Provident Financial Services, Inc. Announces a 14% Increase in Quarterly Earnings and Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE:PFS) (the "Company") reported net income of $16.0 million, or $0.28 per basic and diluted share for the three months ended June 30, 2012, compared to net income of $14.0 million, or $0.25 per basic and diluted share for the three months ended June 30, 2011.

For the six months ended June 30, 2012, the Company reported net income of $34.4 million, or $0.60 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income of $26.9 million, or $0.47 per basic and diluted share for the same period last year. 

The increase in earnings for the second quarter and year-to-date period ended June 30, 2012, was largely attributable to improvements in asset quality and related reductions in the provision for loan losses.  Loan loss provisions decreased by $4.0 million and $6.9 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, compared with the same periods in 2011.  In addition, net interest income increased $402,000 and $1.8 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, primarily due to an increase in average loans outstanding, funded by growth in average core deposits.  Further contributing to the year-to-date improvement, the Company realized $2.2 million in gains during the first quarter from the sale of certain mortgage-backed securities identified as having a significant risk of accelerated prepayment.  Excluding this gain, non-interest income increased $1.3 million and $4.7 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, compared with the same periods last year.  These improvements were partially offset by increases in non-interest expense of $1.8 million and $3.3 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, compared with the same periods in 2011.  Also, income tax expense increased $1.9 million and $4.8 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, compared with same periods last year.

Christopher Martin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This quarter's strong financial results reflect the consistency of our business strategy and the strength within our balance sheet.  Our earnings improvement of 14% over the prior year's quarter reflects a combination of improving asset quality and continued growth in fee income, tempered somewhat by slight margin compression.  Both average loans and deposits increased year over year."  Martin continued: "While the pace of the economic recovery remains tepid, we are well positioned to take advantage of market opportunities, as we continue our focus on building client relationships.  Our commitment to our customers is the cornerstone of our corporate philosophy."

Declaration of Quarterly Dividend

The Company's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.13 per common share payable on August 31, 2012, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 15, 2012.

Balance Sheet Summary

Total assets increased $37.4 million to $7.13 billion at June 30, 2012, from $7.10 billion at December 31, 2011.  The increase was primarily due to an increase in net loans, partially offset by a decrease in securities. 

The Company's net loans increased $83.6 million, or 1.8%, during the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $4.66 billion.  Loan originations totaled $766.3 million and loan purchases totaled $49.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012.  The loan portfolio had net increases of $58.1 million in commercial and multi-family mortgage loans, $15.3 million in consumer loans, $5.2 million in commercial loans and $4.9 million in construction loans, which were partially offset by a $1.1 million decrease in residential mortgage loans.  Commercial real estate, commercial and construction loans represented 60.2% of the loan portfolio at June 30, 2012, compared to 59.8% at December 31, 2011.

At June 30, 2012, the Company's unfunded loan commitments totaled $797.1 million, including $306.5 million in commercial loan commitments, $137.7 million in construction loan commitments and $61.5 million in commercial mortgage commitments.  Unfunded loan commitments at December 31, 2011 were $770.4 million.

Total investments decreased $50.2 million, or 2.8%, to $1.71 billion at June 30, 2012, from $1.76 billion at December 31, 2011.  The decrease was primarily due to principal repayments on mortgage-backed securities, the sale of certain mortgage-backed securities which had a high risk of prepayment and maturities of municipal and agency bonds, partially offset by purchases of mortgage-backed securities.  A portion of the repayments on the investment portfolio were reinvested in higher-yielding loans, primarily commercial mortgage and commercial loans.

Total deposits increased $49.4 million, or 1.0%, during the six months ended June 30, 2012 to $5.21 billion.  Core deposits, consisting of savings and demand deposit accounts, increased $145.0 million, or 3.6%, to $4.17 billion at June 30, 2012.  Partially offsetting this increase, time deposits decreased $95.6 million, or 8.5%, to $1.03 billion at June 30, 2012, with the majority of the decrease occurring in the 18- and 24-month maturity categories.  The Company remains focused on developing core deposit relationships, while strategically permitting the run-off of time deposits.  Core deposits represented 80.2% of total deposits at June 30, 2012, compared to 78.1% at December 31, 2011.   

Borrowed funds were reduced $36.0 million, or 3.9% during the six months ended June 30, 2012, to $884.2 million, as core deposit growth continued to replace wholesale funding.  Borrowed funds represented 12.4% of total assets at June 30, 2012, a reduction from 13.0% at December 31, 2011.

Common stock repurchases for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, totaled 268,000 and 408,000 shares at an average cost of $13.75 and $13.81 per share, respectively.  As of June 30, 2012, 1.4 million shares remained eligible for repurchase under the current authorization.  At June 30, 2012, book value per share and tangible book value per share were $16.20 and $10.23, respectively, compared with $15.88 and $9.87, respectively, at December 31, 2011. 

