Record Loans, Annualized Loan Growth of 16%
COLUMBIA, Tenn. (October 23, 2023) – First Farmers and Merchants Corporation (OTC Pink: FFMH), the holding company for First Farmers and Merchants Bank, today announced its results for the third quarter of 2023.
“First Farmers reported growth in loans during the third quarter based on continued demand from our customers and our favorable regional economy,” stated Brian K. Williams, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of First Farmers. “We also experienced growth in deposits from the second quarter of this year as we faced strong competition from regional banks. We remained focused on protecting our deposit base as part of our long-term strategy to maintain an optimal balance sheet and strengthen our customer base.
“Our interest costs jumped in the third quarter due to the competition for deposits and to the substantially higher interest rate environment compared with last year. As a result, our net income was lower this quarter due primarily to the sharp rise in interest costs. Our net interest margin began to stabilize in September, and we remain positive about First Farmers’ outlook for the future. The result of this unprecedented spike in interest rates continues to cascade across the banking industry and certainly impacted our third quarter performance. However, we remain focused on optimizing our balance sheet to navigate the current challenges and more importantly, to propel the Company’s earnings performance as the interest rate environment stabilizes.
“Over the past year, we have repositioned our balance sheet to support our continued growth, our credit quality remains very strong, we are benefiting from solid growth from our trust services business line, and we continue to streamline our operations to enhance efficiency. We believe these fundamentals are critical to building long-term shareholder value.”
Key highlights of First Farmers’ results for the third quarter of 2023 include:
- Net income decreased 30.5% to $3.3 million from $4.8 million for the third quarter of 2022. Net income per common share decreased 29.2% to $0.79 from $1.12 for the year-earlier quarter. Net income decreased 33.8% from $5.0 million, or $1.19, per common share, reported in the second quarter of 2023. The decline in net income was primarily due to higher interest costs;
- Adjusted net income, which excludes special items, declined 30.5% to $3.3 million, or $0.79 per common share, compared with $4.8 million, or $1.12 per common share, for the third quarter of 2022. Third quarter adjusted net income decreased 35.1% from $5.1 million, or $1.21 per common share, reported in the second quarter of 2023 (see “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section);
- Interest income increased 14.7% to $15.2 million from $13.3 million for the third quarter of 2022 and was up 1.4% from $15.0 million for the second quarter of 2023;
- Total interest expense increased 546.5% to $5.2 million compared with the third quarter of 2022. Net interest income decreased 19.8% to $10.0 million from $12.5 million for the third quarter of 2022 and was down 17.3% from $12.1 million for the second quarter of 2023 due to higher interest expense;
- Total loans increased $39 million to a record $1.004 billion, or 16.3% annualized, from the second quarter of 2023, and increased $53 million, or 5.5%, compared to the third quarter of 2022;
- Total deposits increased $17 million, or 4.1% annualized, from the second quarter of 2023; and
- Total stock repurchased increased to 44,930 shares, up 5.6%, from the second quarter of 2023, and increased 232.1% from the third quarter of 2022.
“We increased our stock repurchases in the third quarter to the highest quarterly amount since 2016,” continued Williams. “We believe our stock repurchase program highlights our confidence in the future of First Farmers. We also continued to invest in upgrading our digital technology to streamline our operations and improve the delivery of services to our customers.”
Commenting on the results, Robert E. Krimmel, Chief Financial Officer of First Farmers, said, “The sharp increase in interest rates reduced our net interest margin early in the third quarter as expected, but began to stabilize by quarter’s end. We expect margins to improve in the fourth quarter with a substantial amount of the deposit repricing for our customers behind us. We believe our balance sheet is positioned well to grow future earnings in this interest rate environment that is expected to stay higher through the coming year.
“We also expect our credit quality discipline to be an important part of protecting our future earnings. Our lending and credit teams remain focused on generating high quality loans and believe our solid liquidity levels will allow us to continue funding new loan activity. We experienced a $2.3 million increase in nonperforming loans in the third quarter that was due to a single loan that was fully resolved at no loss early in the fourth quarter. Based on our ongoing stress tests of our loan portfolio, we believe our credit quality will remain strong despite the risks present in this higher interest rate environment.
“Our efficiency ratio declined in the third quarter primarily due to the sharp increase in deposit repricing. Without the decline in net interest income due to higher deposit costs, our operating efficiency continued to improve and benefited from our consistent growth in non-interest income over the past three quarters, including the excellent performance of trust services, and our seventh consecutive quarterly decline in noninterest expenses compared to the prior year due to our focus on expense management. We expect to leverage our continued investments in our digital platforms and operating software to improve our future operating efficiencies.”
