NBT Bancorp Inc. Announces Net Income of $19.9 Million for the Third Quarter of 2015; Declares Cash Dividend

NORWICH, N.Y., Oct. 26, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NBT Bancorp Inc. (NBT) (NASDAQ:NBTB) announced net income for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $19.9 million, up from $19.3 million for the second quarter of 2015, and up from $10.9 million for the third quarter of 2014.  Reported net income for the third quarter of 2014 included $8.8 million in prepayment penalties, net of tax, related to our long-term debt restructuring strategy.  Reported diluted earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $0.45, as compared with $0.43 for the prior quarter, and $0.25 per share for the third quarter of 2014. 

Core net income for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $19.8 million, up from $19.6 million in the previous quarter, and equal to the same period last year.  Core earnings per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $0.45, up from $0.44 for the second quarter of 2015, and equal to the third quarter of 2014.

Reported net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $57.3 million, up from $56.6 million for the same period last year.  Reported net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 included a contingent gain recognized from the 2014 sale of our ownership interest in Springstone LLC (“Springstone”), offset by reorganization expenses incurred during the third quarter of 2015.  Reported net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 included a gain on the sale of our ownership interest in Springstone, partially offset by prepayment penalties related to our long-term debt restructuring strategy in 2014.  Reported diluted earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $1.29, as compared with $1.28 for the same period in 2014.

Core net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $57.5 million, up from $57.3 million for the same period last year.  Core earnings per diluted share for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $1.29, equal to the same period last year.    

The third quarter and year to date reported results for 2015 and 2014 contained items which the Company considers non-core, such as gains on the sale of an equity investment, long-term debt restructuring prepayment penalties, reorganization expenses, and other items not considered core to our operations.

Third Quarter 2015 Highlights:

• Third quarter organic loan growth (annualized) of 6.9% driven by:
  • Consumer – 14.5%
  • Residential mortgage – 7.8%
  • Commercial – 4.8%
     
• Year to date organic loan growth (annualized) was 6.6%
   
• Recognized contingent gain of $4.2 million during the third quarter of 2015 from the 2014 sale of our ownership interest in Springstone, which allowed us to further our branch optimization strategy taking $3.3 million in reorganization costs during the third quarter of 2015
   
• Average demand deposits for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 were up 11.4% from the same period in 2014
   
• Asset quality indicators remained strong:
  • Nonperforming loans to total loans was 0.79% at September 30, 2015, as compared with 0.82% at December 31, 2014
  • Past due loans to total loans was 0.63% at September 30, 2015, as compared with 0.69% at December 31, 2014
  • Annualized net charge-offs to average loans was 0.35% for the third quarter of 2015, as compared with 0.36% for the same period last year

“Our earnings remained strong through the third quarter of 2015 with both our reported and core net income at the second highest level in NBT’s history,” said NBT President and CEO Martin Dietrich. “Our focus on banking fundamentals, including organic loan growth, deposit gathering and asset quality, continues to drive our results. And, the efforts of our employees to provide customers with a full complement of financial services while constantly working to enhance the experience we deliver continues to make them our most important and sustainable asset.”

Net interest income was $64.2 million for the third quarter of 2015, up $1.6 million from the previous quarter, and up $0.5 million from the third quarter of 2014.  FTE net interest margin was 3.48% for the three months ended September 30, 2015, down from 3.51% for the previous quarter and down from 3.61% for the third quarter of 2014.  Average interest earning assets were up $159.1 million, or 2.2%, for the third quarter of 2015 as compared to the prior quarter, and up $304.0 million, or 4.3%, from the same period in 2014.  The increase from the second quarter of 2015 was driven primarily by organic loan production.  Annualized organic loan growth of 6.9% during the third quarter of 2015 was driven by growth in most portfolios.  Yields on earning assets decreased by 2 basis points (“bps”) from 3.79% during the second quarter of 2015 to 3.77% for the third quarter of 2015.  This decrease in yield was more than offset by the growth in earning assets during the third quarter of 2015, and resulted in the 2.6% growth in interest income for the third quarter of 2015 as compared to the prior quarter.  The yield compression was driven primarily by a 3 bp decrease in loan yields from the second quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2015.  Average interest bearing liabilities increased $77.5 million, or 1.5%, from the second quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2015, which was driven by an increase in short-term borrowings for the third quarter of 2015 due to seasonality of deposits.  The rates paid on interest bearing liabilities increased 1 bp from the second quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2015 and contributed to the 4.2% increase in interest expense for the third quarter of 2015 as compared with the prior quarter.       

