during the fourth quarter as part of our strategy to reposition our investment securities portfolio to improve future income. Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2025 totaled $12.3 million, an increase of $1.0 million compared to the prior quarter. This increase related primarily to increases of $511,000 in compensation and benefits expense, $173,000 in professional fees and an impairment loss taken on repossessed assets held for sale of $356,000. The increase in compensation and benefits resulted from an increase in the number of employees, coupled with higher incentive compensation tied to improved company performance. The increase in professional fees was driven by higher audit and consulting costs during the quarter.

This quarter, we recorded tax expense of $1.2 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 20% as compared to tax expense of $1.1 million in the third quarter of this year or an effective tax rate of 18.7%. Gross loans decreased $6.3 million in the current quarter compared to the previous quarter and totaled $1.1 billion at year-end. Average loans, however, declined only $2.1 million in the fourth quarter. We experienced decreases in our commercial and residential real estate portfolios, which were offset by increases in our commercial real estate, agriculture and construction loan portfolios.

Our investment securities decreased $1.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2025, mainly due to maturities exceeding our level of purchases. Our investment portfolio has an average duration of 4.0 years with a projected 12-month cash flow of $86.4 million. Pretax unrealized net losses on our investment portfolio declined by $1.7 million to $7.5 million this quarter. Our deposits totaled [ $1.4 billion ] at December 31, 2025, an increased by $63.4 million in the fourth quarter compared to the prior quarter. This quarter, interest checking and money market deposits increased by $71.6 million, while certificates of deposits declined by $12.1 million. Seasonal growth in public fund deposit accounts as well as growth in core deposits drove the quarterly increase in deposits. Year-over-year, deposits are also up $60.1 million and noninterest bearing deposits ended the year at 26.3% of total deposits.

Our total borrowings declined by $79.8 million during the quarter as deposit growth allowed us to reduce more expensive short-term borrowings. Our loan-to-deposit ratio totaled 79.1% at December 31 and continues to provide us sufficient liquidity to fund future loan growth. Stockholders' equity increased $4.9 million during the fourth quarter to $160.6 million at December 31, 2025, and our book value increased to $26.44 per share at December 31 compared to $25.64 at September 30. The increase in stockholders' equity this quarter mainly resulted from net earnings from the quarter, coupled with a decline in other comprehensive loss. Our consolidated and bank capital ratios as of December 31, 2025, are strong and exceed the regulatory capital levels considered to be well capitalized.

Now let me turn the call over to Raymond to highlight some of our loan portfolio and look at our credit risk going forward.

Thanks, Mark, and good morning to everyone. As noted earlier, loan balances for the fourth quarter were down slightly despite overall growth for the year. We saw increases in our commercial real estate and agricultural portfolios, However, these were offset by reductions in our commercial and [ 1-4 ] family portfolios. Our commercial real estate portfolio grew by $4.7 million this quarter due to loan production, net of payoffs, and our agricultural portfolio grew by $2.9 million as a result of increased line utilization.

As part of our ongoing efforts to maintain a strong and resilient balance sheet, we continue to proactively monitor the overall credit quality of our loan portfolio to identify emerging risks and minimize future losses. Throughout the year, we have worked to reduce the overall risk in our loan portfolio and reduce our nonperforming loans. As of December 31, 2025, nonperforming loans, primarily nonaccrual loans, decreased slightly from the prior quarter totaled just under $10 million or 0.90% of gross loans.

Compared to year-end 2024, we reduced nonperforming loans by $3.1 million, an improvement of 24%. Of our remaining nonperforming loans, $1.9 million are covered by government guarantees, which we are in the process of working to collect. The balance of past due loans between 30 and 89 days still accruing interest decreased slightly, totaling $4.3 million or 0.38% of gross loans. Net loan charge-offs for Q4 totaled $341,000 compared to just $219,000 during Q4 of 2024. Year-to-date, net loan charge-offs represent 0.25% of average loans. Our allowance for credit losses stood at $12.5 million or 1.12% of gross loans. The Kansas economy remains healthy. As of November 30, a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Regarding housing, the Kansas Association of Realtors recently reported home sales of 2,560 units, down 9.6% year-over-year while the median sale price rose to $277,000 from $265,000 a year earlier. Homes that sold in November were typically on the market 19 days and sold for 100% of their list prices. Inventory conditions continue to normalize with active listings up to 7,833 units and a month's supply of 2.6 months.

