Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial Results

CONROE, Texas, Jan. 30, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: STXB) (the “Company”), the bank holding company for Spirit of Texas Bank, today reported its results for its fourth quarter December 31, 2018.

Fourth Quarter 2018 Financial and Operational Highlights

• Net income increased to $2.5 million compared to $523 thousand in the fourth quarter 2017. Adjusted net income⁽¹⁾ was $3.8 million, which excluded $1.3 million of after-tax, merger-related expenses.
• Diluted earnings per share was $0.22 compared to $0.07 in the fourth quarter 2017.  Adjusted diluted earnings per share⁽¹⁾ was $0.33, respectively, which excluded $1.3 million of after-tax, merger-related expenses.
• Reported and Tax Equivalent Net Interest Margin⁽¹⁾ were 4.59% and 4.62%, respectively.
• Organic deposit growth of $12.7 million or 5.8% annualized.
• Organic loan growth of $22.6 million or 9.4% annualized.
• Return on Average Assets was 0.78% annualized for the fourth quarter 2018 including the merger-related expenses.
• At December 31, 2018, Book value per share was $16.42 and Tangible book value per share⁽¹⁾ was $14.12.
• At December 31, 2018, Total Stockholders’ Equity to Total Assets was 13.54% and Tangible Equity to Tangible Assets⁽¹⁾ was 11.87%.
• Completed the acquisition of Comanche National Bank on November 14, 2018. The combined organization has 23 branches and has total assets of $1.5 billion.
• On November 27, 2018, announced the definitive agreement to acquire First Beeville Financial Corporation and its Subsidiary, the First National Bank of Beeville.

Dean Bass, Spirit of Texas Bancshares’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “The fourth quarter was a strong finish to an outstanding year for Spirit of Texas Bank. We are pleased with our banking metrics, which were particularly favorable when compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. We are adding quality clients that are driving growth in both our loan and deposit portfolios, and the Texas markets we serve remain strong.  We expect to see margin expansion going forward as the investment securities portfolio continues to pay down and the funds are reinvested in the higher yielding loan portfolio.

“The completion of the Comanche National Bank branches in November and the pending acquisition of First Beeville Financial Corporation and its bank subsidiary, The First National Bank of Beeville, gives us confidence that we will maintain our strong performance into 2019 and continue to build long-term shareholder value,” Mr. Bass concluded.

Comanche National Bank Acquisition
On November 14, 2018, The Company closed its previously announced acquisition of Comanche National Corporation and its subsidiary, The Comanche National Bank (together, “Comanche”), in a cash and stock transaction.  The closing consideration consisted of approximately $12.2 million in cash and 2,142,857 shares of Spirit’s common stock. Under the terms of the Agreement, each outstanding share of Comanche was converted into the right to receive $30.67 in cash and approximately 5.37 shares of Spirit common stock, plus cash in lieu of any resulting fractional shares.  Spirit and Comanche offices and services are expected to be integrated during the first quarter of 2019.  The transaction added approximately $350 million in total assets with eight branches in attractive deposit markets, including markets that complement Spirit’s Tarrant County operations and provide for future “fill-in” opportunities.

Loan Portfolio and Composition
During the year, the loan portfolio, gross of the allowance for loan losses, grew to $1.09 billion as of December 31, 2018, an increase of 14.6% from $954.1 million as of September 30, 2018 and 25.8% from $869.1 million as of December 31, 2017.  Loan growth during the quarter was primarily driven by the $116.2 million obtained through the Comanche acquisition.

Asset Quality
The provision for loan losses recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $700 thousand. The provision for loan losses served to increase the allowance to $6.3 million, or 0.58% of the $1.09 billion in loans outstanding. The nonperforming loans to loans held for investment ratio as of December 31, 2018 was 0.46% from 0.39% at September 30, 2018, and 0.41% at December 31, 2017. Annualized net charge-offs were 22 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Deposits and Borrowings
Deposits totaled $1.18 billion as of December 31, 2018, an increase of 35.5% from $872.6 million as of September 30, 2018 and 41.6% from $835.4 million as of December 31, 2017.  Demand deposits increased $49.1 million, or 23.6%, from September 30, 2018 and $80.1 million, or 45.3%, from December 31, 2017. Deposit growth during the fourth quarter 2018 was primarily driven by the $297.3 million obtained through the Comanche National Bank acquisition. Demand deposits represent 21.7% of total deposits as of December 31, 2018, compared to 23.8% as of September 30, 2018 and 21.2% as of December 31, 2017. The average cost of deposits were 101 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2018, representing a 21 basis point increase from the fourth quarter of 2017 and a one basis point decrease from the third quarter of 2018.

Net Interest Margin and Net Interest Income
The net interest margin in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 4.59%, an increase of 38 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2017 and a decrease of one basis point from the third quarter of 2018. The tax equivalent net interest margin in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 4.62%, an increase of 32 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2017 and a decrease of 3 basis points from the third quarter of 2018.  The increase from the prior year period was due primarily to the impact of higher interest rates. The slight decrease from the third quarter of 2018 was due to the increase in the average balance of the lower yielding investment securities portfolio obtained through the Comanche National Bank acquisition.  The Company expects to see margin expansion going forward as the investment securities portfolio continues to pay down and the funds are reinvested in the higher yielding loan portfolio. Legacy Spirit of Texas net interest margin in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 4.76%, an increase of 11 basis points from the third quarter of 2018.

