MIDLOTHIAN, Va., May 20, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cordia Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq:BVA) reported net income of $222,000, or $0.08 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2013, compared to net income of $53,000, or $0.40 per share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2012. The quarterly earnings were boosted by a $238,000 increase in net interest income attributable primarily to a $71 million increase in loans at its Bank of Virginia subsidiary.
"Our profit in Cordia's first quarter as a public company reflect Bank of Virginia's success in all elements of our asset growth strategy," said Jack Zoeller, President and CEO. "We launched a new student loan program that exceeded $34 million by quarter's end, expanded our mortgage loan program by $30 million and originated $11 million of new commercial loans. We also reduced our cost of funds while increasing our deposit funding base by $70 million. "
"We continue to be pleased at the steady migration of previous problem loans either to satisfactory ratings or out of our portfolio, without any adverse impact on capital," he continued. "This reflects extremely favorably on both the reserve valuations made in previous periods and the disposition strategies of our credit and lending teams."
Balance Sheet and Asset Quality
The company grew total assets to $250.4 million at March 31, 2013, an increase from $164.3 million at March 31, 2012 and $178.7 million at December 31, 2012. Total deposits were $225.7 million at March 31, 2013 compared to $146.3 million at March 31, 2012 and $154.4 million at December 31, 2012. In the second half of 2012 and continuing through the first quarter of 2013, the company increased its deposit base in anticipation of funding a residential mortgage held for sale loan program and purchase of student loans guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Education. In support of these loan growth initiatives, the company has developed several funding strategies, including the judicious use of brokered and institutional deposits to augment core deposit growth and further reduce the cost of funds.
Loans held for investment, net of the allowance for loan losses at March 31, 2013, were $149.6 million, compared to $106.1 million at March 31, 2012 and $111.0 million at December 31, 2012. Mortgage loans held for sale were $59.8 million at March 31, 2013, compared to $28.9 million at December 31, 2012.
Balance sheet quality reflects continued improvement. The ratio of nonperforming assets to total assets was 3.26% at March 31, 2013 compared to 5.65% at December 31, 2012. The company's allowance for loan and lease losses as a percentage of nonperforming loans was 19.4% at the end of the first quarter of 2013, compared to 28.0% at December 31, 2012.
Operating Results
Interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2013 was $2.7 million compared to $2.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2012. This growth was primarily due to an increase in interest-earning assets, partially offset by lower asset yields due to the continued low interest rate environment.
Total interest expense increased $53,000 to $432,000 in the first quarter 2013, compared to $379 thousand in the first quarter 2012. This increase was primarily the result of an increase in average interest bearing liabilities from $132.6 million to $180.6 million for the same periods. The increase in interest expense was moderated by a declining cost of funds: the yield on average interest-bearing liabilities decreased from 1.14% to 0.96% between these same periods.
Noninterest expenses in the first quarter 2013 increased 7.3% to $2.0 million compared to $1.8 million in the first quarter 2012, primarily reflecting increased compensation and benefits related to hiring senior management to drive and support continued growth.
Per share data reflect an increase in Cordia shares outstanding attributable to the completion of its plan of share exchange with Bank of Virginia on March 29, 2013.
| Cordia Bancorp Inc. | |||
| Selected Financial Information and Other Data | |||
| ($ in thousands, except per share data) | |||
|
March 31, 2013 |
December 31, 2012 |
March 31, 2012 |
|
| Balance Sheet Summary | |||
| Total loans | $210,958 | $142,019 | $109,274 |
| Total earning assets | 238,465 | 167,323 | 157,089 |
| Total assets | 250,367 | 178,696 | 164,282 |
| Deposits | 225,733 | 154,428 | 146,633 |
| FHLB borrowings | 10,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| Shareholders' equity | 13,273 | 13,139 | 11,218 |
| For the three months ended | |||
|
March 31, 2013 |
December 31, 2012 |
March 31, 2012 |
|
| Summary of Operations | |||
| Total interest income | $2,664 | $2,495 | $2,373 |
| Total interest expense | 432 | 386 | 379 |
| Net Interest income | 2,232 | 2,109 | 1,994 |
| Provision for loan losses | 127 | 383 | 155 |
| Net interest income after provision for loan losses | 2,105 | 1,726 | 1,839 |
| Non Interest Income | 67 | 1 | 112 |
| Non Interest Expense | 1,950 | 2,007 | 1,817 |
| Net Income | 222 | (280) | 134 |
| Less: Noncontrolling interest in net income of consolidated subsidiary | -- | 151 | 81 |
| Net income attributable to Cordia Bancorp Inc. | 222 | (129) | 53 |
| Asset Quality | |||
| Nonaccrual loans | $4,490 | $5,471 | $6,481 |
| Other real estate owned | 1,768 | 1,768 | 1,682 |
| Allowance for loan losses | 1,583 | 2,110 | 5,367 |
| Nonaccrual loans to total loans | 2.13% | 3.85% | 5.93% |
| Allowance for loan losses to total loans | 0.75% | 1.49% | 4.91% |
| Performance Ratios | |||
| Earnings (loss) per share | $ 0.08 | $ (0.07) | $ 0.04 |
| Book value per share | $ 4.78 | $ 4.24 | $ 4.15 |
| Net interest margin | 4.31% | 3.54% | 5.03% |
| Return on average assets | 0.10% | (0.09)% | 0.08% |
| Return on average equity | 1.68% | (1.24)% | 1.20% |
About Cordia Bancorp
Cordia Bancorp is a publicly traded bank holding company (Nasdaq:BVA) founded in 2009 and headquartered in Midlothian, Virginia. In March 2013 Cordia completed a share exchange resulting in 100% ownership of Bank of Virginia, which operates four full-service branches in Chesterfield and Henrico Counties and two ATM-only offices in Chesterfield County and Colonial Heights, Virginia.
DISCLAIMER
This news release may include forward-looking statements.These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions.Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially. These risks include: changes in business or other market conditions; the timely development, production and acceptance of new products and services; the challenge of managing asset/liability levels; the management of credit risk and interest rate risk; the difficulty of keeping expense growth at modest levels while increasing revenues; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Bank's periodic filings with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, including the Bank's annual report on Form 10-K as filed with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Bank does not undertake to update forward-looking statements contained within this news release.