Net interest income was $189.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, up $1.2 million from the same period in 2014.  FTE net interest margin was 3.53% for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, down from 3.61% for the nine months ended September 30, 2014.  Average interest earning assets were up $208.2 million, or 3.0%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014.  This increase from last year was driven primarily by 6.6% annualized organic loan growth during the first nine months of 2015.  Yields on earning assets decreased from 3.95% during the first nine months of 2014 to 3.81% for the first nine months of 2015, more than offsetting the growth in earning assets resulting in a 0.6% decrease in interest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014.  The yield compression was driven by a 17 bp decrease in loan yields from the first nine months of 2014 to the first nine months of 2015.  Average interest bearing liabilities decreased $11.6 million, or 0.2%, from the nine months ended September 30, 2014 to the nine months ended September 30, 2015.  Total average deposits increased $369.0 million, or 6.1%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period last year driven primarily by an 11.4% increase in non-interest bearing demand deposits, as well as increases in money market deposit accounts and savings deposits in the first nine months of 2015.  This increase was partially offset by a decrease in average long-term borrowings of $125.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period last year due to the debt restructuring strategy completed during the third quarter of 2014.  In addition, average short-term borrowings decreased $67.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period last year driven by deposit growth.  The rates paid on interest bearing liabilities decreased by 6 bps for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014.  This decrease resulted primarily from a shift in deposits into lower cost core deposits as well as the aforementioned debt restructuring.     

Noninterest income for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $31.3 million, up $3.0 million from the prior quarter, and up $4.6 million from the third quarter of 2014.  Excluding the contingent gain recognized totaling $4.2 in the third quarter of 2015 from the 2014 sale of Springstone and securities gains, noninterest income for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $27.1 million, down $1.1 million from the prior quarter, and up $0.4 million from the third quarter of 2014.  The decrease from the prior quarter was driven primarily by a decrease in trust revenue, which was down $0.6 million due primarily to seasonality. 

Noninterest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $86.0 million, down $13.0 million from the same period last year.   Excluding the gains recorded in both periods from the 2014 sale of Springstone, securities gains, and other items not considered core to our operations, noninterest income for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $81.8 million, up $2.9 million, or 3.7% from the same period last year.  The increase from the prior year was driven primarily by increases in retirement plan administration fees, ATM and debit card fees, and other noninterest income.  Retirement plan administration fees were up $0.8 million, or 9.2%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014 due primarily to new business generation.  ATM and debit card fees were up $0.8 million, or 6.5%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period last year due primarily to an increase in debit card activity.    Other noninterest income was up $1.5 million, or 19.1%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period in 2014 due primarily to the acquired loan charge-off recoveries recognized in 2015. 

Noninterest expense for the three months ended September 30, 2015 was $59.9 million, up $1.9 million from the prior quarter and down $9.2 million from the third quarter of 2014.  Excluding reorganization expenses incurred in the second and third quarters of 2015, prepayment penalties incurred in the third quarter of 2014, and other items not considered core to our operations, noninterest expense was down $0.9 million from the prior quarter and up $1.0 million from the third quarter of 2014.  The decrease from the prior quarter was due primarily to a $0.6 million, or 2.0%, decrease in salaries and employee benefits in the third quarter of 2015, driven by a decrease in medical expenses incurred.  Income tax expense for the three month period ended September 30, 2015 was $10.8 million, up $1.0 million from the prior quarter, and up $5.2 million from the third quarter of 2014, which included the impact of the aforementioned non-core items.  The increase from the prior period was due primarily to a higher level of taxable income for the third quarter of 2015.  The effective tax rate was 35.2% for the third quarter of 2015 as compared with 33.6% for the second quarter of 2015, and 33.8% for the third quarter of 2014. 

Noninterest expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $175.6 million, down $13.8 million or 7.3% from the same period in 2014, due primarily to $17.9 million in prepayment penalties from long-term, debt restructuring in 2014.  Excluding non-core items including these prepayment penalties, reorganization expenses, and other items not considered core to our operations, noninterest expense was up $3.8 million, or 2.2%, for the first nine months of 2015 as compared to the same period last year.  Salaries and employee benefits were up $1.6 million, or 1.8% for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared with the same period in 2014.  Excluding incentive compensation expenses recorded in 2014 related to the Springstone sale, salaries and employee benefits were up $4.1 million, or 4.7%, from the first nine months of 2014 to the first nine months of 2015.  This increase was driven by higher post-retirement costs, higher medical expenses, and an increase in salaries expense.  This increase in salaries and employee benefits was partially offset by a $1.0 million decrease in loan collection and other real estate owned expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 as compared to the same period last year.  This decrease was due primarily to gains on sales of real estate recorded in the second quarter of 2015, which offset expenses during the period.  Income tax expense for the nine month period ended September 30, 2015 was $29.7 million, up $1.4 million from the same period in 2014.  The effective tax rate was 34.2% for the first nine months of 2015 as compared to 33.4% for the first nine months of 2014.

Asset Quality

Net charge-offs were $5.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, up from $4.3 million for the prior quarter, and equal to the third quarter of 2014.  Provision expense was $5.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015, as compared with $3.9 million for the prior quarter, and $4.9 million for the third quarter of 2014.  Annualized net charge-offs to average loans for the third quarter of 2015 was 0.35%, compared with 0.30% for the second quarter of 2015 and 0.36% for the third quarter of 2014.

