HF Financial Corp. Earns $679,000 in Fiscal 2011, Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend of $0.1125 per Share

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Aug. 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- HF Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: HFFC) today updated its reported earnings to $679,000, or $0.10 per diluted share in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, following a $3.9 million after-tax charge from the total liquidation of its $8.8 million portfolio of trust preferred securities. This report replaces the Company's report of preliminary earnings issued on July 25, 2011, due to a reclassification of certain agricultural loans, as announced on August 2, 2011. These financials are preliminary and unaudited until the Form 10-K is filed in September 2011.  HF Financial Corp. earned $5.7 million, or $1.00 per diluted share in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2010. HF Financial Corp. posted a loss of $2.0 million, or ($0.29) per diluted share in its fiscal fourth quarter, compared to net income of $459,000, or $0.07 per share in the fiscal third quarter. Capital ratios expanded considerably in fiscal 2011 through the addition of lower risk assets, the sale of higher risk pooled trust preferred securities, controlled growth and the increase of retained earnings.

"We ended our fiscal year by expanding our franchise into the greater Minneapolis market," said Curt Hage, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "With solid capital levels and above average asset quality, we believe leveraging our strong banking platform in the Twin Cities market will build long-term value for our shareholders, expand opportunities for our employees and enhance service for our customers."

"We opened our Minneapolis branch on May 31, under the name Infinia Bank, a division of Home Federal Bank of South Dakota," Hage continued.  "We are excited by the reception we received on opening day from the local community and media and believe we have strong personnel in the region to build the franchise upon."

Fiscal Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights (at or for the period ended June 30, 2011)

• Capital levels well exceeded the regulatory required levels of 10.00%, 6.00% and 5.00%, respectively:
  • Total risk-based capital to risk weighted assets was 13.28% versus 12.60% at the end of the third fiscal quarter.
  • Tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets was 12.43% versus 11.71% at the end of the third fiscal quarter.
  • Tier 1 capital to total adjusted assets was 9.44% versus 9.39% at the end of the third fiscal quarter.
• Cash dividends, paid for over 19 years, are an important part of building shareholder value.  The most recent dividend of $0.1125 per share generates a current annualized yield of 4.55% at recent market prices.
• Nonperforming assets ("NPAs") increased to $37.2 million, or 3.12%, of total assets in the fourth fiscal quarter, from $34.4 million, or 2.85%, of total assets in the previous quarter, with the majority of NPAs linked to the dairy industry.  
• The net interest margin expressed on a fully taxable equivalent basis ("NIM, TE") maintained its stability at 3.30% in the fourth fiscal quarter compared to 3.31% in the previous quarter.  For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, the NIM, TE remained steady at 3.31%.  NIM, TE is a non-GAAP financial measurement.
• Deposits, excluding time certificates of deposit, increased 7.6% over the past year to $527.8 million from $490.3 million, and account for 59.1% of total deposits. 
• Borrowings declined $15.0 million as loan repayments and available investments were deployed to reduce external borrowings in the fiscal fourth quarter when compared to the fiscal third quarter.
• Tangible common equity ratio increased one basis point from the previous quarter to 7.59%.

Economic and Expansion Update

South Dakota's economy remains one of the healthiest in the nation with its May seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at just 4.8%, which is the third lowest unemployment in the country.  "With stability in our regional market, we are looking forward to leveraging our banking platform in the Twin Cities.  We believe a great opportunity exists for a strong franchise to move into the Minneapolis market where distressed banks have been unable to meet the banking needs of the local community," said Hage.  

Stephen Bianchi, President-Twin Cities, who has extensive experience in Minnesota banking, leads the Twin Cities initiative.  "Our doors are now open, systems are in place and our personnel are making in-roads in the local market," said Bianchi.  "We have a wonderful opportunity ahead of us and are looking forward to leveraging our strong banking franchise."

Balance Sheet and Asset Quality Review

"Lending opportunities have slowed as consumers and businesses continue to tighten their individual balance sheets.  As a result, our loan portfolio continued to show declining balances," noted Darrel Posegate, President of Home Federal Bank.  Total assets decreased 4.9% to $1.191 billion at June 30 from $1.253 billion a year earlier.  Loan balances have decreased 5.4% to $825.5 million from $872.3 million over the same time frame.  Liquidity continues to remain high, both on balance sheet and through off-balance sheet access to funds.

"Our dairy portfolio experienced stress in 2011, though signs of stabilization occurred in the fourth quarter.  Our reserves remain adequate and the non-dairy portion of our loan portfolio is performing well against the back drop of stress in the national economy," Posegate added.

