BAYONNE, N.J., Oct. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BCB Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”), (NASDAQ: BCBP), the holding company for BCB Community Bank (the “Bank”), today reported that an increase in total interest income, and decreases in the provision for loan losses and non-interest expenses, contributed to third quarter and year-to-date 2019 profits. Net income increased $638,000, or 13.9 percent, to $5.2 million for the third quarter of 2019, compared with $4.6 million for the third quarter of 2018. In the preceding quarter, the Company earned $5.2 million.
For the first nine months of the year, net income increased $4.4 million, or 37.9 percent, to $15.9 million, compared with $11.5 million for the first nine months of 2018.“Our third quarter 2019 financial performance demonstrates that the execution of our strategic plan is effective and continues to build shareholder value,” stated Thomas Coughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our focus on producing strong core earnings, fostering new client relationships to fund our growth and strengthening our capital position, are all showing results. Additionally, we are taking steps to strengthen our balance sheet and position ourselves for future growth and higher performance. We remain focused on competing for business in our local markets and looking for additional growth opportunities.”Executive SummaryNet income increased 13.9 percent to $5.2 million in the third quarter of 2019, compared to $4.6 million in the third quarter of 2018.Earnings per diluted share increased to $0.30 in 3Q19, compared to $0.27 in 3Q18.Net interest margin was 3.06 percent in the third quarter 2019, compared to 3.22 percent in the third quarter a year ago. This decrease was the result of our focus on increasing our cash position to allow for paydowns of borrowings and higher cost CDs.Total assets increased 7.1 percent to $2.825 billion at September 30, 2019, compared to $2.638 billion a year earlier.As a result of management’s focus on repositioning the balance sheet, net loans receivable increased 1.3 percent to $2.254 billion at September 30, 2019, compared to $2.225 billion a year earlier.Allowance for loan losses as a percentage of non-accrual loans was 486.6 percent at September 30, 2019, compared to 193.9 percent at September 30, 2018.Tangible book value improved to $11.72 at September 30, 2019 from $10.78 a year ago.Earlier this month, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.14 per share. The dividend will be payable November 22, 2019, to common shareholders of record on November 8, 2019. The Company issued $6.3 million of private placement common stock which closed in February 2019 and $5.3 million of preferred series G stock, which was issued in January 2019. The Company had also issued $33.5 million of subordinated debt in July 2018 which, for regulatory purposes, is treated as Tier 1 capital for the Bank and Tier 2 capital for the Company, when applicable.Balance Sheet ReviewTotal assets increased by $187.6 million, or 7.1 percent, to $2.825 billion at September 30, 2019 from $2.638 billion at September 30, 2018 and increased by $87.4 million, or 3.2 percent, compared to June 30, 2019. The increase in total assets was primarily the result of an increase in total cash and cash equivalents as a result of new deposit relationships, proceeds from FHLB borrowings, and the inclusion of operating and finance leases due to accounting standards changes.Net loans receivable increased by $28.7 million, or 1.3 percent, to $2.254 billion at September 30, 2019 from $2.225 billion at September 30, 2018, and decreased slightly compared to $2.300 billion at June 30, 2019. After significant loan growth in 2018, management focused on repositioning the balance sheet, which included curtailing loan growth and strengthening our capital position. The change in loans over the first nine months of 2019 represented decreases of $28.9 million in commercial real estate and multi-family loans, $9.2 million in home equity loans, $5.1 million in residential one-to-four family loans, $3.5 million in commercial business loans, and $81,000 in consumer loans, partly offset by an increase of $23.9 million in construction loans.Total cash and cash equivalents increased by $169.9 million, or 82.2 percent, to $376.6 million at September 30, 2019 from $206.7 million a year ago, and increased by $149.0 million, or 65.4 percent compared to $227.6 million three months earlier. The Company’s level of cash and cash equivalents is a part of the Company’s strategy to maintain strong levels of liquidity. Total investment securities decreased by $23.8 million, or 18.6 percent, to $104.1 million at September 30, 2019 from $127.9 million at September 30, 2018, and decreased by $18.1 million, or 14.8 percent, compared to $122.2 million at June 30, 2019, representing normal repayments, calls, and maturities.On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-02 – Leases, requiring on-balance sheet reporting for all operating leases, which resulted in the recording of $14.0 million in operating lease right-of-use assets and a corresponding $14.1 million in operating lease liabilities at September 30, 2019.Total deposits increased by $146.8 million, or 6.9 percent, to $2.263 billion at September 30, 2019 from $2.117 billion at September 30, 2018, and increased by $55.2 million, or 2.5 percent, from $2.208 billion at