SWS Group, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2011 Results

DALLAS, Aug. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SWS Group, Inc. (NYSE: SWS) (the Company) today reported net income of $22,000 for its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter, or diluted earnings per share of less than $0.01, on net revenues of $76.2 million, compared with a net loss of $305,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, on net revenues of $89.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.

For the 2011 fiscal year, the Company posted a net loss of $23.2 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, on net revenues of $342.1 million, compared with a net loss of $2.9 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, on net revenues of $367.0 million for fiscal 2010.

"During the quarter, we continued to work diligently to ensure that SWS Group is well positioned for the future, and we believe our results demonstrate the substantial progress we are making," said James H. Ross, chief executive officer of SWS Group, Inc. "Each of our broker-dealer business segments – clearing, retail and institutional – showed strength over the past year and recorded pretax profits for fiscal 2011. We also continued to address the issues at our banking subsidiary and successfully reduced the level of classified assets during the quarter. As a result of these efforts, our banking segment recorded a pretax quarterly profit for the first time in more than a year, while continuing to maintain capital levels above regulatory requirements."

Net revenues were $76.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, a decrease of $13.2 million from $89.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Contributing to the decline was a $7.3 million decrease in net interest revenue, primarily in the banking segment; a $4.8 million decrease in commissions split evenly between the retail and institutional segments; and a $1.4 million decrease in investment banking, advisory and administrative fees in the institutional segment.

Operating expenses were $75.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, a decline of $14.3 million from $89.5 million in the same quarter of last fiscal year. The decline was primarily due to a $10.7 million decrease in the loan loss provision at Southwest Securities, FSB (the "Bank") and a $3.0 million decrease in commissions and other employee compensation.

For the 2011 fiscal year, net revenues were $342.1 million, a decrease of $24.9 million from fiscal 2010, driven largely by decreases in commissions, net gains on principal transactions and net interest. The decreases in commissions and net gains on principal transactions were primarily the result of tighter spreads and reduced volatility in the taxable fixed income business. The decrease in net interest revenue in fiscal 2011 versus the prior fiscal year was driven by a reduction in the average balance of loans held for investment at the Bank.

These revenue decreases were partially offset by a $3.9 million increase in investment banking and advisory fees due to an increase in underwritings in the taxable fixed income business, as well as increased advisory fees in the corporate finance business during fiscal 2011.

Fiscal 2011 operating expenses were $375.5 million, an increase of $4.0 million compared to the previous fiscal year. The increase was primarily due to a $5.8 million increase in the Bank's loan loss provision and an $8.5 million increase in other expenses. The increase in other expenses was driven by an $8.7 million increase in the Bank's real estate owned (REO) write-downs, a $2.4 million increase in professional services and fees at the Bank, and a $3.2 million increase in legal expenses in fiscal 2011 versus fiscal 2010. These increases in expenses were partially offset by decreases in commissions and other employee compensation, and a decrease in advertising and promotional expenses compared to the prior fiscal year.

Completion of Capital Raise

On July 29, 2011, SWS Group completed its previously announced $100 million capital raise with Hilltop Holdings Inc. ("Hilltop") and Oak Hill Capital Partners ("Oak Hill Capital"). The capital will be used to address asset quality issues at the Bank and for other corporate purposes, including growth opportunities for SWS Group's broker-dealer. Pursuant to the transaction, Hilltop and Oak Hill Capital each made a $50 million loan to SWS Group, and SWS Group issued each of Hilltop and Oak Hill Capital a warrant to purchase shares of common stock of SWS Group at an exercise price of $5.75 per share. Upon full exercise of the warrants, Hilltop and Oak Hill Capital would each own approximately 17 percent of the Company.

The Company also announced that Gerald J. Ford, Chairman of the Board of Hilltop, and J. Taylor Crandall, Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital, have joined the Board of Directors of SWS Group in connection with the closing of the transaction. In addition, Hilltop and Oak Hill Capital each appointed a non-voting observer to the Company's Board of Directors.

Clearing Segment

The clearing segment reported a pretax loss of $287,000 for the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter on net revenues of $5.1 million, compared to pretax income of $592,000 on net revenues of $5.7 million for the prior fiscal year quarter.

Fourth quarter fiscal 2011 operating expenses in this segment were $5.4 million, an increase of $274,000 from $5.1 million in the prior fiscal year quarter.

For the 2011 fiscal year, the clearing segment reported pretax income of $501,000 on net revenues of $21.2 million, compared to a net loss of $5.3 million on net revenues of $21.0 million in fiscal 2010. The total number of tickets processed increased to 2.5 million in fiscal 2011, from 2.3 million in fiscal 2010, due to a 14 percent increase in tickets processed for high-volume trading firms, while tickets processed for general securities broker-dealers decreased by 8 percent.

Fiscal 2011 net interest revenue in the clearing segment increased to $6.5 million from $5.8 million in the prior fiscal year. Other revenue decreased to $4.0 million in fiscal 2011 from $4.7 million in fiscal 2010, due primarily to a decrease in the value of the Company's investments.

Clearing segment operating expenses in fiscal 2011 were $20.7 million, a decrease of 21 percent from $26.3 million in the prior fiscal year. The largest contributor to the decrease was a $6.1 million decline in other expenses, which included a $6.3 million loss from a correspondent's short sale of securities recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. This decrease was partially offset by an increase in operations and technology expenses, as well as an increase in professional services, licenses and fees.

Retail Segment

The retail segment reported pretax income of $165,000 on net revenues of $26.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, compared to pretax income of $891,000 on net revenues of $28.0 million in the prior year quarter.

The segment's fourth quarter fiscal 2011 operating expenses were $26.3 million, a decline of 3 percent from $27.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, due largely to reduced commissions and other employee compensation.