During the fourth fiscal quarter, the Bank sold pooled trust preferred securities with an adjusted carrying cost of approximately $8.8 million.  The pooled trust preferred securities were originally purchased at AA and A investment grade ratings backed primarily by pooled financial institution cash flows.  Due to challenges in the banking industry, these securities were downgraded to below investment grade in 2009.  The sale of these securities generated an after-tax charge of $3.9 million.  Because HF Financial Corp. had previously established valuation adjustments for these securities on its balance sheet, the impact on capital was minimal.  Risk-weighted regulatory capital ratios improved in part as a result of the disposition due to the extraordinarily high risk weighting applied to those assets by regulation.  With the sale of these securities completed, HF Financial Corp. has eliminated its exposure to pooled trust preferred securities.  During the quarter, the Company also sold other investment securities which generated after-tax gains of $1.3 million. 

"The trust preferred securities underperformed our long term expectations for these investments," said Brent Olthoff, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer.  "We determined that the costs associated with holding these securities, including valuation, legal, auditing and regulatory, outweighed the likelihood of a recovery in the value of these securities in an acceptable time horizon. The cash flows supporting these securities continue to be impacted and there remains a degree of uncertainty regarding the soundness of the underlying issuers.  We saw this resolution necessary to focus the market on our core business performance and opportunities.  With our capital strength, we were able to take this charge to earnings and redeploy these funds into more stable and productive assets."

"We have transitioned from a thrift balance sheet -- where a large amount of deposits consisted of certificates of deposit -- to a commercial bank balance sheet with a greater portion of our deposits in transaction accounts," said Hage.  Certificates of deposits declined, as planned, to $365.3 million at June 30, 2011, from $423.9 million a year ago, as a result of lower public funds balances.  Total deposits increased to $893.2 million from $888.4 million at March 31, 2011.  Relative to one year earlier, deposits decreased $21.1 million.  Meanwhile, noninterest bearing checking accounts increased to $132.4 million from $117.1 million, interest-bearing checking accounts increased to $113.4 million from $100.2 million, money market accounts increased to $197.6 million from $189.8 million and savings accounts increased to $84.4 million from $83.1 million, when compared to June 30, 2010.  Deposit accounts, excluding time certificate of deposits, have increased to 59.1% at June 30, 2011, from 53.6% of total deposits a year ago.  

Nonperforming assets increased to $37.2 million at June 30, 2011, from $34.4 million the previous quarter.  Total NPAs were 3.12% of total assets at the end of the fourth fiscal quarter, compared to 2.85% at March 31, 2011.  As noted in the previous quarter, the problem credits are primarily related to the deterioration in dairy operations.  Dairy loans totaled approximately $40.5 million at June 30, 2011, with $16.1 million in nonperforming status.  "We are beginning to see some resolution in the nonperforming status of our dairy loans.  Dairy futures have rebounded from their February 2009 lows and the industry appears to have adjusted to excess dairy cattle.  However, feed costs continue to be an area of concern, as they impact the profitability of the dairy operations," Hage said.  

The allowance for loan and lease losses at June 30, 2011, totaled $14.3 million, representing 1.73% of total loans outstanding, compared to $13.5 million, or 1.61% of total loans at March 31, 2011.  Nonaccruing loans and leases totaled $30.8 million, compared to $27.1 million in the preceding quarter.  Net charge-offs in the quarter totaled $1.2 million, or 0.58%, annualized, of average loans outstanding, compared to $1.5 million, or 0.71%, annualized, of average loans outstanding the third fiscal quarter.  At June 30, 2011, the total amount of restructured loans that are performing is $2.9 million while restructured loans in nonaccrual status was $15.1 million.  Restructured loans consist primarily of agricultural loans.

Tangible common shareholders' equity to tangible assets increased to 7.59% at June 30, 2011 compared to 7.58% at March 31, 2011.  Tangible book value per common share was $12.92 at June 30, 2011.  

Capital ratios continued to strengthen and HF Financial Corp. remains well-capitalized with Tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets of 12.43% at June 30, 2011, while its Tier 1 capital to adjusted total assets was 9.44%.  These regulatory ratios were much higher than the required minimum levels of 6.00% and 5.00%, respectively.

Review of Operations  

The Company maintained its history of consistent annual profitability since going public in 1992.  For fiscal 2011, the Company earned $679,000, or $0.10 per diluted share compared to $5.7 million or $1.00 per diluted share for fiscal 2010.  For the fourth fiscal quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $2.0 million, or ($0.29) per share.  The loss was largely a result of the sale of the trust preferred securities when an unrealized loss mostly recognized on the balance sheet as a valuation adjustment was recognized through the income statement.  This loss was partially offset by gains on the sale of other investment securities.  For the fiscal year, adjusted revenue, which excludes other-than-temporary impairment charges and net gain on the sale of securities, increased $1.8 million or 3.8% over fiscal year 2010.  Adjusted revenue is a non-GAAP financial measure.