June 30, 2019. Increases over the first nine months of 2019 included $50.2 million in money market checking accounts, $12.2 million in non-interest bearing deposits, $13.9 million in transaction accounts, and $10.4 million in certificates of deposit, partly offset by decreases of $4.0 million in savings and club accounts. The Company uses listing service and brokered certificates of deposit as additional sources of deposit liquidity, which totaled $10.9 million and $0, respectively, at September 30, 2019.Debt obligations remained flat at $312.6 million at September 30, 2019 compared to a year ago and increased $30.1 million compared to $282.5 million at June 30, 2019. Debt obligations consisted of both Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) borrowings and subordinated debt balances. FHLB borrowings reflect the use of long-term advances to augment deposits as the Company’s funding source for originating loans and investing in investment securities. The increase in FHLB borrowings in the current quarter related to replacing $40 million in advance of the borrowing maturity dates in the next quarter that were secured at favorable interest rates. The weighted average interest rate of FHLB advances was 2.15 percent at September 30, 2019. The issuance of subordinated debt was to maintain adequate capital ratios for further growth. The fixed interest rate of subordinated debt balances was 5.625% at September 30, 2019.Stockholders’ equity increased by $28.0 million, or 14.3 percent, to $223.7 million at September 30, 2019 from $195.8 million at September 30, 2018, and increased by $2.6 million, or 1.2 percent, compared to $221.2 million three months earlier. The year-over-year increase in stockholders’ equity was primarily attributable to the Company’s issuance of $6.3 million of common stock in a private placement which closed in February 2019 and the issuance of $5.3 million of preferred series G stock in a private placement, which was issued in January 2019. Retained earnings increased by $10.2 million to $45.9 million at September 30, 2019 from $35.7 million a year ago, due primarily to the increase in net income, net of dividends paid, and the decrease in the accumulated other comprehensive loss of $4.0 million.Third Quarter Income Statement ReviewNet interest income increased by $680,000, or 3.4 percent, to $20.8 million for the third quarter of 2019 from $20.1 million for the third quarter of 2018. The increase in net interest income resulted primarily from an increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets of $213.0 million, or 8.5 percent, to $2.710 billion for the third quarter of 2019 from $2.497 billion for the third quarter a year ago. There was also an increase in the average yield on interest-earning assets of 15 basis points to 4.63 percent for the third quarter of 2019 from 4.48 percent for the third quarter of 2018. The average balance of interest-bearing liabilities increased $173.6 million, or 8.3 percent, to $2.265 billion for the third quarter of 2019 from $2.092 billion for the third quarter of 2018, and there was an increase in the average rate on interest-bearing liabilities of 36 basis points to 1.87 percent for the third quarter of 2019 from 1.51 percent for the third quarter a year ago. Interest income on loans also included $505,000 of amortization of purchase credit adjustments related to the acquisition of IAB for the three months ended September 30, 2019, which added approximately seven basis points to the average yield on interest earning assets on an annualized basis.Net interest margin was 3.06 percent for the third quarter of 2019 and 3.22 percent for the third quarter of 2018. “The decrease in our net interest margin for the current quarter was the result of a competitively higher interest rate environment, with the increase in the cost of funds outpacing the return on interest earning assets,” Coughlin said. “We expect with the two recent Federal Reserve rate cuts for our net interest margin to continue to remain under pressure in the short term.”Total non-interest income decreased by $469,000, or 25.3 percent, to $1.4 million for the third quarter of 2019 from $1.9 million for the third quarter of 2018. The decrease in total non-interest income was mainly related to lower income from fees and service charges as well as lower gains on sale of loans, partly offset by higher gains on sale of other real estate owned properties and gains on sale of investment securities. Fees and service charges decreased $237,000, or 21.7 percent to $855,000 for the third quarter of 2019 from $1.1 million for the third quarter of 2018, mainly related to less mortgage servicing fee income with less sales of loans. Gain on sales of loans decreased by $649,000, or 87.9 percent, to $89,000 for the third quarter of 2019 from $738,000 for the third quarter of 2018. Factors considered when deciding to sell loans include market conditions, demand, and the loan portfolio. Gains on sale of other real estate owned properties increased by $110,000, to $124,000 for the third quarter of 2019 from a gain of $14,000 for the third quarter of 2018. Gain on sale of investment securities was $283,000 for the third quarter of 2019, with no comparable sales for the third quarter a year ago.Third quarter total non-interest expense decreased by $739,000, or 5.1 percent, to $13.7 million from $14.4 million for the third quarter a year ago. Regulatory fees associated with FDIC assessments decreased by $510,000 for the third quarter of 2019 from $419,000 for the third quarter of 2018. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in the assessment rate, a credit that related to the receipt of an FDIC Small Bank Assessment Credit, which came as a result of the FDIC exceeding its stated Deposit Fund Reserve Ratio, partly offset by an increase in the assessment base. Data processing expense decreased by $166,000, or 17.6 percent, to $776,000 for the third quarter of 2019 from $942,000 for the third quarter a year ago primarily attributable to non-recurring charges in the third quarter of 2018 related to the merger with IAB. There were no merger-related expenses during the third quarter of 2019, compared to $119,000 in merger-related costs in the third quarter a year ago. Salaries and employee benefits expense increased by a modest 1.9 percent, or $138,000. The increase in salaries and employee benefits related in part to normal salary increases, partly offset by a reduction in full-time equivalent employees, from 371 at September 30, 2018 to 352 at September 30, 2019, as part of management’s continued initiative to manage headcount throughout the organization. Occupancy expense increased by $157,000, or 6.3 percent, to $2.6 million for the third quarter of 2019 from $2.5 million for the third quarter a year earlier, largely related to the opening of three new branches in 2019.The income tax provision increased by $319,000, or 15.6 percent, to $2.4 million for the third quarter of 2019 from $2.0 million for the third quarter of 2018. The increase in the income tax provision comes as a result of higher taxable income for the third quarter of 2019 as compared to that same period for 2018. The consolidated effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2019 was 31.1 percent compared to 30.8 percent for the third quarter a year ago.Year to Date Income Statement ReviewNet interest income increased by $6.0 million, or 10.6 percent, to $62.5 million for first nine months of 2019 from $56.5 million for the first nine months of 2018. Net interest margin was 3.14 percent for the first nine months of 2019 compared to 3.34 percent for the first nine months of 2018. The decrease in the net interest margin was the result of a comparatively higher interest rate environment, with the increase in the average cost of funds outpacing the return on interest earning assets for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2019 as compared to the same period one year ago. Interest income on loans also included $1.5 million of amortization of purchase credit adjustments related to the acquisition of IAB for the nine months ended September 30, 2019, which added approximately eight basis points to the average yield on interest earning assets on an annualized basis.Total non-interest income decreased by $2.4 million, or 35.7 percent, to $4.4 million for the first nine months of 2019 from $6.8 million for the first nine months a year ago. The decrease in total non-interest income mainly related to a decrease in the amount of other non-interest income of $2.2 million, or 92.5 percent, to $179,000 for the first nine months of 2019 from $2.4 million for the first nine months a year ago. The decrease in other non-interest income was the result of $2.2 million in proceeds from a legal settlement recognized in the first quarter of 2018.Total non-interest expense decreased by $1.1 million or 2.5 percent, to $41.3 million for the first nine months of 2019 from $42.4 million for the first nine months of 2018. There were no merger-related expenses in the first nine months of 2019, compared to $2.3 million in the first nine months of 2018. “Excluding the prior-year merger costs, total non-interest expense rose 3.1% over last year. Management is pleased with the results of our cost containment efforts. The increase would be less considering that the prior year did not include IAB non-interest costs until the merger date of April 17, 2018,” Coughlin stated.The income tax provision increased by $2.0 million, or 40.1 percent, to $7.1 million for the first nine months of 2019 from $5.1 million for the first nine months of 2018. The increase in the income tax provision comes as a result of higher taxable income for the first nine months ended September 30, 2019 as compared to that same period for 2018. The consolidated effective tax rate for the first nine months of 2019 was 30.9 percent compared to 30.6 percent for the first nine months of 2018.Asset QualityThe provision for loan losses remained relatively flat at $900,000 for the third quarter of 2019 as compared to $907,000 for the third quarter of 2018. Year-to-date, the provision for loan losses decreased by $1.8 million, to $2.5 million for the first nine months of 2019 from $4.3 million for the first nine months of 2018, mainly related to the loan growth curtailment. Non-accruing loans improved to $5.1 million, or 0.22 percent, of gross loans at September 30, 2019 as compared to $11.1 million, or 0.49 percent, of gross loans at September 30, 2018.Performing troubled debt restructured (“TDR”) loans that were not included in nonaccrual loans at September 30, 2019, were $16.5 million, compared to $21.8 million at June 30, 2019 and $20.6 million at September 30, 2018. Borrowers who are in financial difficulty and who have been granted concessions that may include interest rate reductions, term extensions, or