For the 2011 fiscal year, the retail segment reported pretax income of $1.4 million, compared to $219,000 in the prior fiscal year. Net revenues in the segment were $109.7 million in fiscal 2011, a slight decrease from net revenues of $110.6 million in fiscal 2010. The decrease was driven by a $7.0 million decline in Private Client Group (PCG) net revenues due primarily to a reduced PCG representative headcount, but was partially offset by an increase in net revenues generated by the independent representatives affiliated with SWS Financial Services, Inc.

Operating expenses in the retail segment were $108.3 million in fiscal 2011, a decrease from $110.4 million in fiscal 2010, due to a decline in commission and other employee compensation expense.

Institutional Segment

For the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter, the institutional segment posted pretax income of $8.8 million, compared to $11.4 million in the prior fiscal year quarter.  Net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 were $32.0 million, a decrease of 11 percent from $35.8 million in the prior fiscal year quarter. The largest contributors to the decrease in revenues were a $2.4 million decrease in commissions and a $1.5 million decrease in investment banking, advisory and administrative fees versus the same period last fiscal year.

Fourth quarter operating expenses for the institutional segment were $23.2 million in fiscal 2011, a decrease of 5 percent from $24.4 million in the prior fiscal year quarter. The largest contributor to the decline was a $1.1 million decrease in commissions and other employee compensation.

For the 2011 fiscal year, the institutional segment reported pretax income of $46.3 million on net revenues of $145.7 million. Net revenues decreased 8 percent from $158.0 million in fiscal 2010, while pretax income decreased 13 percent from $53.2 million. The largest contributor to the decline in net revenues was a $12.2 million decrease in commissions, driven by tighter spreads and reduced volatility.

Investment banking fees increased 12 percent to $29.1 million in fiscal 2011 compared to $26.0 million in fiscal 2010. Taxable fixed income accounted for $2.1 million of the increase, while corporate finance represented $2.0 million. These increases were partially offset by a $957,000 decrease in municipal finance revenue.

Net gains on principal transactions were $38.7 million in fiscal 2011, down from $41.6 million in fiscal 2010. Contributing to the decline was a $3.6 million decrease in taxable fixed income trading gains, partially offset by a $1.3 million increase in municipal finance trading gains.

Operating expenses in the institutional segment were $99.4 million in fiscal 2011, a decrease from $104.8 million in fiscal 2010. The 5 percent decrease was driven primarily by decreases in commissions and other employee compensation.

Banking Segment

The banking segment reported pretax income of $1.2 million in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter, compared to a pretax loss of $3.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. Net revenues in the segment were $13.3 million in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter, compared to $20.6 million in the same quarter last year, driven primarily by a $7.9 million decrease in net interest revenue.

The Bank's operating expenses decreased 50 percent to $12.1 million for the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter from $24.3 million in the same quarter last year. A $10.7 million decrease in the Bank's loan loss provision for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was the primary contributor to the decrease.

Non-performing assets at the Bank decreased $4.2 million in fiscal 2011 from $93.7 million at June 30, 2010, to $89.5 million at June 30, 2011. Total classified assets were $228.5 million at June 30, 2011, compared to $191.8 million at June 30, 2010.

The Bank's loan loss allowance was $44.4 million, or 4.48 percent of loans held for investment, at June 30, 2011, compared to $35.1 million, or 2.96 percent of loans held for investment at June 30, 2010.

The Bank did not record a provision for loan losses in the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter and reported net charge-offs of $2.9 million. In the prior fiscal year fourth quarter, the Bank's loan loss provision was $10.7 million and net charge-offs were $6.0 million.

The Bank reported increases in Tier 1 core capital and total risk-based capital ratios during the fiscal 2011 fourth quarter. At June 30, 2011, the Bank had a Tier 1 core capital ratio of 9.9 percent and a total risk-based capital ratio of 15.6 percent, compared to a Tier 1 core capital ratio of 8.7 percent and a total risk-based capital ratio of 12.2 percent at June 30, 2010.

For the 2011 fiscal year, the Bank recorded a pretax loss of $46.3 million on net revenues of $64.3 million, as compared to a pretax loss of $17.8 million on net revenues of $76.4 million in fiscal 2010. Net interest revenue for the 2011 fiscal year was $65.1 million, a decrease of 14 percent from $76.0 million in the prior fiscal year, due to decreases in the average outstanding balance of loans and the net yield on earning assets during fiscal 2011 versus fiscal 2010.

The Bank's operating expenses in fiscal 2011 increased $16.4 million, or 17 percent, to $110.6 million from $94.2 million in fiscal 2010, primarily due to the $5.8 million increase in the Bank's loan loss provision and an $8.7 million increase in REO write-downs.

Quarterly Dividend

At its regular meeting on August 24, 2011, the SWS Group, Inc. Board of Directors determined not to declare a quarterly dividend.  The Board of Directors regularly reviews the Company's dividend policy and will consider on a periodic basis if and when it may be prudent to reinstate a dividend, based on the Company's performance and the overall market environment.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements.  Readers are cautioned that any forward-looking statements, including those predicting or forecasting future events or results, which depend on future events for their accuracy, embody projections or assumptions, or express the intent, belief or current expectations of the company or management, are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties.  Actual results may differ materially as a result of various factors, some of which are out of our control, including, but not limited to, volume of trading in securities, volatility of securities prices and interest rates, liquidity in capital and credit markets, availability of lines of credit, customer margin loan activity, creditworthiness of our correspondents and customers, demand for housing, general economic conditions, especially in Texas and New Mexico, changes in the commercial lending and regulatory environments and other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our other reports filed with and available from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOLLOW

SOURCE SWS Group, Inc.

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