FORT WAYNE, Ind., Jan. 16, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Tower Financial Corporation (Nasdaq:TOFC) today announced fiscal year 2006 net income of $3.7 million, an increase of 7.2 percent from the $3.4 million reported for the fiscal year 2005. Diluted earnings per share were $0.89, up 6.0 percent from the $0.84 per diluted share reported for the prior fiscal year. Strong balance sheet and non-interest income growth were partially offset by margin compression and expenditures related to expansion and restructuring activities.
For the fourth quarter of 2006, earnings were $810,000, or $0.20 per diluted share, compared with $938,000 or $0.23 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2005. Earnings for the 2006 fourth quarter were further impacted by the disproportionately higher share of 2006 operating expenses taken in the fourth quarter to support expansion and restructuring activities.
Fiscal year 2006 highlights include: * Robust loan growth, up $100.1 million or 22.2 percent over the last twelve months; growth was largely derived from the commercial sector, namely, commercial & industrial (C&I) loans plus commercial real estate (CRE) loans which together contributed approximately $60 million of the increase. * Net interest income increased 15.3 percent to $20.2 million for the year, primarily from exceptional growth in average earnings assets, up 19.1 percent, which more than offset net interest margin compression. * Non-interest income increased 23.0 percent year-over-year, primarily from trust fees and brokerage fees, up 32.5 percent. This was Tower Trust Company's first year as a separate subsidiary of Tower Financial Corp.; net income for its first year of operations was $521,000, more than double 2005 pro forma earnings. * Non-interest expense increased by $4.0 million, or 28.4 percent above 2005 levels from a combination of activities: -- Increased operating expense related to expansion activities during 2006, namely, infrastructure and personnel costs, totaled approximately $606,000 pre-tax ($445,000 after-tax, or $0.10 per share): - Increased operating expense related to in-market expansion activities (a total of $288,000 pretax) including the completion of a sixth banking office in Fort Wayne, the opening of a Warsaw loan production office (LPO), the conversion of the Angola LPO into a branch, and the seven full-time equivalent (FTE) bankers hired to staff the three facilities; -- Formation of a de novo community bank (Tower Bank of Central Indiana) serving greater Indianapolis and Central Indiana and the hiring of its four-person staff incurred 2006 expenses of $318,000; the bank should be operational by Spring 2007 pending receipt of regulatory approval. -- The formation of two investment subsidiaries on July 1, 2006 that will provide Tower Financial with additional flexibility to raise capital for future needs. The one-time start-up cost for the two entities was $140,000, while the ongoing benefit will be a reduction of approximately five percent in Tower's effective tax rate; for 2006, the Company saved approximately $386,000 in taxes, for a 2006 net positive impact of $262,000, or $0.06 per diluted share. -- Salary and benefits expense for 2006 increased by $2.5 million or 29.8 percent. Of this total: - $396,000 of expenses had no counterpart in 2005, including the $111,000 cost of expensing stock options and a one-time cost of $285,000 relating to a severance package for a senior executive. The after-tax impact was $277,000 or $0.07 per share. - In addition to the employees mentioned above to staff the new facilities, 25 FTEs more were added to enhance back-office support and expand lending activities, bringing the total to 186 FTEs, an increase of 36 people or 24 percent above year-end 2005. * The initiation of a quarterly cash dividend of $0.04 per share in the first quarter of 2006; Tower returned a total of $643,000 to shareholders in 2006, representing a payout of 17.4 percent of 2006 net income.
Donald F. Schenkel, Chairman, President and CEO, commented, "This has been an exciting year for Tower. Robust loan growth continues to drive growth in net interest income, offsetting the impact of margin compression, and trust activities made an outstanding contribution to income in their first year as a separate corporation. We increased our share of our traditional Fort Wayne Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) to nearly 11 percent based on deposit growth.
"We also made substantial progress positioning Tower to successfully deliver its growing product base to an expanded Indiana footprint. Our new bank, Tower Bank of Central Indiana, will allow us to serve the Greater Indianapolis business and professional community with the same high standards of service and lending expertise for which Tower is known. The investment in infrastructure and top-quality people has been expensive, accounting for approximately $0.05 per share in 2006 just for Indianapolis' fourth-quarter expansion activities. However, we are confident that these investments will contribute to Tower's growth and profitability during 2007."