payment alterations are categorized as TDR loans. The allowance for loan losses was $24.7 million, or 486.6 percent of non-accruing loans and 1.08 percent of gross loans, at September 30, 2019 as compared to an allowance for loan losses of $23.8 million, or 433.5 percent of non-accruing loans and 1.02 percent of gross loans, at June 30, 2019 and an allowance for loan losses of $21.5 million or 193.9 percent of non-accruing loans and 0.96 percent of gross loans, a year ago.The Company recognized net recoveries of $2,000 during the third quarter of 2019. This compares to net recoveries of $30,000 in the second quarter of 2019 and net charge offs of $43,000 in the third quarter a year ago. Year-to-date, the Company recognized $212,000 in net charge-offs compared to $180,000 in net charge-offs in the first nine months of 2018.About BCB Bancorp, Inc.Established in 2000 and headquartered in Bayonne, N.J., BCB Community Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary of BCB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: BCBP). The Bank has 30 branch offices in Bayonne, Carteret, Colonia, Edison, Hoboken, Fairfield, Holmdel, Jersey City, Lodi, Lyndhurst, Maplewood, Monroe Township, Parsippany, Plainsboro, River Edge, Rutherford, South Orange, Union, and Woodbridge, New Jersey, three branches in Hicksville and Staten Island, New York. The Bank provides business and individuals a wide range of loans, deposit products, and retail and commercial banking services. For more information, please go to www.bcb.bank.In September 2019, the Company announced its inclusion into the prestigious Sandler O’Neill Sm-All Stars Class of 2019, an elite group of 30 publicly traded small-cap banks and thrifts, based on growth, profitability, credit quality and capital strength.Forward-Looking StatementsThis release, like many written and oral communications presented by BCB Bancorp, Inc., and our authorized officers, may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding our prospective performance and strategies within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are including this statement for purposes of said safe harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of the Company, are generally identified by use of words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “strive,” “try,” or future or conditional verbs such as “could,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” or similar expressions. Our ability to predict results or the actual effects of our plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.In addition to factors previously disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and those identified elsewhere in this release, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance: difficulties and delays in integrating the Indus-American Bank business or fully realizing cost savings and other benefits of the Merger; business disruption following the Merger; changes in asset quality and credit risk; the inability to sustain revenue and earnings growth; changes in interest rates and capital markets; inflation; customer acceptance of BCB products and services; customer borrowing, repayment, investment and deposit practices; customer disintermediation; the introduction, withdrawal, success and timing of business initiatives; competitive conditions; the inability to realize cost savings or revenues or to implement integration plans and other consequences associated with mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; economic conditions; and the impact, extent and timing of technological changes, capital management activities, and actions of governmental agencies and legislative and regulatory actions and reforms.Annualized, pro forma, projected and estimated numbers are used for illustrative purpose only, are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresReported amounts are presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). This press release also contains certain supplemental non-GAAP information that the Company’s management uses in its analysis of the Company’s financial results. The Company’s management believes that providing this information to analysts and investors allows them to better understand and evaluate the Company’s core financial results for the periods in question.The Company provides measurements and ratios based on tangible stockholders’ equity and efficiency ratios. These measures are utilized by regulators and market analysts to evaluate a company’s financial condition and, therefore, the Company’s management believes that such information is useful to investors.For a reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release, see “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below.
(1) Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the average yield on average interest-earning assets and the average cost of average interest-bearing liabilities.
(2) Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average total interest-earning assets.
(3) Annualized.
(1) Net interest rate spread represents the difference between the average yield on average interest-earning assets and the average cost of average interest-bearing liabilities.
(2) Net interest margin represents net interest income divided by average total interest-earning assets.
(3) Annualized.
Thomas Coughlin,
President & CEO
Thomas Keating, CFO
(201) 823-0700
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