ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., July 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:CNOB), parent company of ConnectOne Bank (the “Bank”), today announced results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2016. The Company reported net income available to common stockholders of $10.9 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, compared with net income available to common stockholders of $10.4 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2016 and $10.5 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2015.
Frank Sorrentino, ConnectOne’s Chairman and CEO stated, “We are extremely pleased with ConnectOne’s second quarter performance, highlighted by record quarterly earnings which were achieved despite an additional $1.75 million of pre-tax reserves set aside for our NYC-taxi medallion portfolio. Specific reserves against this portfolio now total 7.6%. Our deposits increased by $308 million, or 11%, to $3.2 billion at June 30, 2016 from March 31, 2016, while average deposits for the second quarter increased by 8% over the sequential quarter. While some of these deposits are transitory, our focus on core deposit growth remains solid. Net growth in our loan portfolio was $112 million for the current quarter, slightly below recent levels, but our pipeline remains strong and we continue to expect mid- to high-teens loan growth for 2016. For the current quarter, return on assets was in excess of 1%, return on tangible equity was in excess of 13%, and the efficiency ratio was 42%, placing us among the best performing banking institutions. Looking ahead, we remain well-positioned to execute on our business strategies and realize strong growth while continuing to create long-term shareholder value.”
Operating Results
In addition to the results presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), ConnectOne routinely supplements its evaluation with an analysis of certain non-GAAP financial measures including net income available to common stockholders excluding non-core items. ConnectOne believes these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the related GAAP measures, provide meaningful information to investors in understanding our operating performance and trends, and facilitates comparisons with the performance of peers. Reconciliations of non-GAAP disclosures used in this earnings release to the comparable GAAP measures are provided in the accompanying tables.
Second quarter 2016 results reflect the following non-core items: $1.3 million of income resulting from accretion of purchase accounting fair value marks; $0.2 million in additional loan loss provision related to the maturity and extension of acquired portfolio loans; $1.8 million in additional provision associated with the Bank’s New York City taxi medallion loan portfolio; $0.1 million of net securities gains; $0.1 million of pension settlement expenses, which had no impact on total stockholders’ equity or book value per share, and $0.2 million in amortization of intangible assets. Excluding non-core items, along with related income tax impact, net income available to common stockholders was $11.4 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2016, $10.9 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2016, and $10.1 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2015.
Fully taxable equivalent net interest income for the second quarter of 2016 was $33.1 million, an increase of $1.1 million, or 3.5%, from the first quarter of 2016. This was the result of a 4.9% increase in average interest-earning assets, offset by a 5 basis-point contraction of the net interest rate margin. Included in net interest income was accretion and amortization of purchase accounting adjustments of $1.2 million during the second quarter of 2016 and $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2016. Excluding these purchase accounting adjustments, the adjusted net interest margin was 3.28% in the second quarter of 2016, contracting by 3 basis points from the first quarter of 2016 adjusted net interest margin of 3.31%. The decrease in the adjusted net interest margin was primarily attributable to an increase in average cash balances.
Fully taxable equivalent net interest income for the second quarter of 2016 was $33.1 million, an increase of $3.8 million, or 13.0%, from the same quarter of 2015. This was a result of a 19.8% increase in average interest-earning assets due to significant organic loan growth, partially offset by a 20 basis-point contraction of the net interest margin. Included in net interest income was accretion and amortization of purchase accounting adjustments of $1.2 million during the second quarter of 2016 and $1.5 million in the same quarter of 2015. Excluding these purchase accounting adjustments, the adjusted net interest margin was 3.28% in the second quarter of 2016, 14 basis points lower than the 2015 second quarter adjusted net interest margin of 3.42%. The reduction in the adjusted net interest margin was due to a higher level of cash balances, the June 30, 2015 issuance of $50 million in subordinated debentures and the impact of a protracted low-interest rate environment.
Noninterest income represents a relatively small portion of the Bank’s total revenue. Noninterest income totaled $1.6 million in the second quarter of 2016, $1.2 million in the first quarter of 2016 and $3.4 million in the second quarter of 2015. Securities gains were $0.1 million for the second quarter of 2016, zero for the first quarter of 2016 and $0.2 million for the second quarter of 2015. The second quarter of 2016 included a gain of $0.2 million on the sale of one OREO property, and the second quarter of 2015 included an insurance recovery of $2.2 million. Noninterest income also includes bank-owned life insurance income, deposit and loan fees, annuities and life insurance commissions, and gains on sales of residential mortgages in the secondary market.