Total revenue, consisting of net interest income and non-interest income, was $25.4 million for the fiscal year 2006, an increase of 16.8 percent over the $21.7 million reported for the prior fiscal year. Net interest income grew 15.3 percent to $20.2 million, reflecting a 19.1 percent increase in average earning assets, partially offset by a 12 basis point decline, year-over-year, in the net interest margin, from 3.70 percent for 2005 to 3.58 percent for the current year. Mr. Schenkel commented, "The quarterly decline in our net interest margin has moderated during the course of 2006 as we neutralized our balance sheet. We ended 2006 with a fourth quarter margin of 3.51 percent, just three basis points lower than the third quarter of 2006. While there might be some degree of additional compression, we believe our margin should be fairly stable in 2007."
Non-interest income was $5.1 million, an increase of 23.1 percent above the $4.2 million reported in fiscal year 2005. Trust and brokerage fees contributed $2.8 million or 54.7 percent of fee income, up 32.5 percent over the prior fiscal year. Other fees, mainly BOLI and miscellaneous fee income, increased 39.0 percent to $1.5 million. Non-interest income accounted for 20.3 percent of total revenue for 2006, providing diversity of income sources and less reliance on deposits for revenue growth.
As an independent, newly incorporated wealth management subsidiary of Tower Financial, Tower Trust Company, doing business as Tower Private Advisors, continues to enhance its reputation for outstanding service and expertise. Not only did trust income and brokerage fees make important contributions to revenue, they also contributed substantially to the bottom line; net income for 2006 was $521,000, more than double 2005 pro forma earnings of $221,000. The group currently manages $567.2 million in combined trust and brokerage assets compared with $480.0 million in combined assets a year ago, an increase of 18.2 percent. Mr. Schenkel noted, "Tower offers a customized service provided by advisors with many years of experience in our local communities. Our established reputation has enabled us to expand successfully in existing markets, and we are optimistic that we will achieve similar success in our newer markets."
Non-interest expense for the fiscal year 2006 was $18.1 million, a 28.5 percent increase over the $14.1 million reported for the fiscal year 2005. Salary and benefits expense, up 30.0 percent, accounted for approximately 63.0 percent of the total increase; this is related to the addition of 36 employees (full-time equivalent) year-over-year, up 24.0 percent, hired to support operations as well as to staff the new offices. Salary expense was also impacted by $111,000 for the reporting of options as an expense for the first time per the provisions of FASB 123(R), as well as $285,000 in severance costs associated with the departure of a former executive.
Growth in operating expense also reflected Tower's significant expansion initiatives over the past year. During 2006, Tower spent a total of $288,000 to expand its existing franchise, adding a sixth full-service financial center in Fort Wayne, opening loan production offices in Indianapolis and Warsaw, and converting its Angola LPO into a full-service financial center.
"Tower Bank of Central Indiana represents a new market for Tower," commented Mr. Schenkel. "We are organizing a de novo community bank so we can better serve the Greater Indianapolis marketplace with a strong management team in place -- a local team making decisions based on local market conditions. Our application has been accepted by the regulators, and is pending final approval."
As a result of these initiatives, the efficiency ratio for the fiscal year 2006 was 71.23 percent compared with 64.75 percent for the fiscal year 2005.
Non-performing assets increased over the course of the year, and remained relatively high at year-end -- $4.3 million, or 0.65 percent of total assets. Net charge-offs, however, improved substantially compared to last year despite Tower's shift to a more aggressive charge-off policy implemented in 2005. During the third quarter, one large non-performing relationship was paid off. However, a second relationship totaling $2.1 million deteriorated sharply at quarter-end, returning problem loans back to third quarter levels. Mr. Schenkel added, "Our loans are well-collateralized, and we believe we will resolve this relationship by mid-year without taking a loss." At December 31, 2006, non-performing assets plus delinquencies were $4.8 million, or 0.72 percent of total assets, compared with $2.8 million or 0.50 percent twelve months ago. Net charge-offs were $970,000 for the fiscal year 2006, or 0.19 percent of average loans, compared with $2.4 million, or 0.55 percent of loans for fiscal year 2005. Tower's allowance for loan losses was 1.25 percent of total loans at December 31, 2006, unchanged from 2005 year-end.
