Renasant Corporation Announces Earnings for the Fourth Quarter of 2021

TUPELO, Miss., Jan. 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Renasant Corporation (NASDAQ: RNST) (the “Company”) today announced earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2021. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $37.1 million, as compared to $31.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2020. Basic and diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) were $0.66 for the fourth quarter of 2021, as compared to basic and diluted EPS of $0.56 for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2021, was $175.9 million, as compared to net income of $83.7 million for the same period in 2020. Basic and diluted EPS were $3.13 and $3.12, respectively, for 2021, as compared to basic and diluted EPS of $1.49 and $1.48, respectively, for 2020.

“I am proud of the Renasant team and the efforts they put forth in 2021. We generated strong loan production in the fourth quarter and throughout the year, had solid earnings, strengthened capital and have considerable balance sheet liquidity heading into 2022,” commented C. Mitchell Waycaster, Renasant President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe that the economic strength of our markets is good and business activity is vibrant. Our focus remains on producing loan growth and on initiatives designed to improve profitability.”

Quarterly Highlights

Earnings

• Net income for the fourth quarter of 2021 was $37.1 million with diluted EPS of $0.66 and adjusted diluted EPS (non-GAAP)⁽¹⁾ of $0.68
• Net interest income (fully tax equivalent) and core net interest income (fully tax equivalent) (non-GAAP)⁽¹⁾ for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $103.2 and $100.0 million, respectively. Core net interest income increased $1.7 million from the third quarter of 2021
• For the fourth quarter of 2021, net interest margin was 2.81%, down 12 basis points on a linked quarter basis, and core net interest margin (non-GAAP)⁽¹⁾ was 2.73%, down 3 basis points on a linked quarter basis
• Cost of total deposits was 18 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2021, down 3 basis points on a linked quarter basis
• Noninterest income, excluding mortgage banking income and swap termination gains, for the fourth quarter of 2021 increased on a linked quarter basis, highlighting the Company's diverse revenue streams
• The Company recognized a $4.7 million gain on terminated swaps with a total notional amount of $100 million on future FHLB borrowings that are no longer expected to occur
• The mortgage division generated $1.17 billion in interest rate lock volume during the fourth quarter of 2021 and $5.88 billion for the year ended December 31, 2021
• Fourth quarter noninterest expense decreased by $2.9 million on a linked quarter basis, primarily driven by a decrease in salaries and employee benefits expense resulting from ongoing efficiency initiatives
• The Company incurred a debt prepayment penalty of $6.1 million in connection with the prepayment of a $150 million long-term advance from the FHLB
  

Balance Sheet

• Loans, excluding Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans (non-GAAP)⁽¹⁾, grew modestly as compared to the balance at September 30, 2021 and increased $157.6 million, or 1.61%, year over year
• The securities portfolio at the end of 2021 increased $258.0 million on a linked quarter basis
• The Company established a held-to-maturity securities portfolio during the fourth quarter, which had a balance of $416.0 million at December 31, 2021
• Deposits at December 31, 2021 increased $651.0 million on a linked quarter basis, and noninterest bearing deposits represented 33.93% of total deposits as of the end of 2021

Capital

• During November 2021, the Company completed the public offering and sale of $200 million of its 3.00% fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2031
• The Company redeemed $15 million in subordinated notes in October 2021 and $30 million in December 2021, with an additional $30 million to be redeemed on March 1, 2022
• The Company adopted a $50 million stock repurchase program that will remain in effect through October 2022; however, there was no buyback activity during the fourth quarter of 2021 and no current intent to repurchase stock
  

Credit Quality

• The Company recorded a negative provision for credit losses on loans of $500 thousand and a negative provision for unfunded commitments (recorded in other noninterest expense) of $300 thousand for the fourth quarter of 2021
• Allowance for credit losses on loans to total loans and the allowance to total loans (excluding PPP loans) (non-GAAP)⁽¹⁾ decreased on a linked quarter basis to 1.64% and 1.65%, respectively, at December 31, 2021
• The coverage ratio, or the allowance for credit losses on loans to nonperforming loans, was 323.14% at December 31, 2021 as compared to 299.68% at September 30, 2021
• Net loan charge-offs for the fourth quarter of 2021 were $5.4 million, or 0.21% of average loans on an annualized basis, and net loan charge-offs for all of 2021 were $10.3 million, or 0.10% of average loans
• Credit metrics improved on a linked quarter basis with nonperforming loans to total loans decreasing six basis points to 0.51% and classified loans to total loans decreasing 27 basis points to 1.60% at year end
• Loan deferrals were approximately 0.01% of the Company's loan portfolio as of December 31, 2021, down from approximately 1.5% as of December 31, 2020

⁽¹⁾A reconciliation of all non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release from GAAP to non-GAAP is included in the tables at the end of this release. The information below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” explains why the Company believes the non-GAAP financial measures in this release provide useful information and describes the other purposes for which the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures.

