IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

Evans Bancorp Reports Second Quarter 2014 Net Income of $1.6 Million, or $0.37 per Diluted Share

 

HAMBURG, NY, August 4, 2014 – Evans Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company” or “Evans”) (NYSE MKT: EVBN), a community financial services company serving Western New York since 1920, today reported its results of operations for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2014 SECOND QUARTER

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income was $1.6 million in the second quarter of 2014, down from $1.9 million in the second quarter of 2013, primarily due to litigation expense of $1.0 million ($0.6 million after tax), or approximately $0.14 per share in the current quarter. Excluding the litigation expense, net income was $2.2 million, a 15.8% increase over net income of $1.9 million in the prior year period. The litigation accrual is related to the New York State (NYS) Attorney General's allegations regarding the Bank’s residential mortgage fair lending practices, as previously disclosed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Although the Company has not incurred actual payments related to the investigation to date, the Company has recorded a reserve based on estimated outcomes from legal proceedings.  As a result of the litigation accrual, return on average equity was 7.52% for the second quarter of 2014 compared with 9.86% in the second quarter of 2013. 

 

For the six months ended June 30, 2014, Evans recorded net income of $3.6 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, a 3.9% decrease from net income of $3.7 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, in the same period in 2013. The return on average equity was 8.74% for the six-month period ended June 30, 2014, compared with 9.71% for the same period in 2013.  The decrease for the six-month period was also attributable to the litigation accrual recorded during the second quarter.

 

“We are disappointed that we have thus far been unable to reach agreement with the State Attorney General. Our Bank has a long, demonstrated history of community involvement and positive reports regarding our banking practices from our primary federal regulator, The Office of the Controller of the Currency, more commonly known as the OCC,” said David J. Nasca, President and CEO of Evans Bank and its holding company.  “As a local community-oriented financial institution, Evans has built a culture that encourages and supports community involvement. We remain fully committed to the Western New York community we serve and will continue to reach out with financial literacy programs, specialized loan product offerings and accessible ATMs, as well as partnering with community development groups.”

 

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Mr. Nasca added, “Despite the disappointment, we have not lost sight of the strong performance we had in the quarter. Excluding this unusual item, net income grew nearly 16%.  We experienced healthy growth in our income producing businesses, especially in loans and net interest income, due to the continued success in expanding our customer base.”

 

Net Interest Income

 

Net interest income was $7.7 million for the second quarter, an increase of 9.7% from the prior-year period, and up 5.3% from the trailing first quarter of 2014.  Growth in loans and non-interest bearing demand deposits drove the increase over both periods.

 

Net interest margin increased 19 basis points to 3.98% from 3.79% in the trailing first quarter, primarily driven by an increase in the yield on interest-earning assets.  Net interest margin improved 30 basis points over the 2013 second quarter rate of 3.68%.  The increase in net interest margin from the prior-year period was due to a 5 basis point decrease in pricing on Evans’ interest bearing liabilities, combined with a 25 basis point increase in the yield on interest-earning assets due to utilization of lower interest-earning fed funds into higher yielding loans.

 

The provision for loan and lease losses was $0.2 million in the 2014 second quarter, up from $0.1 million in the prior-year period.  When compared with the trailing first quarter of 2014, the provision increased by only $23 thousand due to offsetting changes in specific reserves held on individually evaluated loans. 

 

Non-Interest Income

 

Non-interest income was $3.1 million, or 28.4% of total revenue, in the quarter, down $0.2 million, or 5.0%, from the prior-year period.  Insurance agency revenue of $1.6 million was down 8.1% from the 2013 second quarter, due mostly to decreases in profit sharing revenue.  Compared with the trailing first quarter of 2014, total non-interest income decreased by 10.1%, mostly due to a decrease of $0.5 million, or 25.6%, in insurance agency revenue as a result of seasonal profit sharing.

 

Non-Interest Expense

 

Total non-interest expense was $8.3 million, an increase of 14.8% from the prior-year period.  Excluding $1.0 million in litigation expense, total non-interest expense was $7.3 million, an increase of 1.0% from the prior-year period.  Personnel expenses, the largest expense item for the Company, were up $0.4 million, or 8.0%, from the last year’s second quarter, and reflect annual merit increases and personnel hires to support the Company’s growth strategy. Disciplined expense management resulted in an aggregated decrease in all other expense categories of $265 thousand compared with the 2013 second quarter.