Asset growth remains strong, reaching $671.2 million at December 31, 2006, a $113.3 million or 20.3 percent increase over the $557.8 million reported twelve months ago. Loans outstanding grew $100.1 million, or 22.2 percent, reaching $550.5 million at period-end. Commercial loan growth (C&I plus CRE), Tower's primary lending focus, continues at a solid pace. Since year-end 2005, commercial loans increased $59.9 million, or 16.9 percent, to $414.3 million, and now account for 75.3 percent of Tower's loan portfolio. Throughout the year, Tower has been retaining fixed-rate mortgages in its portfolio to neutralize the interest-rate sensitivity of its balance sheet; year-to-date, residential mortgages increased $33.3 million, up 66.2 percent to $83.6 million. Residential mortgages now account for 15.2 percent of Tower's loan portfolio, compared with $50.3 million or 11.2 percent at year-end 2005.
Deposits reached $586.8 million at December 31, 2006, up 27.3 percent compared with the year-ago period. Tower's deposit share of the Fort Wayne MSA continues to grow. As of June 30, 2006, Tower's share was 10.81 percent, up 129 basis points from a year ago. Mr. Schenkel noted that Tower has been particularly creative developing products to attract lower-cost deposits to the bank. Money market accounts, in particular, increased by $47.0 million, or 61.4 percent, largely as a result of a sweep product introduced earlier this year that enabled Tower to retain these accounts on its balance sheet rather than transfer them to a different financial institution for overnight investment. Total time deposits, including retail, local jumbo and out-of-market CDs, now account for 57.2 percent of total deposits, compared to 58.8 percent a year ago. Since year-end, non-interest bearing demand deposits increased $11.0 million to $77.8 million, up 16.5 percent.
Shareholders' equity was $51.0 million at December 31, 2006, an increase of 7.8 percent from the $47.3 million reported twelve months ago; period-end common shares outstanding were 4,043,882. The Company initiated a quarterly cash dividend of $0.04 per share in the first quarter of 2006.
Tower continues to meet the requirements for "well-capitalized" banks; total risk-based capital ratio improved to 13.05 percent, largely as a result of $9.0 million of Trust Preferred Securities (at a rate of 6.56%, fixed for five years) added in the fourth quarter of 2006. The new issue is replacing $3.5 million of Trust Preferred with a rate of 9.0%; the write-off of costs associated with the early extinguishment of the $3.5 million note were $50,000. The majority of the new trust preferred issue will eventually be used to fund the de novo Tower Bank of Central Indiana.
Mr. Schenkel concluded, "Tower has been moving ahead vigorously on several fronts, and we are pleased with our accomplishments this past year. Our Tower model of community banking is based on building a strong corporate culture, a solid infrastructure, and an increasingly diverse revenue stream. All of these factors contribute to our growing reputation and support our expansion into new markets with attractive demographics. We believe Tower's growth and profitability opportunities remain very bright despite the challenges of today's banking environment."