Noninterest expenses totaled $14.4 million for both the second and first quarters of 2016. Salaries and employee benefits increased by $0.2 million and were offset by $0.2 million of decreases in occupancy and equipment and other miscellaneous expenses. Noninterest expenses for the second quarter of 2015 totaled $15.0 million and included a loss on debt extinguishment of $2.4 million. Excluding the debt extinguishment charge, noninterest expenses increased by $1.8 million in the second quarter of 2016 from the prior year quarter. This increase was largely attributable to a $0.8 million increase in salaries and employee benefits, $0.4 million in occupancy and equipment expense, $0.2 million in data processing, and $0.4 million in other expenses, all resulting from increased levels of business and staff resulting from organic growth.
Income tax expense was $5.0 million for the second quarter of 2016, compared to $4.8 million for the first quarter of 2016 and $5.1 million for the second quarter of 2015, resulting in effective tax rates of 31.5% in 2016 and 32.5% in 2015. The effective tax rate for the full year 2016 is expected to remain at approximately 31.5%.
Asset Quality
The provision for loan and lease losses increased to $3.8 million in the second quarter of 2016 from $3.0 million in the first quarter of 2016, and from $1.6 million in the second quarter of 2015. The increases were largely attributable to additional reserves specifically allocated to the Bank’s taxi medallion portfolio.
As of June 30, 2016, loans secured by New York City taxi medallions totaled $103.1 million. Troubled debt restructurings associated with this portfolio totaled $88.0 million and total nonaccrual loans were $3.9 million, up from $86.4 million and $1.9 million as of March 31, 2016. Specific reserves for taxi medallion loans totaled $7.8 million, or 7.6%, of total taxi medallion portfolio. The Bank’s valuation of corporate medallions, which represent approximately 95% of total exposure, was approximately $750 thousand as of June 30, 2016, down from approximately $775 thousand as of March 31, 2016.
Nonperforming assets, which includes nonaccrual loans and other real estate owned, were $23.9 million at June 30, 2016, $23.3 million at December 31, 2015, and $13.7 million at June 30, 2015. Nonperforming assets as a percent of total assets were 0.56% at June 30, 2016, 0.58% at December 31, 2015, and 0.37% at June 30, 2015. Annualized net charge-offs were 0.01% for the second quarter of 2016, 0.06% for the first quarter of 2016, and 0.00% for the second quarter of 2015. The allowance for loan and lease losses was $32.8 million, representing 0.97% of loans receivable and 149.5% of nonaccrual loans at June 30, 2016. At December 31, 2015, the allowance was $26.6 million representing 0.86% of loans receivable and 128.1% of nonaccrual loans, and at June 30, 2015, the allowance was $17.5 million representing 0.63% of loans receivable and 143.9% of nonaccrual loans. In purchase accounting, any allowance for loan and lease losses on an acquired loan portfolio is reversed and a credit risk discount is applied directly to the acquired loan balances. In Management’s opinion, a useful non-GAAP metric is the ratio of allowance for loan and lease losses plus the credit risk discount to total loans receivable. This non-GAAP ratio was 1.30% at June 30, 2016, 1.28% at December 31, 2015, and 1.17% at June 30, 2015. (See Supplemental GAAP and non-GAAP Financial Measures).
Selected Balance Sheet Items
At June 30, 2016, the Company’s total assets were $4.3 billion, an increase of $247 million from December 31, 2015. Loans receivable at June 30, 2016 were $3.4 billion, reflecting net loan growth (loan originations less pay-downs and pay-offs) of $277 million from December 31, 2015, primarily attributable to multifamily ($87 million, including a $28 million loan reclassified during the first quarter as multifamily from other commercial real estate), commercial and industrial (“C&I”) ($60 million), other commercial real estate ($18 million, including the aforementioned reclassification) and construction ($114 million), which reflected higher utilization of existing construction facilities. The growth in loans was funded with increases in deposits.
The Company’s stockholders’ equity was $484 million at June 30, 2016, an increase of $7 million from December 31, 2015. The increase in stockholders’ equity was primarily attributable to an increase of $17 million in retained earnings and approximately $1 million of equity issuance related to stock-based compensation, including the exercise of stock options, offset by an $11 million payoff of SBLF preferred stock. As of June 30, 2016, the Company’s tangible common equity ratio and tangible book value per share were 8.14% and $11.09, respectively. As of December 31, 2015, the tangible common equity ratio and tangible book value per share were 8.18% and $10.51, respectively. Total goodwill and other intangible assets were approximately $150 million as of June 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015.
About ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.
ConnectOne is a New Jersey corporation and a registered bank holding company pursuant to the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, and serves as the holding company for ConnectOne Bank ("the Bank"). The Bank is a community-based, full-service New Jersey-chartered commercial bank that was founded in 2005. The Bank operates from its headquarters located at 301 Sylvan Avenue in the Borough of Englewood Cliffs, Bergen County, New Jersey, and through its 20 other banking offices.
For more information visit https://www.ConnectOneBank.com/.