Nonperforming loans to total loans was 0.79% at September 30, 2015, up slightly from 0.77% for the prior quarter, and down 3 bps from December 31, 2014.  Past due loans as a percentage of total loans were 0.63% at September 30, 2015 as compared to 0.61% as of June 30, 2015 and 0.69% at December 31, 2014.   

The allowance for loan losses totaled $64.9 million at September 30, 2015, compared to $65.0 million at June 30, 2015, and $66.4 million at December 31, 2014.  The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans was 1.10% (1.21% excluding acquired loans with no related allowance recorded) at September 30, 2015, compared to 1.13% (1.24% excluding acquired loans with no related allowance recorded) at June 30, 2015 and 1.19% (1.36% excluding acquired loans with no related allowance recorded) at December 31, 2014.  The decrease in the allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans from prior periods was due primarily to continued positive trends in asset quality metrics of the originated loan portfolio.       

Balance Sheet

Total assets were $8.2 billion at September 30, 2015, up $363.6 million, or 4.7% from December 31, 2014.  Loans were $5.9 billion at September 30, 2015, up $275.7 million, or 4.9%, from December 31, 2014.  Total deposits were $6.6 billion at September 30, 2015, up $301.0 million, or 4.8%, from December 31, 2014.  Stockholders’ equity was $876.2 million, representing a total equity-to-total assets ratio of 10.74% at September 30, 2015, compared with $864.2 million or a total equity-to-total assets ratio of 11.08% at December 31, 2014.

Stock Repurchase Program

The Company purchased 1,047,152 shares of its common stock during the nine months ended September 30, 2015 at an average price of $25.59 per share under previously announced plans.  As of September 30, 2015, there were 952,848 shares available for repurchase under the repurchase plan that was announced on July 27, 2015, which expires on December 31, 2016. 

Dividend

The NBT Board of Directors approved a 2015 fourth-quarter cash dividend of $0.22 per share at a meeting held today.  The dividend will be paid on December 15, 2015 to shareholders of record as of December 1, 2015.  

Subsequent Event

On October 1, 2015, NBT Bank, N.A. acquired Third Party Administrators, Inc. (TPA, Inc.), a retirement plan services company located in Bedford, N.H. with assets under administration of over $850 million. TPA, Inc. provides administrative services for 401(k), profit sharing and defined benefit plans for over 700 businesses as well as Section 125 administration. “The addition of TPA, Inc. to our family of companies supports our strategy of enhancing our revenue from non-banking sources,” said NBT President and CEO Martin Dietrich. “The services offered by TPA, Inc. are a great complement to the retirement plan services offered by NBT Bank’s Wealth Management Division and the 401(k) recordkeeping services offered by EPIC Advisors, and we look forward to exploring the synergies between these lines of business.”

Corporate Overview

NBT Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Norwich, N.Y., with total assets of $8.2 billion at September 30, 2015.  The company primarily operates through NBT Bank, N.A., a full-service community bank, and through two financial services companies.  NBT Bank, N.A. has over 155 banking locations with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. EPIC Advisors, Inc., based in Rochester, N.Y., is a full-service 401(k) plan recordkeeping firm. NBT Insurance Agency, LLC, based in Norwich, N.Y., is a full-service insurance agency. More information about NBT and its divisions can be found on the Internet at: www.nbtbancorp.com, www.nbtbank.com, www.epic1st.com and www.nbtmang.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of NBT Bancorp and its subsidiaries and on the information available to management at the time that these statements were made. There are a number of factors, many of which are beyond NBT’s control, that could cause actual conditions, events or results to differ significantly from those described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, among others, the following possibilities: (1) competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions may increase significantly; (2) revenues may be lower than expected; (3) changes in the interest rate environment may reduce interest margins; (4) general economic conditions, either nationally or regionally, may be less favorable than expected, resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality and/or a reduced demand for credit; (5) legislative or regulatory changes, including changes in accounting standards and tax laws, may adversely affect the businesses in which NBT is engaged; (6) competitors may have greater financial resources and develop products that enable such competitors to compete more successfully than NBT; and (7) adverse changes may occur in the securities markets or with respect to inflation.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by law, NBT does not update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent circumstances or events.

Non-GAAP Measures

This press release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP).  These measures adjust GAAP measures to exclude the effects of sales of securities and certain non-recurring and merger-related expenses.  Where non-GAAP disclosures are used in this press release, the comparable GAAP measure, as well as a reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measure, is provided in the accompanying tables.  Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provided useful information that is important to an understanding of the operating results of NBT’s core business (due to the non-recurring nature of the excluded items).  Non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP and investors should consider NBT’s performance and financial condition as reported under GAAP and all other relevant information when assessing the performance or financial condition of NBT.