HELENA, Mont., July 20, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Eagle Bancorp ("Eagle") (OTCBB:EBMT), the stock holding company of American Federal Savings Bank (the "Bank"), reported net income of $1,785,000, or $1.66 per share ($1.48 per share diluted), for the year ended June 30, 2006, and announced an increased cash dividend of $0.22 per share. These earnings represent an increase of $42,000, or 2.4%, compared to $1,743,000 for the year ended June 30, 2005. Earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 were $438,000, or $0.41 per share ($0.36 per share diluted), an increase of 18.4% compared to $370,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2005, and an increase of 8.7% from the $403,000 earned in the prior quarter ended March 31, 2006.
Eagle's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.22 per share for the fourth quarter of Eagle's fiscal year. This represents an increase of $0.02 per share, or 10.0%, over the previous quarter's dividend. The dividend is payable August 25, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 4, 2006.
The increase in net income for the year ended June 30, 2006 was the result of increases in net interest income of $234,000 and noninterest income of $106,000, offset by an increase in noninterest expense of $284,000. Eagle's tax provision was $14,000 higher in 2006. Eagle's return on assets was 0.83% and its return on equity was 7.97%, compared with 0.85% and 7.53%, respectively, for the year ended June 30, 2005.
The increase in net income of $68,000 for the fourth quarter was the result of increases in noninterest income of $75,000 and net interest income of $47,000 offset by an increase in noninterest expense of $38,000. Eagle's tax provision was $16,000 higher in the current quarter. Eagle's annualized return on assets was 0.79% and its annualized return on equity was 7.77%, compared with 0.73% and 6.76%, respectively, for the same quarter in 2005.
Total interest and dividend income increased $512,000 to $2,814,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 from $2,302,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2005. This was due to an increase in interest and fees on loans of $515,000. Total interest expense increased $465,000 to $1,140,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 from $675,000 for the quarter ended June 30, 2005. Interest on advances increased $238,000 while interest on deposits increased $227,000.
Total assets increased $19.76 million, or 9.6%, to $226.18 million at June 30, 2006 from $206.42 million at June 30, 2005. Loans receivable increased $34.02 million, or 31.84%, to $140.86 million from $106.84 million. Investment securities available-for-sale decreased $11.03 million, or 14.66%, to $64.20 million from $75.23 million. Deposits increased $1.84 million, or 1.07%, to $174.34 million from $172.50 million. Advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank increased $12.48 million, or 126.19%, to $22.37 million from $9.89 million. Total stockholders' equity increased $280,000, or 1.26%, to $22.54 million at June 30, 2006 from $22.26 million at June 30, 2005. This was the result of net income for the period of $1.785 million, offset by $473,000 in treasury stock purchased during the period, dividends paid, and an increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss of $795,000, mainly due to an increase in net unrealized losses on securities available-for-sale.
"We are pleased with our strong growth in assets and that net interest income, our main component of core earnings, has increased over last year. We are also pleased to again increase the dividend to our stockholders," said President and CEO, Larry Dreyer.
American Federal Savings Bank was formed in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana. It has additional branches in Butte, Bozeman and Townsend. Eagle's common stock trades on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol "EBMT." Eagle is a subsidiary of Eagle Financial MHC, a federal mutual holding company formed in 2000, which owns approximately 59% of Eagle Bancorp's common stock.
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements 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. The Company intends 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 is including this statement for purposes of these safe harbor provisions.
Financial highlights for Eagle Bancorp follow.
