TrustCo Announces Second Quarter Earnings Net Income Up 9%

GLENVILLE, N.Y., July 21, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TrustCo Bank Corp NY (TrustCo), (Nasdaq:TRST) today announced net income for the second quarter of 2011 of $7.8 million, up 9.0% over the prior-year period and equal to diluted earnings per share of $0.100, as compared to net income of $7.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.093 for the second quarter of 2010.  The second quarter of 2011 also saw continued core balance sheet growth. Making the earnings announcement was Robert J. McCormick, President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. McCormick noted, "We are pleased that the second quarter resulted in solid earnings gains, continued core loan and deposit growth and a decline of approximately $2.7 million in nonperforming assets versus the first quarter, and look forward to the remainder of 2011 with optimism as our internal trends remain positive. The banking industry still faces challenges, but the progress we have made this year has helped to position the Company for continued growth and profitability." Return on average equity and return on average assets were 11.76% and 0.77%, respectively, for the second quarter of 2011, compared to 11.34% and 0.75% for the second quarter of 2010.   

For the first half of 2011 net income was $15.1 million and resulted in diluted earnings per share of $0.196, as compared to the first half of 2010 net income of $14.1 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.183. Return on average assets and return on average equity were 0.76% and 11.69%, respectively, for the first six months of 2011 and 0.76% and 11.31% for the comparable period in 2010. 

Subsequent to the end of the second quarter, the Company completed an offering of 15.6 million common shares, raising net proceeds of $68.1 million before direct costs. On a pro-forma, consolidated basis, the Company's ratio of tangible equity to tangible assets improved to approximately 8.1% with the additional capital, compared to the reported 6.6% as of June 30, 2011. Mr. McCormick noted that "We are pleased to have been able to strengthen our capital position despite difficult market conditions and express our appreciation to all of our shareholders for their support." 

Mr. McCormick also noted "We continue to see some signs of economic improvement in the markets in which we operate, although some core problems remain, particularly high levels of unemployment. We believe our long-term focus on traditional lending criteria and conservative balance sheet management has helped us avoid most aspects of the problems that have afflicted many banks in recent years, which has enabled us to maintain a strong balance sheet and continued profitability. As a result, we have been able to focus on conducting business, which has put us in a position to take advantage of the significant upheaval that customers of other banks have seen. We are particularly encouraged by the continued growth of our core loan and deposit portfolios." 

TrustCo continued to report solid growth in loans and deposits on a year-over-year basis. For the quarter ended June 30, 2011, average loans were up $86.7 million or 3.8% compared to the same period in 2010, while average deposits rose $226.6 million or 6.7% over the same period. One new office was opened during the second quarter of 2011, bringing the total to 135. Mr. McCormick noted that, "We are pleased with the progress that we have made in growing loans and deposits through our recently completed branch expansion program but are mindful that fully achieving our goals will take time and continued hard work. We believe our success in growing customer relationships provides the basic building blocks that will help drive profit growth over the coming years."

Nonperforming loans were $49.5 million as of June 30, 2011, compared to $50.4 million at March 31, 2011 and $48.8 million as of December 31, 2010, and remain at manageable levels. Nonperforming assets declined to $54.4 million at the end of the second quarter, compared to $57.1 million at the end of the first quarter and from $56.2 million at the end of 2010. At June 30, 2011, nonperforming loans were equal to 2.04% of total loans, compared to 2.14% at the end of the first quarter. Nonperforming assets to total assets fell to 1.34% at June 30, 2011, compared to 1.42% at March 31, 2011. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of gross loans and as a multiple of net charge-offs remains strong. Reserves to total loans was strengthened, increasing from 1.78% at December 31, 2010 to 1.85% at March 31, 2011 and to 1.88% at June 30, 2011, and covered annualized second quarter net charge-offs by 3.8 times, compared to 3.9 times for the first quarter of 2011. The allowance for loan losses was unchanged at 0.9 times nonperforming loans. 

Net interest margin for the second quarter of 2011 was 3.47%, up 7 basis points from the first quarter of 2011 and down 4 basis points compared to the second quarter of 2010. 

The effective tax rate for the second quarter of 2011 was 35.5%, compared to 36.2% in the second quarter of 2010. Third quarter 2010 income tax expense was affected by one time items that reduced the effective tax rate and are not expected to be repeated in 2011.

TrustCo Bank Corp NY is a $4.1 billion bank holding company and through its subsidiary, Trustco Bank, operates 135 offices in New York, New Jersey, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Florida.

In addition, the Bank operates a full service Trust Department. The common shares of TrustCo are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol TRST.

A conference call to discuss second quarter 2011 results will held at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on July 22, 2011. Those wishing to participate in the call may dial toll-free 1-877-317-6789. International callers must dial + 1-412-317-6789.   A replay of the call will be available until August 22, 2011 by dialing 1-877-344-7529 (1-412-317-0088 for international callers), Conference Number 10002245. The call will also be audio webcast at: https://services.choruscall.com/links/trst110922.html , and will be available until July 22, 2012. 

Safe Harbor Statement

All statements in this news release that are not historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The "forward-looking statements" may include statements regarding future events or performance and statements regarding TrustCo's ability to offer and sell securities under its shelf registration statement. Such forward-looking statements are subject to factors that could cause actual results to differ materially for TrustCo from those discussed. TrustCo wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The following important factors, among others, in some cases have affected and in the future could affect our actual results and could cause our actual financial performance to differ materially from that expressed in any forward-looking statement: credit risk, the effects of and changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, inflation, interest rates, market and monetary fluctuations, competition, the effect of changes in financial services laws and regulations (including laws concerning taxation, banking and securities), real estate and collateral values, changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the bank regulatory agencies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") or the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; changes in local market areas and general business and economic trends and the matters described under the heading "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, as amended, and in our subsequent securities filings.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures Reconciliation

Tangible book value per share and tangible equity as a percentage of tangible assets at period end are non-GAAP financial measures derived from GAAP-based amounts. We calculate tangible equity and tangible assets by excluding the balance of intangible assets from shareholders' equity and total assets, respectively. We calculate tangible book value per share by dividing tangible equity by common shares outstanding, as compared to book value per common share, which we calculate by dividing shareholders' equity by common shares outstanding. We calculate tangible equity as a percentage of tangible assets at period end by dividing tangible equity by tangible assets at period end. We believe that this is consistent with the treatment by bank regulatory agencies, which exclude intangible assets from the calculation of risk-based capital ratios. 

The efficiency ratio is a non-GAAP measure of expense control relative to recurring revenue. We calculate the efficiency ratio by dividing total noninterest expenses as determined under GAAP, but excluding other real estate expense, net, which we refer to below as recurring expense, by net interest income (fully taxable equivalent) and total noninterest income as determined under GAAP, but excluding net gains on securities from this calculation, which we refer to below as recurring revenue. We believe that this provides one reasonable measure of core expenses relative to core revenue. 

We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures provide information that is important to investors and that is useful in understanding our financial position, results and ratios. However, these non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental and are not a substitute for an analysis based on GAAP measures. As other companies may use different calculations for these measures, this presentation may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures reported by other companies. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures of tangible common equity, tangible book value per share and efficiency ratio to the underlying GAAP numbers is set forth below.