NBT Bancorp Inc. Announces Diluted Earnings Per Share of $0.43 for the First Quarter of 2016

NORWICH, N.Y., April 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NBT Bancorp Inc. (NBT) (NASDAQ:NBTB) reported net income for the first quarter of 2016 of $18.9 million, up from $18.2 million for the prior year.  Diluted earnings per share for the three months ended March 31, 2016 was $0.43, up from $0.41 for the prior year. 

2016 First Quarter Highlights:

• First quarter loan growth of 5.8% (annualized)
   
• Average demand deposits up 11.3% from the first quarter of 2015
   
• Net interest income up 3.9% from the first quarter of 2015
   
• Positive trends continue for asset quality indicators:
  • Past due loans to total loans improved to 0.50% at March 31, 2016 from 0.62% at December 31, 2015
  • Annualized net charge-offs to average loans improved to 0.33% for the first quarter of 2016 from 0.38% for the full year of 2015

“Our first quarter 2016 results demonstrate our strong financial performance and sustained favorable trends in organic loan and deposit growth and asset quality indicators,” said NBT President and CEO Martin Dietrich. “As NBT continues to grow and respond to our changing business environment, we remain deeply rooted in our core values, including superior customer service, continuous improvement, community involvement and teamwork. We also continue to focus on cultivating long-term value for our shareholders through our investments in our people, technology and business strategies.”

Net interest income was $64.6 million for the first quarter of 2016, up $1.1 million from the previous quarter, and up $2.4 million from the first quarter of 2015.  Fully taxable equivalent (“FTE”) net interest margin was 3.47% for the three months ended March 31, 2016, up from 3.42% for the previous quarter and down from 3.60% for the first quarter of 2015.  The increase from the previous quarter was driven by an increase in yields on earning assets, partially offset by slightly higher costs of interest bearing liabilities.  Average interest earning assets were up $127.1 million, or 1.7%, for the first quarter of 2016 as compared to the prior quarter.  This increase was driven primarily by a $117.8 million increase in average securities available for sale from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016.  Yields on earning assets increased by 5 basis points from 3.70% during the fourth quarter of 2015 to 3.75% for the first quarter of 2016.  This increase was driven by an 8 basis-point increase in loan yields from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016.  The increase in average earning assets and yields on earning assets in the first quarter of 2016 resulted in a $1.2 million increase in interest income from the fourth quarter of 2015.  Interest expense for the first quarter of 2016 was up $0.1 million from the fourth quarter of 2015 and resulted primarily from a 2.0% increase in average interest bearing liabilities during the first quarter of 2016 as well as a 1 basis-point increase in the rates paid on interest bearing liabilities for the same period.  Interest expense for the first quarter of 2016 was up $0.3 million from the same period in 2015 and resulted primarily from a 5.2% increase in average interest bearing liabilities during the first quarter of 2016 as well as a 1 basis-point increase in the rates paid on interest bearing liabilities as compared to the first quarter of 2015.        

Noninterest income for the three months ended March 31, 2016 was $28.4 million, down $4.1 million from the fourth quarter of 2015, and up $1.8 million from the same period in 2015.  The decrease from the prior quarter was primarily driven by a $3.0 million gain in the fourth quarter of 2015 from the sale of an equity investment.  In addition, other noninterest income was down $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2016 as compared with the fourth quarter of 2015 due primarily to a favorable settlement of a prior accrual in the fourth quarter of 2015.  Service charges on deposit accounts were down $0.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016 due to seasonal overdraft charges in the fourth quarter of 2015.  Retirement plan administration fees and trust revenue were both down $0.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2015 primarily due to less favorable market conditions during the first quarter of 2016 compared with the fourth quarter of 2015.  These decreases were partially offset by an $0.8 million increase in insurance and other financial services revenue in the first quarter of 2016 as compared with the prior quarter due to seasonality.  In addition, bank-owned life insurance income was up $0.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2015 due primarily to death benefits received during the first quarter of 2016.             

Noninterest expense for the three months ended March 31, 2016 was $58.2 million, down $2.4 million from the previous quarter, and up $0.5 million from the same period in 2015.  The decrease from the prior quarter was due primarily to a $1.1 million decrease in other noninterest expense from the fourth quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016.  This decrease was due to timing of various operating expense items.  In addition, salaries and employee benefits decreased $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2016 as compared with the fourth quarter of 2015 driven by contract termination costs incurred during the fourth quarter of 2015, partially offset by higher retirement plan costs during the first quarter of 2016.     