EAGLE BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARY
(consolidated)
(Dollars in Thousands)
June 30, June 30,
2006 2005
(Unaudited) (Audited)
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks 2,844 3,122
Interest-bearing deposits with banks 27 1,844
------- -------
Total cash and cash equivalents 2,871 4,966
Investment securities available-for-sale,
at market value 64,198 75,227
Investment securities held-to-maturity, at
cost 1,018 1,201
Investment in nonconsolidated subsidiary 155 --
Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost 1,315 1,315
Mortgage loans held-for-sale 918 2,148
Loans receivable, net of deferred loan fee
and allowance for loan losses 140,858 106,839
Accrued interest and dividends receivable 1,211 1,102
Mortgage servicing rights, net 1,722 1,857
Property and equipment, net 5,962 6,242
Cash surrender value of life insurance 5,230 5,049
Real estate acquired in settlement of loans,
net of allowance for losses 0 0
Other assets 720 468
------- -------
Total assets 226,178 206,414
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LIABILITIES
Deposit accounts:
Noninterest bearing 12,575 11,660
Interest bearing 161,767 160,837
Advances from Federal Home Loan Bank 22,371 9,885
Long-Term Subordinated Debentures 5,155 --
Accrued expenses and other liabilities 1,765 1,767
------- -------
Total liabilities 203,633 184,149
EQUITY
Preferred stock (no par value, 1,000,000
shares authorized, none issued or
outstanding)
Common stock (par value $0.01 per share;
9,000,000 shares authorized; 1,223,572
shares issued; 1,091,722 and 1,103,972
shares outstanding at June 30, 2006
and June 30, 2005, respectively) 12 12
Additional paid-in capital 4,274 4,188
Unallocated common stock held by employee
stock ownership plan ("ESOP") (129) (165)
Treasury stock, at cost (131,850 and 119,600
shares at June 30, 2006 and
June 30, 2005, respectively) (4,521) (4,048)
Retained earnings 24,056 22,630
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income (1,147) (352)
------- -------
Total equity 22,545 22,265
Total liabilities and equity 226,178 206,414
======= =======
EAGLE BANCORP (consolidated)
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
June 30, (unaudited) June 30,
-------------------- --------------------
2006 2005 2006 2005
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Interest and Dividend (unaudited) (audited)
Income:
Interest and fees on
loans 2,134 1,619 7,799 6,117
Interest on deposits
with banks 7 5 59 34
FHLB Stock dividends 0 (7) 0 20
Securities
available-for-sale 661 670 2,589 2,807
Securities
held-to-maturity 12 15 52 65
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total interest
and dividend
income 2,814 2,302 10,499 9,043
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Interest Expense:
Deposits 858 631 3,011 2,394
FHLB Advances 282 44 774 169
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total interest
expense 1,140 675 3,785 2,563
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net Interest Income 1,674 1,627 6,714 6,480
Loan loss provision 0 0 0 0
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net interest income
after loan loss
provision 1,674 1,627 6,714 6,480
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Noninterest income:
Net gain on sale of
loans 121 97 492 442
Demand deposit service
charges 129 138 532 549
Mortgage loan servicing
fees 134 91 593 584
Net gain (loss) on sale
of available-for-sale
securities 9 (5) 0 4
Other 138 135 548 480
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total noninterest
income 531 456 2,165 2,059
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Noninterest expense:
Salaries and employee
benefits 863 828 3,519 3,312
Occupancy expenses 139 136 538 514
Furniture and equipment
depreciation 75 78 310 312
In-house computer
expense 73 66 274 262
Advertising expense 46 58 201 190
Amortization of mtg
servicing fees 90 104 355 380
Federal insurance
premiums 5 6 23 24
Postage 17 25 86 102
Legal, accounting, and
examination fees 48 37 182 157
Consulting fees 14 13 58 51
ATM processing 15 13 51 49
Other 217 200 868 828
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Total noninterest
expense 1,602 1,564 6,465 6,181
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Income before provision
for income taxes 603 519 2,414 2,358
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Provision for income
taxes 165 149 629 615
--------- --------- --------- ---------
Net income 438 370 1,785 1,743
========= ========= ========= =========
Earnings per share 0.41 0.34 1.66 1.55
========= ========= ========= =========
Diluted earnings per
share 0.36 0.31 1.48 1.45
========= ========= ========= =========
Weighted average shares
outstanding (basic eps) 1,075,442 1,082,512 1,077,766 1,126,552
========= ========= ========= =========
Weighted average
shares outstanding
(diluted eps) 1,206,712 1,202,112 1,204,986 1,200,386
========= ========= ========= =========