Net interest income, before the provision for loan losses, decreased $24,000 on a linked-quarter basis and decreased $689,000 from the same quarter in fiscal 2010.  Net interest income totaled $9.0 million for the fourth fiscal quarter 2011 compared to $9.0 million for the third fiscal quarter 2011, and $9.7 million in the year ago quarter.  

The NIM, TE as a percentage of average earning assets decreased one basis point to 3.30% for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 compared to 3.31% for the previous quarter.  For fiscal 2011, the NIM, TE was 3.31% compared to 3.34% for fiscal 2010.  

Primarily due to the loss on the sale of trust preferred securities, fiscal fourth quarter noninterest income was ($1.3) million, or a $3.9 million decrease from the preceding quarter.   Excluding gains/(losses) on sale of securities, other-than-temporary impairment losses and losses recognized in other comprehensive income, the Company's noninterest income remained nearly unchanged at $2.9 million versus $3.0 million the preceding quarter.  For the full year, noninterest income was $8.9 million compared to $11.0 million the year before.  Excluding gains/(losses) on sale of securities, other-than-temporary impairment losses and losses recognized in other comprehensive income, HF Financial Corp.'s noninterest income was $13.0 million in fiscal 2011 versus $11.8 million in fiscal 2010.

Noninterest, or operating, expenses decreased to $9.0 million in the fourth fiscal quarter from $9.1 million in the third fiscal quarter 2011, primarily reflecting lower compensation expenses, marketing fees and FDIC insurance.  On a fiscal basis, noninterest expense has increased by $1.1 million to $37.1 million when compared to fiscal 2010.

Quarterly Dividend Declared

The board of directors declared another regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.1125 per common share for the fourth fiscal quarter 2011.  The dividend is payable August 12, 2011 to stockholders of record August 5, 2011.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains financial measures that are not calculated in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). "Adjusted Revenue," which excludes other-than-temporary impairment charges and net gain on the sale of securities, and "Net Interest Margin, TE" are non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believes Adjusted Revenue is useful to investors because it allows for greater transparency, facilitates comparison to prior periods and peer results and assists in forecasting performance for future periods.  Further information regarding the usefulness of Net Interest Margin, TE appears in the notes to the attached financial statements.  The Company believes that the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures will permit investors to assess the Company's core operating results on the same basis as management. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered supplemental to, not a substitute for or superior to, financial measures calculated in accordance with GAAP. 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. Reconciliation of the non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP measures are set forth in the notes to the attached financial statements.

About HF Financial Corp.

HF Financial Corp., based in Sioux Falls, SD, is the parent company for financial services companies, including Home Federal Bank, Mid America Capital Services, Inc., dba Mid America Leasing Company, Hometown Investment Services, Inc. and HF Financial Group, Inc.  The largest publicly traded savings association headquartered in South Dakota, HF Financial Corp. operates with 34 offices in 19 communities, throughout Eastern South Dakota and one location in Marshall, Minnesota.  The Company has opened a branch in the Twin Cities market as Infinia Bank, a Division of Home Federal Bank of South Dakota.  Internet banking is also available at www.homefederal.com.

This news release and other reports issued by the Company, including reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, contain "forward-looking statements" that deal with future results, expectations, plans and performance.  In addition, the Company's management may make forward-looking statements orally to the media, securities analysts, investors or others.  These forward-looking statements might include one or more of the following:

• Projections of income, loss, revenues, earnings or losses per share, dividends, capital expenditures, capital structure, adequacy of loan loss reserves, tax benefit or other financial items.
• Descriptions of plans or objectives of management for future operations, products or services, transactions, investments and use of subordinated debentures payable to trusts.
• Forecasts of future economic performance.
• Use and descriptions of assumptions and estimates underlying or relating to such matters.

Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts.  They often include words such as "optimism," "look-forward," "bright," "pleased," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could" or "may".

Forward-looking statements about the Company's expected financial results and other plans are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions.  These include, but are not limited to the following: possible legislative changes and adverse economic, business and competitive conditions and developments (such as shrinking interest margins and continued short-term environments); deposit outflows, reduced demand for financial services and loan products; changes in accounting policies or guidelines, or in monetary and fiscal policies of the federal government; changes in credit and other risks posed by the Company's loan and lease portfolios; the ability or inability of the Company to manage interest rate and other risks; unexpected or continuing claims against the Company's self-insured health plan; the ability or inability of the Company to successfully enter into a definitive agreement for and close anticipated transactions; technological, computer-related or operational difficulties; adverse changes in securities markets; results of litigation; and the other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC filings, including but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010, and its subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.  The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.  Although the Company believes its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.  Based upon changing conditions, should any one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE HF Financial Corp.