 

Income tax expense for the quarter was $0.7 million, representing an effective tax rate of 29.2%, compared with an effective tax rate of 33.2% in the second quarter of 2013. The effective tax rate decreased as a result of tax-exempt income comprising a larger percentage of total income in the second quarter of 2014, as compared with the second quarter of 2013. 

 

Balance Sheet Highlights

 

Total assets grew 1.7% to $830.6 million at June 30, 2014, from $816.3 million on June 30, 2013, though were down 2.0% from $846.9 million at the end of the 2014 first quarter.  Loans of $663.4 million grew 9.2% from $607.4 million at June 30, 2013 and were up 0.4% from $660.7 million at March 31, 2014.  The increase was mostly due to growth in both commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loan portfolios for both periods.

 

Investment securities were $107.3 million at June 30, 2014, up 8.0% from the end of second quarter of 2013, and up 7.5% from the trailing 2014 first quarter. 

 

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Total deposits increased $14.8 million, or 2.1%, to $707.2 million at June 30, 2014, from $692.4 million at June 30, 2013, but decreased $14.8 million, or 2.1%, from the 2014 first quarter-end.  The year-over-year growth was mainly attributable to deposit increases in commercial demand deposits.  The decrease from the 2014 first quarter was mainly the result of outflows of seasonal municipal savings deposits.

 

Asset Quality

 

Net charge offs in the second quarter resulted in a 0.24% ratio of net charge offs to average total loans and leases.  This was up from net recoveries of (0.02%) in the second quarter of 2013, and from net recoveries of (0.05%) in the first quarter of 2014.

 

The ratio of non-performing loans and leases to total loans and leases improved to 0.82% at June 30, 2014, from 2.21% at June 30, 2013, and increased slightly from 0.79% at March 31, 2014.  During the second quarter of 2014, there was a $0.3 million increase in non-performing loans and leases.

 

The ratio of the allowance for loan and lease losses to total loans and leases was 1.74% at June 30, 2014 compared with 1.78% at March 31, 2014 and 1.69% at June 30, 2013.  The coverage ratio was 211.6% at June 30, 2014 compared with 224.7% at the end of the trailing first quarter and 76.2% at June 30, 2013.

 

Gary A. Kajtoch, Executive Vice President and CFO commented, “Excellent loan growth, coupled with our strong credit quality, as evidenced by low non-performing loans and leases, resulted in another quarter of solid operating results.”

 

Capital Management

 

The Company consistently maintains regulatory capital ratios measurably above the federal “well capitalized” standard, including a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 10.04% at June 30, 2014.  Book value per share was $19.84 at June 30, 2014 compared with $19.41 at March 31, 2014 and $18.41 at June 30, 2013. 

 

About Evans Bancorp, Inc.

 

Evans Bancorp, Inc. is a financial holding company and the parent company of Evans Bank, N.A., a commercial bank with $831 million in assets and $707 million in deposits at June 30, 2014. Evans is a full-service community bank, with 13 branches, providing comprehensive financial services to consumer, business and municipal customers throughout Western New York. Evans Bancorp's wholly-owned insurance subsidiary, The Evans Agency, LLC, provides property and casualty insurance through seven insurance offices in the Western New York region. Evans Investment Services provides non-deposit investment products, such as annuities and mutual funds.

 

Evans Bancorp, Inc. and Evans Bank routinely post news and other important information on their Web sites, at www.evansbancorp.com and www.evansbank.com.

 

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Safe Harbor Statement

 

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning future business, revenue and earnings. These statements are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance, events or results. There are risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of Evans Bancorp to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by such statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements, include competitive pressures among financial services companies, interest rate trends, general economic conditions, changes in legislation or regulatory requirements, effectiveness at achieving stated goals and strategies, and difficulties in achieving operating efficiencies. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in Evans Bancorp’s Annual and Quarterly Reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Evans Bancorp undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new, updated information, future events or otherwise.

 

 

TABLES FOLLOW

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