Net interest income totaled $13.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 37.8% from $10.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.  Interest income totaled $16.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 37.7% from $12.3 million in the same period in 2017.  Interest and fees on loans increased by $3.9 million, or 33.0%, from the fourth quarter of 2017 due to organic and acquired growth in the loan portfolio and the impact of an increase in interest rates. Interest expense was $3.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 36.9% from $2.2 million in the prior year period. The increase from the fourth quarter of 2017 was primarily due to an increase in the rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities of 20 basis points and the growth in the deposit base from the Comanche acquisition.

Noninterest Income and Noninterest Expense
Noninterest income totaled $3.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 when compared to $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2017. The primary components of noninterest income in the quarter were gain on sales of loans, net, SBA loan servicing fees and service charges and fees of $1.2 million, $1.0 million and $649 thousand, respectively. Noninterest expense totaled $13.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 43.5% from $9.5 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily driven by merger related expenses related to the Comanche acquisition and the acquisition of the First National Bank of Beeville which is pending shareholder and regulatory approval.

The Efficiency Ratio was 80.36% in the fourth quarter 2018, including $1.3 million of after-tax merger related expenses, compared to 79.00% in the fourth quarter of 2017.

1. Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Share, Tax Equivalent Net Interest Margin, Tangible Book Value Per Share, and Tangible Equity to Tangible Assets Ratio are all non-GAAP measures. Spirit believes that for Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share, the adjustments made to net income allow investors and analysts to better assess its basic and diluted earnings per common share by removing the volatility that is associated with merger related expenses that are unrelated to its core business.  In Spirit’s judgment, regarding Tax Equivalent Net Interest Margin, the fully tax equivalent basis is the preferred industry measurement basis for net interest margin and that it enhances comparability of net interest income arising from taxable and tax-exempt sources.  Regarding Tangible Book Value Per Share and Tangible Equity To Tangible Assets, Spirit believes that that this measure is important to many investors in the marketplace who are interested in changes from period to period in book value per share exclusive of changes in intangible assets. Goodwill and other intangible assets have the effect of increasing total book value while not increasing its tangible book value.  The non-GAAP financial measures that we discuss in this news release should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the most directly comparable or other financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, the manner in which we calculate the non-GAAP financial measures that we discuss in this news release may differ from that of other banking organizations reporting measures with similar names. You should understand how such other banking organizations calculate their financial measures similar or with names similar to the non-GAAP financial measures we have discussed in this news release when comparing such non-GAAP financial measures. Please see a reconciliation to the nearest respective GAAP measures at the end of this news release.

Conference Call

Spirit of Texas Bancshares has scheduled a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2018 results, which will be broadcast live over the Internet, on Thursday, January 31, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time / 9:00 a.m. Central Time. To participate in the call, dial 201-389-0867 and ask for the Spirit of Texas call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time, or access it live over the Internet at http://ir.sotb.com/events-presentations.  For those who cannot listen to the live call, a replay will be available through February 7, 2018 and may be accessed by dialing 201-612-7415 and using pass code 13686482#. Also, an archive of the webcast will be available shortly after the call at http://ir.sotb.com/events-presentations for 90 days.

About Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc.

Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, Spirit of Texas Bank, SSB, provides a wide range of relationship-driven commercial banking products and services tailored to meet the needs of businesses, professionals and individuals.  Spirit operates in the Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Bryan College Station metropolitan areas.  Please visit https://www.sotb.com for more information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, strategies, predictions, forecasts, objectives or assumptions of future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “predicts,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “should,” “will,” “estimate,” “plans,” “projects,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expects,” “seeks,” “intends” and similar words or phrases. Accordingly, these statements involve estimates, known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual strategies, actions or results to differ materially from those expressed in them, and are not guarantees of timing, future results or other events or performance. Because forward-looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future strategies, actions or results, based on management’s current expectations, assumptions and estimates on the date hereof, and there can be no assurance that actual strategies, actions or results will not differ materially from expectations, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Additional information regarding certain risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual strategies, actions and results to differ materially from those contemplated in forward-looking statements is included from time to time in our filings with the SEC, including under the heading “Risk Factors” in our prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), on May 4, 2018. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc. undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made, to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, or otherwise.

(1) Balance includes $76.9 million, $75.9 million, $72.4 million, $70.1 million and $67.1 million of the unguaranteed portion of SBA loans as of December 31, 2018, September 30, 2018, June 30, 2018, March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

(1) Average balances presented are derived from daily average balances.
(2) Includes loans on nonaccrual status.
(3) In order to make pretax income and resultant yields on tax-exempt loans comparable to those on taxable loans, a tax-equivalent adjustment has been computed using a federal tax rate of 21% and 34% for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

(1) Average balances presented are derived from daily average balances.
(2) Includes loans on nonaccrual status.
(3) In order to make pretax income and resultant yields on tax-exempt loans comparable to those on taxable loans, a tax-equivalent adjustment has been computed using a federal tax rate of 21% for the three months ended December 31, 2018 and September 30, 2018, respectively.