Income Statement

⁽¹⁾A reconciliation of all non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release from GAAP to non-GAAP is included in the tables at the end of this release. The information below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” explains why the Company believes the non-GAAP financial measures in this release provide useful information and describes the other purposes for which the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures.

Performance Ratios

Capital and Balance Sheet Ratios

⁽¹⁾A reconciliation of all non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release from GAAP to non-GAAP is included in the tables at the end of this release. The information below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” explains why the Company believes the non-GAAP financial measures in this release provide useful information and describes the other purposes for which the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures.

Noninterest Income and Noninterest Expense

Mortgage Banking Income

Balance Sheet

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

⁽¹⁾ U.S. Government and some U.S. Government Agency securities are tax-exempt in the states in which the Company operates.
⁽²⁾ Interest-bearing demand deposits include interest-bearing transactional accounts and money market deposits.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin, continued

⁽¹⁾ U.S. Government and some U.S. Government Agency securities are tax-exempt in the states in which the Company operates.
⁽²⁾ Interest-bearing demand deposits include interest-bearing transactional accounts and money market deposits.

Supplemental Margin Information

Loan Portfolio

Credit Quality and Allowance for Credit Losses on Loans

⁽¹⁾A reconciliation of all non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this release from GAAP to non-GAAP is included in the tables at the end of this release. The information below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” explains why the Company believes the non-GAAP financial measures in this release provide useful information and describes the other purposes for which the Company uses non-GAAP financial measures.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION:
A live audio webcast of a conference call with analysts will be available beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (9:00 AM Central Time) on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.

The webcast can be accessed through Renasant’s investor relations website at www.renasant.com or https://services.choruscall.com/mediaframe/webcast.html?webcastid=T0utveqz. To access the conference via telephone, dial 1-877-513-1143 in the United States and request the Renasant Corporation 2021 Fourth Quarter Earnings Conference Call and Webcast. International participants should dial 1-412-902-4145 to access the conference call.

The webcast will be archived on www.renasant.com beginning one hour after the call and will remain accessible for one year. Replays can also be accessed via telephone by dialing 1-877-344-7529 in the United States and entering conference number 1882552 or by dialing 1-412-317-0088 internationally and entering the same conference number. Telephone replay access is available until February 9, 2022.

ABOUT RENASANT CORPORATION:
Renasant Corporation is the parent of Renasant Bank, a 117-year-old financial services institution. Renasant has assets of approximately $16.8 billion and operates 199 banking, lending, mortgage, wealth management and insurance offices in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release may contain, or incorporate by reference, statements about Renasant Corporation that constitute “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. Statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “believes,” “expects,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” “potential,” “focus,” “possible,” “may increase,” “may fluctuate,” “will likely result,” and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would” and “could,” are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include information about the Company’s future financial performance, business strategy, projected plans and objectives and are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management. The Company’s management believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, but they are all inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. In addition, these forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions with respect to future business strategies and decisions that are subject to change. Actual results may differ from those indicated or implied in the forward-looking statements, and such differences may be material. Prospective investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties and, accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made.

Important factors currently known to management that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the following: (i) the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (and variants thereof) and related governmental response measures on the U.S. economy and the economies of the markets in which we operate; (ii) the Company’s ability to efficiently integrate acquisitions into its operations, retain the customers of these businesses, grow the acquired operations and realize the cost savings expected from an acquisition to the extent and in the timeframe anticipated by management; (iii) the effect of economic conditions and interest rates on a national, regional or international basis; (iv) timing and success of the implementation of changes in operations to achieve enhanced earnings or effect cost savings; (v) competitive pressures in the consumer finance, commercial finance, insurance, financial services, asset management, retail banking, mortgage lending and auto lending industries; (vi) the financial resources of, and products available from, competitors; (vii) changes in laws and regulations as well as changes in accounting standards; (viii) changes in policy by regulatory agencies; (ix) changes in the securities and foreign exchange markets; (x) the Company’s potential growth, including its entrance or expansion into new markets, and the need for sufficient capital to support that growth; (xi) changes in the quality or composition of the Company’s loan or investment portfolios, including adverse developments in borrower industries or in the repayment ability of individual borrowers; (xii) an insufficient allowance for credit losses as a result of inaccurate assumptions; (xiii) general economic, market or business conditions, including the impact of inflation; (xiv) changes in demand for loan products and financial services; (xv) concentration of credit exposure; (xvi) changes or the lack of changes in interest rates, yield curves and interest rate spread relationships; (xvii) increased cybersecurity risk, including potential network breaches, business disruptions or financial losses; (xviii) civil unrest, natural disasters, epidemics and other catastrophic events in the Company’s geographic area; (xix) the impact, extent and timing of technological changes; and (xx) other circumstances, many of which are beyond management’s control.