Results of Operations

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

For the three months ended June 30, 2012, net interest income increased $402,000 from the same period in 2011, to $54.6 million.  Net interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2012, increased $1.8 million compared to the same period in 2011, to $109.4 million.  For both periods, the improvement in net interest income resulted from an increase in average interest-earning assets, primarily average loans outstanding, funded with growth in lower-cost core deposits.  This improvement in earning asset volume and funding mix was partially offset by compression in the net interest margin.

The Company's net interest margin for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 was 3.39%, a decrease of 3 basis points from 3.42% for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, and 14 basis points from 3.53% for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.  The decrease in the net interest margin was primarily attributable to the decline in yields on interest-earning assets, which outpaced the downward re-pricing of the Company's interest-bearing liabilities as longer-term market interest rates have declined and the yield curve has flattened.  The weighted average yield on interest-earning assets was 4.11% for the three months ended June 30, 2012, compared with 4.19% for the trailing quarter, and 4.56% for the three months ended June 30, 2011.  The weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities was 0.85% for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, compared with 0.90% for the trailing quarter and 1.19% for the second quarter of 2011.  The average cost of interest bearing deposits for the three months ended June 30, 2012 was 0.58%, compared with 0.62% for the trailing quarter and 0.89% for the same period last year.  Partially offsetting the effects of interest rate spread compression on the margin, average non-interest bearing demand deposits totaled $689.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, compared with $670.1 million for the trailing quarter and $580.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.  The average cost of borrowings for the three months ended June 30, 2012 was 2.20%, compared with 2.25% for the trailing quarter, and 2.65% for the same period last year. 

For the six months ended June 30, 2012, the net interest margin decreased 11 basis points to 3.41%, compared with 3.52% for the six months ended June 30, 2011.  The weighted average yield on interest-earning assets declined 42 basis points to 4.15% for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared with 4.57% for the six months ended June 30, 2011, while the weighted average cost of interest-bearing liabilities declined 34 basis points to 0.87% for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared with 1.21% for the same period in 2011.  The average cost of interest bearing deposits for the six months ended June 30, 2012 was 0.60%, compared with 0.90% for the same period last year.  Average non-interest bearing demand deposits totaled $679.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared with $568.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2011.  The average cost of borrowings for the six months ended June 30, 2012 was 2.22%, compared with 2.67% for the same period last year.

Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income totaled $9.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $1.3 million, or 16.2%, compared to the same period in 2011.  Fee income increased $1.6 million to $7.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2012, compared with the three months ended June 30, 2011, due primarily to increased wealth management fees attributable to Beacon Trust Company ("Beacon"), acquired in August 2011, and an increase in commercial loan prepayment fees.  These increases were partially offset by lower deposit-based fee revenue.  The Company did not experience any other-than-temporary impairment on its securities portfolio in 2012, compared with a $302,000 charge recognized in the same period last year associated with an investment in a non-Agency mortgage-backed security.  Additionally, other income decreased $485,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, resulting from a decrease in gains related to loan sales and increased net losses on the sale of foreclosed real estate. 

For the six months ended June 30, 2012, non-interest income totaled $22.1 million, an increase of $6.9 million, or 45.1%, compared to the same period in 2011.  Fee income totaled $15.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, an increase of $4.1 million compared with the same period in 2011, largely due to an increase in wealth management fees related to the Beacon acquisition and increased prepayment fees on commercial loans, which were partially offset by lower deposit-based fee income, primarily overdraft fees.  Net gains on securities transactions totaled $2.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared to $28,000 for the same period in 2011.  During the period, the Company identified and sold certain mortgage-backed securities which had a high risk of accelerated prepayment.  The proceeds from the sales were reinvested in similar securities with more stable projected cash flows.  Also contributing to the increase in non-interest income, other income increased $435,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared with the same period in 2011, primarily due to income associated with the termination of the Company's debit card rewards program and an increase in gains related to loan sales, partially offset by increased net losses on the sale of foreclosed real estate.  Other-than-temporary impairment charges on investment securities declined $302,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared to the same period last year, as the Company did not experience any other-than-temporary impairment on its securities portfolio in 2012.

Non-Interest Expense

For the three months ended June 30, 2012, non-interest expense increased $1.8 million, or 5.1%, to $37.8 million, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2011.  Compensation and benefits increased $1.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, to $20.4 million, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2011.  This increase was due to higher salary expense associated with annual merit increases, personnel added as a result of the Beacon acquisition, an increased incentive compensation accrual, and increased employee health and medical costs and retirement benefit costs.  Other operating expenses increased $279,000, to $6.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, from the same period in 2011, due mainly to a $213,000 charge related to the termination of a software contract in connection with the Beacon integration. 

The Company's annualized non-interest expense as a percentage of average assets was 2.13% for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, compared to 2.11% for the same period in 2011.  The efficiency ratio (non-interest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income) was 59.07% for the quarter ended June 30, 2012, compared with 57.75% for the same period in 2011. 