Asset Quality

Net charge-offs were $4.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016, down from $7.6 million for the prior quarter, and up from $4.6 million for the same period in 2015.  Provision expense was $6.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016, as compared with $5.8 million for the prior quarter, and $3.6 million for the first quarter of 2015.  Provision expense was higher than the previous quarter and the prior year primarily due to loan growth.  Annualized net charge-offs to average loans for the first quarter of 2016 was 0.33%, compared with 0.38% for the full year of 2015 and 0.34% for the first quarter of 2015.

Nonperforming loans to total loans was 0.69% at March 31, 2016, up from 0.64% for the prior quarter, and down from 0.85% at March 31, 2015.  Past due loans as a percentage of total loans were 0.51% at March 31, 2016, down from 0.64% at December 31, 2015, and 0.56% at March 31, 2015.   

The allowance for loan losses totaled $64.3 million at March 31, 2016, compared to $63.0 million at December 31, 2015, and $65.4 million at March 31, 2015.  The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans was 1.08% (1.18% excluding acquired loans with no related allowance recorded) at March 31, 2016, compared to 1.07% (1.18% excluding acquired loans with no related allowance recorded) at December 31, 2015 and 1.16% (1.29% excluding acquired loans with no related allowance recorded) at March 31, 2015. 

Balance Sheet

Total assets were $8.5 billion at March 31, 2016, up $210.3 million, or 2.5% from December 31, 2015.  Loans were $6.0 billion at March 31, 2016, up $84.7 million from December 31, 2015, due to loan growth in the first quarter of 2016.  The increase in loans in the first quarter resulted from growth in the commercial, residential and consumer portfolios.  Consumer loan growth was supplemented with approximately $30 million in loans from LendingClub Corporation as part of the Company’s ongoing relationship which began with the sale of Springstone LLC in the second quarter of 2014.   Total deposits were $6.9 billion at March 31, 2016, up $300.2 million, or 4.5%, from December 31, 2015.  Stockholders’ equity was $881.7 million, representing a total equity-to-total assets ratio of 10.41% at March 31, 2016, compared with $882.0 million or a total equity-to-total assets ratio of 10.67% at December 31, 2015.

Stock Repurchase Program

The Company purchased 675,535 shares of its common stock during the first quarter of 2016 at an average price of $25.45 per share under a previously announced plan.  As of March 31, 2016, there were 277,313 shares available for repurchase under this plan announced on July 27, 2015 and set to expire on December 31, 2016.  On March 28, 2016, the NBT Board of Directors authorized a new program for NBT to repurchase up to an additional 1,000,000 shares of its outstanding common stock.  This plan expires on December 31, 2017.

Corporate Overview

NBT Bancorp Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Norwich, N.Y., with total assets of $8.5 billion at March 31, 2016.  The company primarily operates through NBT Bank, N.A., a full-service community bank, and through two financial services companies.  NBT Bank, N.A. has 155 banking locations with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. EPIC Advisors, Inc., based in Rochester, N.Y., is a full-service 401(k) plan recordkeeping firm. NBT-Mang Insurance Agency, based in Norwich, N.Y., is a full-service insurance agency. More information about NBT and its divisions can be found on the Internet at: www.nbtbancorp.com, www.nbtbank.com, www.epic1st.com and www.nbtmang.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of NBT Bancorp and its subsidiaries and on the information available to management at the time that these statements were made. There are a number of factors, many of which are beyond NBT’s control, that could cause actual conditions, events or results to differ significantly from those described in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, among others, the following possibilities: (1) competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions may increase significantly; (2) revenues may be lower than expected; (3) changes in the interest rate environment may reduce interest margins; (4) general economic conditions, either nationally or regionally, may be less favorable than expected, resulting in, among other things, a deterioration in credit quality and/or a reduced demand for credit; (5) legislative or regulatory changes, including changes in accounting standards and tax laws, may adversely affect the businesses in which NBT is engaged; (6) competitors may have greater financial resources and develop products that enable such competitors to compete more successfully than NBT; and (7) adverse changes may occur in the securities markets or with respect to inflation.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by law, NBT does not update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent circumstances or events.

Non-GAAP Measures

This press release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP).  These measures adjust GAAP measures to exclude the effects of acquisition related intangible amortization expense on earnings and equity as well as providing a fully taxable equivalent yield on securities and loans.  Where non-GAAP disclosures are used in this press release, the comparable GAAP measure, as well as a reconciliation to the comparable GAAP measure, is provided in the accompanying tables.  Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provided useful information that is important to an understanding of the results of NBT’s core business as well as provide information standard in the financial institution industry.  Non-GAAP measures should not be considered a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP and investors should consider NBT’s performance and financial condition as reported under GAAP and all other relevant information when assessing the performance or financial condition of NBT.

Contact:

Martin A. Dietrich, CEO
Michael J. Chewens, CFO
NBT Bancorp Inc.52 South Broad StreetNorwich, NY 13815
607-337-6119