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 ======= ======= 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 ========= ========= ========= =========