Non-interest expense for the six months ended June 30, 2012 was $74.5 million, an increase of $3.3 million, or 4.6%, from the six months ended June 30, 2011.  Compensation and benefits expense increased $3.7 million, to $41.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 compared to the six months ended June 30, 2011, due to higher salary expense associated with annual merit increases, personnel added as a result of the Beacon acquisition, an increased incentive compensation accrual and increased employee health and medical costs and retirement benefit costs.  In addition, other operating expense increased $929,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, due primarily to increased loan collection and administration expense, a $213,000 charge related to the termination of a software contract in connection with the Beacon integration, and $162,000 in charges related to the consolidation of underperforming branches.  Data processing expense increased $437,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared to the same period in 2011, because of increased software maintenance and core processing fees.  Partially offsetting these increases, impairment of premises and equipment declined $807,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared to the same period last year, due to the impairment charge incurred in the first quarter of 2011 related to the then planned sale and relocation of the Company's former loan center.  FDIC insurance expense decreased $544,000 to $2.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared with the same period in 2011.  The decrease was primarily due to a lower assessment rate and a change in assessment methodology from a deposit-based to an asset-based assessment, effective in the second quarter of 2011.  Net occupancy expense decreased $337,000 to $10.2 million, compared to the same period last year, due to the consolidation and relocation of the Company's administrative offices in April 2011 and the elimination of prior year carrying costs on previously occupied facilities owned by the Company that were sold in November 2011.  Additionally, amortization of intangibles decreased $149,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2012, compared with the same period of 2011, as a result of scheduled reductions in core deposit intangible amortization, partially offset by the amortization of the customer relationship intangible arising from the Beacon acquisition and increased amortization of mortgage servicing rights.

Asset Quality

The Company's total non-performing loans at June 30, 2012 improved to $115.2 million, or 2.43% of total loans, compared with $120.3 million, or 2.58% of total loans at March 31, 2012, $122.5 million, or 2.63% of total loans at December 31, 2011, and $121.3 million, or 2.72% of total loans at June 30, 2011.   The decrease in non-performing loans at June 30, 2012, compared with the trailing quarter, was largely due to a $4.9 million decrease in non-performing residential loans, a $1.1 million decrease in non-performing commercial loans and a $1.1 million decrease in non-performing consumer loans, partially offset by a $2.2 million increase in non-performing commercial mortgage loans.  At June 30, 2012, impaired loans totaled $115.5 million with related specific reserves of $8.6 million, compared with impaired loans totaling $111.6 million with related specific reserves of $8.0 million at March 31, 2012. 

At June 30, 2012, the Company's allowance for loan losses was 1.53% of total loans, compared with 1.59% of total loans at March 31, 2012, 1.60% of total loans at December 31, 2011, and 1.62% of total loans at June 30, 2011.  The Company recorded provisions for loan losses of $3.5 million and $8.5 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, compared with provisions of $7.5 million and $15.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively.  For the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, the Company had net charge-offs of $5.1 million and $10.5 million, respectively, compared with net charge-offs of $7.9 million and $11.8 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2011.  The allowance for loan losses decreased $2.0 million to $72.4 million at June 30, 2012, from $74.4 million at December 31, 2011 as the weighted average risk rating of the loan portfolio improved, early stage delinquencies declined and non-performing asset formation decreased. 

At June 30, 2012, the Company held $13.9 million of foreclosed assets, compared with $12.8 million at December 31, 2011.  Foreclosed assets at June 30, 2012 consisted of $6.9 million of residential real estate, $6.4 million of commercial real estate and $600,000 of marine vessels.

Income Tax Expense

For the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, the Company's income tax expense was $6.7 million and $14.0 million, respectively, compared with $4.8 million and $9.2 million, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively.  The increase in income tax expense was primarily a function of growth in pre-tax income from taxable sources. The Company's effective tax rates were 29.4% and 28.9% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, compared with 25.6% for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2011, respectively. 

About the Company

Provident Financial Services, Inc. is the holding company for The Provident Bank, a community-oriented bank offering a full range of retail and commercial loan and deposit products.  The Bank currently operates a network of full service branches throughout 11 counties in northern and central New Jersey.

Post Earnings Conference Call

Representatives of the Company will hold a conference call for investors at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, July 27, 2012 regarding highlights of the Company's second quarter 2012 financial results.  The call may be accessed by dialing 1-877-317-6789 (Domestic), 1-412-317-6789 (International) or 1-866-605-3852 (Canada).  Internet access to the call is also available (listen only) at www.providentnj.com by going to Investor Relations and clicking on Webcast.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "continue," or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of those terms. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the Company operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset-liability management, the financial and securities markets and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity.

The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date made. The Company advises readers that the factors listed above could affect the Company's financial performance and could cause the Company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements. The Company does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

 

SOURCE Provident Financial Services, Inc.