Management believes that the assumptions underlying the Company’s forward-looking statements are reasonable, but any of the assumptions could prove to be inaccurate. Investors are urged to carefully consider the risks described in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) from time to time, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are available at www.renasant.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

The Company undertakes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to update or revise forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information or to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results over time, except as required by federal securities laws.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES:

In addition to results presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), this press release and the presentation slides furnished to the SEC on the same Form 8-K as this release contain non-GAAP financial measures, namely, (i) loans excluding Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans, (ii) core loan yield, (iii) core net interest income and margin, (iv) adjusted pre-provision net revenue, (v) adjusted net income, (vi) adjusted diluted earnings per share, (vii) tangible book value per share, (viii) tangible common equity ratio, (ix) certain asset quality ratios (namely, loans 30-89 past due to total loans, classified loans to total loans, nonperforming loans to total loans, nonperforming assets to total assets, net charge-offs to average loans and the allowance for credit losses to total loans) in each case excluding PPP loans, (x) certain performance ratios (namely, the ratio of adjusted pre-provision net revenue to average assets, the return on average assets and on average equity, and the return on average tangible assets and on average tangible common equity (including each on an as-adjusted basis)), and (xi) the adjusted efficiency ratio. These non-GAAP financial measures adjust GAAP financial measures to exclude intangible assets and/or certain charges (such as, among others, COVID-19 related expenses, debt prepayment penalties, restructuring charges and asset valuation adjustments) with respect to which the Company is unable to accurately predict when these charges will be incurred or, when incurred, the amount thereof or, with respect to core loan yield and its asset quality measures, to exclude the Company’s PPP loans. With respect to COVID-19 related expenses in particular, management added these expenses as a charge to exclude when calculating non-GAAP financial measures because the expenses included within this line item are readily quantifiable and possess the same characteristics with respect to management’s inability to accurately predict the timing or amount thereof as the other charges excluded when calculating non-GAAP financial measures. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures when evaluating capital utilization and adequacy; with respect to the core loan yield and certain asset quality measures, management excludes PPP loans, which bear an interest rate fixed by Small Business Administration (“SBA”) regulations and are both forgivable and guaranteed by the SBA, to more clearly measure loan yields affected by competitive factors and potential loss in the Company’s loan portfolio and the coverage therefor. In addition, the Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures facilitate the making of period-to-period comparisons and are meaningful indicators of its operating performance, particularly because these measures are widely used by industry analysts for companies with merger and acquisition activities. Also, because intangible assets such as goodwill and the core deposit intangible, charges such as debt prepayment penalties, restructuring charges and COVID-19 related expenses, and the amount of PPP loans can vary extensively from company to company and, as to intangible assets, are excluded from the calculation of a financial institution’s regulatory capital, the Company believes that the presentation of this non-GAAP financial information allows readers to more easily compare the Company’s results to information provided in other regulatory reports and the results of other companies. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are included in the tables below under the caption “Non-GAAP Reconciliations”.

None of the non-GAAP financial information that the Company has included in this release or the accompanying presentation slides are intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for any measure prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors should note that, because there are no standardized definitions for the calculations as well as the results, the Company’s calculations may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Also, there may be limits in the usefulness of these measures to investors. As a result, the Company encourages readers to consider its consolidated financial statements in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure.

Non-GAAP Reconciliations

(1)Primarily consists of employee overtime and employee benefit accruals directly related to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and federal legislation enacted to address the pandemic, such as the CARES Act, and expenses associated with supplying branches with protective equipment and sanitation supplies (such as floor markings and cautionary signage for branches, face coverings and hand sanitizer) as well as more frequent and rigorous branch cleaning.
(2)Tax effect is calculated based on the respective periods’ effective tax rate.