About the Company
Headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Tower Financial Corporation is a financial services holding company for two subsidiaries: Tower Bank & Trust Company, a growing community bank headquartered in Fort Wayne that opened in February 1999; and Tower Trust Company, a state-chartered wealth services firm doing business as Tower Private Advisors. Tower Bank provides a wide variety of financial services to businesses and consumers located in Indiana through its six full-service financial centers in Fort Wayne and a seventh in Angola, and business development offices in Indianapolis and Warsaw, Indiana. The Company has also applied for a charter to open a de novo bank to serve the Greater Indianapolis market. Tower Financial Corporation's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "TOFC." For further information, please visit Tower's web site at www.TOFC.net.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains some predictive statements about future events, including statements related to conditions in the financial services industry, the economy, and about Tower Financial Corporation and its banking and trust company subsidiaries. These statements are intended to be made as "forward-looking," subject to many risks and uncertainties, within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such predictive statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause such predictive statements to turn out other than as anticipated or predicted include, among others: changes in general economic conditions affecting the demand for or the cost of credit; changes in interest rates and in interest rate relationships; the degree of competition by both traditional and non-traditional competitors; changes in banking regulation; changes in the tax laws; the impact of technological advances; changes in the national or local economies, including those that affect borrowers' ability to repay loans; and other factors, including various "risk factors" as set forth in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other reports which we from time to time file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available publicly on the SEC website, www.sec.gov, and on Tower Financial Corporation's website, www.TOFC.net.
Forward-looking or predictive statements we make are based on our knowledge of our businesses and the environment in which they operate as of the date on which the statements are made. Due to these risks and uncertainties, as well as other matters beyond our control which can affect forward-looking statements, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these predictive statements, which speak only as of the date of this presentation. We undertake no duty to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Tower Financial Corporation Consolidated Balance Sheets At December 31, 2006 and 2005 (unaudited) December 31 December 31 2006 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSETS Cash and due from banks $ 14,393,790 $ 14,326,710 Short-term investments and interest-earning deposits 8,863,112 16,393,439 Federal funds sold 5,608,064 7,188,188 ------------------------------ Total cash and cash equivalents 28,864,966 37,908,337 Securities available for sale, at fair value 69,491,806 50,642,276 FHLBI and FRB stock 3,078,400 3,421,300 Loans 550,450,313 450,390,935 Allowance for loan losses (6,870,442) (5,645,301) ------------------------------ Net loans 543,579,871 444,745,634 Premises and equipment, net 5,870,699 4,638,436 Accrued interest receivable 3,620,368 2,802,189 Bank Owned Life Insurance 10,851,519 10,462,402 Other assets 5,797,183 3,200,086 ------------------------------ Total assets $ 671,154,812 $ 557,820,660 ============================== LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY LIABILITIES Deposits: Noninterest-bearing $ 77,772,481 $ 66,742,748 Interest-bearing 508,997,823 394,208,113 ------------------------------ Total deposits 586,770,304 460,950,861 Short-term borrowings -- -- Federal Home Loan Bank advances 11,200,000 34,700,000 Junior subordinated debt 17,527,000 11,856,000 Accrued interest payable 1,716,994 954,075 Other liabilities 2,982,675 2,091,670 ------------------------------ Total liabilities 620,196,973 510,552,606 STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY Preferred stock, no par value, 4,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding Common stock and paid-in-capital, no par value, 6,000,000 shares authorized; issued and outstanding - 4,043,882 shares at December 31, 2006 and 4,007,936 shares at December 31, 2005 38,536,406 38,006,929 Retained earnings 12,523,750 9,478,812 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax of $(53,785) at December 31, 2006, $(122,449) at December 31, 2005 (102,317) (217,687) ------------------------------ Total stockholders' equity 50,957,839 47,268,054 ------------------------------ Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 671,154,812 $ 557,820,660 ============================== Tower Financial Corporation Consolidated Statements of Operations For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2006 and 2005 (unaudited) For the Three Months For the Twelve Months Ended December 31 Ended December 31 ------------------------ ------------------------ 2006 2005 2006 2005 -------------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Interest income: Loans, including fees $10,386,071 $ 7,675,629 $37,648,724 $26,893,186 Securities - taxable 575,974 333,983 2,156,655 1,038,112 Securities - tax exempt 182,661 132,216 681,615 533,455 Other interest income 144,188 236,580 569,560 591,032 Total interest income 11,288,894 8,378,408 41,056,554 29,055,785 Interest expense: Deposits 5,517,162 3,304,895 18,642,725 10,298,929 Short-term borrowings -- 288 FHLB advances 241,006 183,233 1,334,608 833,226 Trust preferred securities 181,728 116,750 809,419 360,290 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total interest expense 5,939,896 3,604,878 20,786,752 11,492,733 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net interest income 5,348,998 4,773,530 20,269,802 17,563,052 Provision for loan losses 500,000 675,000 2,195,000 2,392,000 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net interest income after provision for loan losses 4,848,998 4,098,530 18,074,802 15,171,052 Noninterest income: Trust and brokerage fees 693,997 538,502 2,806,267 2,118,275 Service charges 228,918 209,921 723,725 759,553 Loan broker fees 61,339 89,008 122,322 264,526 Gain/(Loss) on sale of securities (33,694) (33,694) Other fees 396,567 324,802 1,473,856 1,074,863 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total noninterest income 1,380,821 1,128,539 5,126,170 4,183,523 Noninterest expense: Salaries and benefits 3,186,788 2,274,505 10,939,447 8,417,091 Occupancy and equipment 592,583 481,199 2,139,751 1,825,788 Marketing 155,217 184,714 598,324 609,797 Data processing 203,248 112,371 704,081 448,266 Loan and professional costs 265,116 170,287 1,012,805 835,516 Office supplies and postage 129,272 94,033 463,011 310,714 Courier service 93,775 84,330 365,107 330,334 Business Development 170,275 138,458 560,677 443,932 Other expense 432,720 257,159 1,306,220 859,720 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Total noninterest expense 5,228,994 3,797,056 18,089,423 14,081,158 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Income before income taxes 1,000,825 1,430,013 5,111,549 5,273,417 Income taxes expense 190,937 492,440 1,423,637 1,834,760 ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- Net income $ 809,888 $ 937,573 $ 3,687,912 $ 3,438,657 =========== =========== =========== =========== Basic earnings per common share $ 0.20 $ 0.23 $ 0.92 $ 0.86 Diluted earnings per common share $ 0.20 $ 0.23 $ 0.89 $ 0.84 Average common shares outstanding 4,030,081 4,007,936 4,020,004 4,006,170 Average common shares and dilutive potential common shares outstanding 4,129,774 4,037,920 4,136,138 4,083,004 Tower Financial Corporation Consolidated Financial Highlights Fourth Quarter 2006 (unaudited) Quarterly ----------------------------------------------------- ($ in thousands except for 4th Qtr 3rd Qtr 2nd Qtr 1st Qtr 4th Qtr share data) 2006 2006 2006 2006 2005 --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- EARNINGS Net interest income $ 5,347 5,182 4,944 4,773 4,774 Provision for loan loss $ 500 645 475 575 