With that, I'll thank you, and I'll turn the call back over to Abby.

Thank you, Raymond. As we move into 2026, we look forward to building on the foundation set in 2025. We will continue to invest in our talented associates, make strategic investments to better serve our customers and capitalize on growth opportunities in our markets. I am deeply grateful to our associates for their continued dedication to putting people first and building the meaningful connections that empower our customers and strengthen the communities we proudly serve.

If there are any follow-up questions to today's call, please see our earnings release for our CFO and Investor Relations contact information. We appreciate everyone being on today's call, and we look forward to talking with you again in April.

Thank you. That concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect your lines.

Hello, everyone, and thank you for joining us today for the Landmark Bancorp, Inc. Third Quarter Earnings Call. My name is Lucy, and I'll be coordinating your call today. [Operator Instructions] It is my now my pleasure to hand over to your host, Abby Wendel, President and CEO, to begin. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Lucy. Good morning, and thank you for joining our call today to discuss Landmark's earnings and operating results for the third quarter of 2025. My name is Abby Wendel, President and CEO of Landmark Bancorp. On the call with me to discuss various aspects of our third quarter performance are Mark Herpich, Chief Financial Officer; and Raymond McLanahan, Chief Credit Officer.

As we start, I would like to remind our listeners that some of the information we will provide today falls under the guidelines for forward-looking statements as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. As part of these guidelines, I must point out that any statements made during this presentation that discuss our hopes, beliefs, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements, and our actual results could differ materially from those expressed.

We include more information on these factors from time to time in our 10-K and 10-Q filings, which can be obtained by contacting the company or the SEC. By now, we hope you have had a chance to review our press release, which announced our financial results for the third quarter of 2025 yesterday afternoon. You can find it on our website at www.banklandmark.com in the Investors section.

Landmark reported another solid quarter of results, which reflect the hard work and commitment of our associates whose efforts continue to elevate Landmark's position in the market. Net income for the third quarter totaled $4.9 million or $0.85 per diluted share compared to $3.9 million or $0.68 per diluted share in the same period last year, an increase of 24.1% in diluted earnings per share. This year-over-year increase in earnings primarily reflects growth in net interest income and prudently managed expenses.

Our return on average assets improved to 1.21% for the quarter and return on average equity improved to 13.0%. We maintained a steady net interest margin and improved our efficiency ratio to 60.7% in the third quarter while simultaneously investing in new talent throughout the bank and across our footprint. Total loans were flat this quarter based on period-end balances, while average loans grew nearly 10% on an annualized basis compared to the prior quarter.

Brokered deposits were the primary driver of deposit growth in the third quarter. However, we also saw solid growth in noninterest-bearing demand deposits, and we reduced our reliance on FHLB and other borrowing sources. I'm happy to announce we made significant improvements in our overall credit quality this quarter as nonperforming loans declined by almost $7 million, mostly from the resolution of a large commercial loan on nonaccrual status discussed in previous quarters.

Our tangible book value per share increased to $20.96, up 6.6% on a linked-quarter basis and 15.7% from the end of the third quarter of 2024, primarily -- due primarily to solid growth in retained earnings and a reduction in our accumulated other comprehensive loss. I am pleased to report as well that our Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.21 per share to be paid November 26, 2025, to shareholders of record as of November 12, 2025. This represents the 97th consecutive quarterly cash dividend since the company's formation in 2001.

The Board also declared a 5% stock dividend to be issued December 15, 2025, to shareholders of record on December 1, 2025. This represents the 25th consecutive year that the Board has declared a 5% stock dividend, a continued demonstration of our long-term commitment to support growth in value and liquidity for our shareholders. Landmark's capital and liquidity measures are strong, and we have a stable low-cost core deposit base, thanks to the network of community-based banking centers we operate and our relationship banking model.

We remain risk-averse in both monitoring the company's interest rate and concentration risks and in maintaining a strong credit discipline. As we look ahead, we look forward to building on the momentum of the third quarter. We will continue to invest in talented associates and make infrastructure upgrades to support continued customer growth while making Landmark an exceptional place to work and bank.

I will now turn the call over to Mark Herpich, our CFO, who will review the financial results in detail with you.

Thanks, Abby, and good morning to everyone. While Abby has just provided a highlight of our overall strong financial performance in the third quarter of 2025, I'll provide some additional details on these results. Net income in the third quarter of 2025 totaled $4.9 million compared to $4.4 million in the prior quarter and $3.9 million in the third quarter of 2024.

Compared to the prior quarter, the solid growth in net income this quarter was mainly due to continued increases in net interest income and higher noninterest income. In the third quarter of 2025, net interest income totaled $14.1 million, an increase of $411,000 compared to the second quarter of 2025 due to higher interest income. Total interest income on loans increased $597,000 this quarter to $17.8 million due to higher average loan balances.

Average loans increased by $26.7 million and while the tax equivalent yield on the loan portfolio remained steady at 6.37%. Interest income on investment securities increased slightly to $2.9 million this quarter due to a small improvement in our yield earned on our investment securities balances, while our average investment securities balance declined slightly by $1.2 million.

The yield on investment securities totaled 3.35% in the current quarter compared to 2.99% in the third quarter of 2024. Interest expense on deposits in the third quarter of 2025 increased $266,000 due to a mix -- a shift mix in our interest-bearing deposits, which grew by $19.1 million. Interest expense on borrowed funds decreased by $36,000 due to lower average balances. The average rate on interest-bearing deposits increased 4 basis points to 2.18%, mainly due to growth in certificates of deposits, which have higher rates. The average rate on our other borrowed funds increased 11 basis points to 5.09% in the third quarter as our lower cost repurchase agreement balances dropped.

Total cost of funds was 2.44% for the quarter ended September 30, 2025, a decrease of 38 basis points as compared to the third quarter of 2024. Landmark's net interest margin on a tax equivalent basis held steady at 3.83% in the third quarter of 2025 as compared to the second quarter of 2025. In comparison to the comparable third quarter of 2024, our net interest margin improved by 53 basis points. This quarter, we provided $850,000 to our allowance for credit losses after taking a $1 million provision in the prior quarter.

Net charge-offs totaled $2.3 million in the third quarter of 2025, which mostly pertains to the resolution of a previously disclosed commercial loan. This compares to net charge-offs of $40,000 in the prior quarter. At September 30, 2025, our allowance for credit losses of $12.3 million remains strong and represents 1.10% of gross loans. Noninterest income totaled $4.1 million this quarter, an increase of $442,000 compared to the prior quarter. The increase was primarily due to growth in gains of $208,000 on sales of mortgage loans, coupled with a $184,000 increase in fees and service charges related to higher deposit-related fee income. Noninterest expense for the third quarter of 2025 totaled $11.3 million, an increase of $290,000 compared to the prior quarter.

This increase related primarily to increases of $206,000 in professional fees, $120,000 in occupancy and equipment expense and $70,000 in compensation and benefits expense. The increase in professional fees was driven by higher consulting costs during the quarter. Partially offsetting these increases was a decrease in data processing expense this quarter. The combination of growth in noninterest income, coupled with control over our expenses has resulted in our efficiency ratio improving to 60.7% for the third quarter of 2025 as compared to 66.5% in the third quarter of 2024.

This quarter, we recorded a tax expense of $1.1 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 18.7% as compared to tax expense of $944,000 in the second quarter of this year or an effective tax rate of 17.7%. Gross loans remained relatively flat in comparison to the second quarter at $1.1 billion. However, our average loans grew by $26.7 million or approximately 10% annualized during the third quarter. During the quarter, actual loan growth was primarily comprised of an increase in our commercial and residential real estate loan portfolios, but offset by lower commercial and construction loan portfolios. Investment securities decreased $2.4 million during the third quarter of 2025, mainly due to maturities exceeding our level of purchases.

Pretax unrealized net losses on our investment portfolio declined by $4.7 million to $9.2 million this quarter, and our investment portfolio has an average duration of 3.7 years with a projected 12-month cash flow of $85.8 million. Deposits totaled $1.3 billion at September 30, 2025, and increased by $51.6 million on a linked-quarter basis. Compared to the prior quarter, certificates of deposits grew by $22.9 million. Interest checking and money market deposits increased by $16.5 million and noninterest checking grew by $14 million.