675 NonInterest income $ 1,380 1,259 1,118 1,391 1,129 NonInterest expense $ 5,227 4,417 4,343 4,100 3,797 Net income $ 810 973 912 993 938 Basic earnings per share $ 0.20 0.24 0.23 0.25 0.23 Diluted earnings per 0.23 share $ 0.20 0.24 0.22 0.24 Average shares outstanding 4,030,081 4,022,071 4,017,254 4,008,000 4,007,936 Average diluted shares outstanding 4,129,774 4,123,773 4,128,151 4,105,496 4,037,920 PERFORMANCE RATIOS Return on average assets (a) 0.49% 0.62% 0.61% 0.72% 0.70% Return on average common equity (a) 6.41% 7.92% 7.58% 8.42% 7.92% Net interest margin (fully- tax equiva- lent) (a) 3.51% 3.54% 3.58% 3.74% 3.79% Efficiency ratio 77.70% 68.58% 71.64% 66.52% 64.32% Full-time equivalent employees 186.25 180.50 167.50 155.50 150.50 CAPITAL Equity to assets 7.59% 7.75% 7.92% 8.37% 8.47% Regulatory leverage ratio 10.46% 9.92% 10.24% 10.76% 11.08% Tier 1 capital ratio 11.93% 11.23% 11.52% 11.88% 12.16% Total risk-based capital ratio 13.05% 12.35% 12.62% 13.00% 13.24% Book value per share $ 12.60 12.39 12.02 11.96 11.79 Cash dividend per share $ 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 n/a ASSET QUALITY Net charge-offs $ 210 238 364 158 860 Net charge-offs to average loans (a) 0.15% 0.18% 0.30% 0.14% 0.77% Allowance for loan losses $ 6,870 6,581 6,174 6,062 5,645 Allowance for loan losses to total loans 1.25% 1.23% 1.22% 1.28% 1.25% Nonperforming loans $ 3,977 4,034 3,118 1,833 1,688 Other real estate owned (OREO) $ 370 465 430 509 244 Nonperforming assets (NPA) $ 4,347 4,499 3,548 2,342 1,932 90+ Day delinquencies $ 487 23 1,304 1,380 864 NPAs plus 90 Days delinquent $ 4,834 4,522 4,852 3,722 2,796 NPAs to Total assets 0.65% 0.70% 0.58% 0.41% 0.35% NPAs+90 to Total assets 0.72% 0.70% 0.80% 0.65% 0.50% NPAs to Loans + OREO 0.79% 0.84% 0.70% 0.49% 0.43% END OF PERIOD BALANCES Total assets $ 671,155 643,725 609,781 572,632 557,821 Total earning assets $ 637,491 607,114 574,053 539,187 528,036 Total loans $ 550,450 533,057 506,077 473,998 450,391 Total deposits $ 586,780 554,335 510,235 472,178 460,951 Stockholders' equity $ 50,958 49,895 48,319 47,951 47,268 AVERAGE BALANCES Total assets $ 650,721 621,597 596,293 556,479 534,172 Total earning assets $ 612,944 591,632 563,858 526,423 507,361 Total loans $ 540,227 520,260 491,533 458,642 441,719 Total deposits $ 567,469 528,961 501,012 459,803 455,988 Stockholders' equity $ 50,117 48,731 48,232 47,846 46,997 (a) annualized for quarterly data Year-To-Date ------------------------- 2006 2005 ----------- ----------- EARNINGS Net interest income $ 20,246 17,564 Provision for loan loss $ 2,195 2,392 NonInterest income $ 5,148 4,184 NonInterest expense $ 18,087 14,081 Net income $ 3,688 3,440 Basic earnings per share $ 0.92 0.86 Diluted earnings per share $ 0.89 0.84 Average shares outstanding 4,020,004 4,006,170 Average diluted shares outstanding 4,136,138 4,083,004 PERFORMANCE RATIOS Return on average assets (a) 0.61% 0.68% Return on average common equity (a) 7.57% 7.52% Net interest margin (fully-tax equivalent) (a) 3.58% 3.70% Efficiency ratio 71.23% 64.75% Full-time equivalent employees 186.25 150.50 CAPITAL Equity to assets 7.59% 8.47% Regulatory leverage ratio 10.46% 11.08% Tier 1 capital ratio 11.93% 12.16% Total risk-based capital ratio 13.05% 13.24% Book value per share $ 12.60 11.79 Cash dividend per share $ 0.16 n/a ASSET QUALITY Net charge-offs $ 970 2,355 Net charge-offs to average loans (a) 0.19% 0.55% Allowance for loan losses $ 6,870 5,645 Allowance for loan losses to total loans 1.25% 1.25% Nonperforming loans $ 3,977 1,688 Other real estate owned (OREO) $ 370 244 Nonperforming assets (NPA) $ 4,347 1,932 90+ Day delinquencies $ 487 864 NPAs plus 90 Days delinquent $ 4,834 2,796 NPAs to Total assets 0.65% 0.35% NPAs+90 to Total assets 0.72% 0.50% NPAs to Loans + OREO 0.79% 0.43% END OF PERIOD BALANCES Total assets $ 671,155 557,821 Total earning assets $ 637,491 528,036 Total loans $ 550,450 450,391 Total deposits $ 586,780 460,951 Stockholders' equity $ 50,958 47,268 AVERAGE BALANCES Total assets $ 606,272 504,470 Total earning assets $ 573,714 481,695 Total loans $ 502,665 425,626 Total deposits $ 514,311 424,832 Stockholders' equity $ 48,731 45,726 (a) annualized for quarterly data