Average interest-bearing deposits, however, increased by $19.1 million in the third quarter of 2025, while average borrowings declined by $6.0 million during the quarter. Our loan-to-deposit ratio totaled 83.4% at September 30 and continues to provide us sufficient liquidity to fund future loan growth. Stockholders' equity increased $7.4 million during the third quarter to $155.7 million at September 30, 2025, and our book value increased to $26.92 per share at September 30 compared to $25.66 per share at June 30.

The increase in stockholders' equity this quarter mainly resulted from a decline in our other comprehensive losses driven by lower net unrealized losses on our investment securities, along with net earnings from the quarter. Our consolidated and bank regulatory capital ratios as of September 30, 2025, are strong and exceed the regulatory levels considered well capitalized.

Now let me turn the call over to Raymond to review highlights of our loan portfolio and credit risk outlook.

Thank you, Mark, and good morning to everyone. As noted earlier, loan growth for the third quarter was relatively flat on a period-end basis, although average loans grew $26.7 million or 9.8% on an annualized basis. We saw increases in our commercial real estate, mortgage and consumer portfolios. However, these were offset by reductions in our commercial, construction and land and agricultural loan portfolios.

Our commercial real estate portfolio grew by $19 million this quarter, while our mortgage and consumer portfolios increased $4.5 million and $1.4 million, respectively. However, commercial and construction and land loans declined by $17.6 million and $6.6 million, respectively. Turning to credit quality. Nonaccrual loans declined by $7 million this quarter, while net loan charge-offs totaled $2.3 million, mostly driven by the resolution of a large commercial loan relationship we previously disclosed in Q3 of last year and had been on nonaccrual. Excluding this commercial loan, net loan losses remained low. Additionally, a $1 million commercial real estate loan was placed on nonaccrual last quarter has now been fully collected.

The balance of past due loans between 30 and 89 days still accruing interest increased slightly, totaling $4.9 million or 0.43% of gross loans. Net loan charge-offs for Q3 totaled $2.3 million compared to just $9,000 in Q3 of 2024. Year-to-date net loan charge-offs represented 0.29% of average loans. Our allowance for credit losses stood at $12.3 million or 1.10% of gross loans. Our Kansas economy has remained healthy. As of August 31, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.8% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regarding housing, the Kansas Association of REALTORS recently reported that home sales in the state increased 1.2% year-over-year in September.

The median sale price rose 5.5% from a year earlier, and the association also reported that homes sold in September were typically on the market for 15 days and sold for 100% of their list prices. We recognize that investors are closely watching asset quality across the banking sector. We remain vigilant in our underwriting, portfolio monitoring and recovery efforts. Our strategy continues to emphasize a resilient relationship-driven approach. We're confident in the strength of our portfolio and our ability to navigate evolving market dynamics.

With that, I thank you. I'll turn the call back over to Abby.

Thanks, Raymond. Before we go to questions, I want to summarize by saying we were pleased with our results in the third quarter. Growth in average loan balances, a steady margin and higher noninterest income all contributed to solid revenue growth this quarter. We are focused on maintaining solid credit quality given the uncertainties in the economy, and we continually look for efficiencies in our operations.

With the operating success we've had over the past few years and the high-quality banking products and services we offer, our bank is well positioned to further grow our business and add to our customer base. We continue to work on strengthening our existing customer relationships and are focused on growing lending and fee businesses across all our markets. Finally, I'd like to thank all the associates at Landmark National Bank. Their daily focus on executing our strategies, delivering extraordinary service to our customers and communities is key to our success.

And with that, I'll open up the questions -- I'll open up the call to questions that anyone might have.

[Operator Instructions] We currently have no questions submitted. So I'd like to hand back to Abby for closing remarks.

Thank you. I want to thank everyone for participating in today's earnings call. I appreciate your continued support and confidence in the company, and I look forward to sharing news related to our fourth quarter 2025 results at our next earnings conference call. I hope everyone has a great day.

This concludes today's call. Thank you all for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.