Third Quarter 2023 Results of Operations
Net income decreased to $3.3 million, down $1.5 million, or 30.5% from the third quarter of 2022. The decline in earnings was due to a decrease in net interest income of $2.5 million offset in part by lower non-interest expense of $589,000 compared to the third quarter of 2022. The reduction in net-interest income was driven by deposit costs which were up $4.4 million, offset in part by an increase in interest and fees on loans of $2.3 million supported by net loan growth of $53 million compared to the third quarter of 2022. The reduction in non-interest expense was due primarily to lower salaries and employee benefits expense of $636,000 compared to the third quarter of 2022.
Net income for the third quarter of 2023 was down from the sequential second quarter by $1.7 million, or 33.7%. The decrease in earnings was due primarily to a reduction in net interest income after provision of $2.4 million compared to the second quarter of 2023. The decline in net-interest income after provision was driven by deposit costs which were up $1.7 million and a lower provision credit for credit losses of $260,000, offset in part by an increase in interest and fees on loans of $458,000 supported by net loan growth of $39 million compared to the second quarter of 2023.
For the third quarter of 2023, the balance of securities available-for-sale declined $48 million from the sequential second quarter. Securities available-for-sale amortized cost decreased $35 million and was used to fund loan growth while the unrealized loss adjustment for securities available-for-sale increased by $13 million for the quarter driven by higher long-term market interest rates compared to the sequential quarter. The balance of securities available-for-sale amortized cost decreased $134 million from the third quarter of 2022 with the decrease used to fund loan growth and liquidity needs of the Company.
For the third quarter of 2023, outstanding loan balances increased $39 million, or 4.1%, from the sequential quarter to a record $1.004 billion and increased $53 million, or 5.5%, from the third quarter of 2022. Total deposits increased $17 million, or 1.0%, from the sequential second quarter to $1.675 billion, but decreased $158 million, or 8.6%, from the third quarter of 2022. The decline in total deposits compared to 2022 was driven largely by one municipal customer that moved its banking relationship of $113 million to a regional bank during the second quarter of 2023. Total shareholders’ equity decreased $9 million from the sequential quarter due to a $10 million increase in the unrealized loss adjustment to the available-for-sale securities portfolio.
Nine Months Results
Net income available to common shareholders was $12.4 million for the first nine months of 2023, down 4.9% compared with $13.0 million in the first nine months of 2022. Net income per share declined 3.4% to $2.92 for the first nine months of 2023 compared with $3.02 for the same period in 2022. The decline in earnings was driven by decreases in non-interest income of $1.1 million and net interest income of $968,000, offset in part by a reduction in non-interest expense of $1.3 million compared to the same period in 2022. Adjusted net income was $12.9 million for the first nine months of 2023, down 1.6% compared with $13.1 million in the first nine months of 2022. Adjusted net income per share declined 0.3% to $3.03 for the first nine months of 2023 compared with $3.04 for the same period in 2022.
The decline in adjusted net income was driven by decreases in net interest income of $968,000 and non-interest income of $361,000 offset in part by a reduction in non-interest expense of $1.1 million compared to the same period in 2022. The reduction in net-interest income was driven by deposit costs which were up $7.6 million, other borrowings expense which was up $1.0 million, and interest on investment securities which declined $420,000, offset in part by an increase in interest and fees on loans of $8.1 million supported by net loan growth of $53 million compared to the third quarter of 2022. The decline in non-interest income was attributable to revenue from mortgage banking activities which was down $457,000 and service fees on deposit accounts which declined $279,000, offset in part by increases in other non-interest income of $220,000 and trust services fee income of $161,000 compared to the first nine months of 2022. The decrease in adjusted non-interest expense was due to lower salaries and employee benefits of $1.1 million compared to the first nine months of 2022.
Asset Quality
Nonperforming assets rose to $3.1 million, or 0.17% of total assets, up from $803,000, or 0.04% of total assets, from the sequential quarter of 2023 and up from $711,000, or 0.04% of total assets, from the third quarter of 2022. The increase in nonperforming assets was related to one $2.3 million commercial real estate loan that was resolved at no loss during the fourth quarter of 2023. Net recoveries to average loans were 0.00% for the third quarter of 2023 compared with net recoveries of 0.00% for the sequential quarter and net recoveries of 0.01% for the third quarter of 2022. No provision expense was recorded to provision for credit losses during the third quarter of 2023. The allowance for credit losses represented 0.78% of total loans outstanding for the third quarter of 2023 compared with 0.85% for the sequential quarter and 0.99% for the third quarter of 2022. The allowance for credit losses for unfunded commitments represented 0.29% of total unfunded commitments for the second quarter of 2023 compared with 0.19% for the sequential quarter. The allowance for credit losses for held-to-maturity (“HTM”) securities represented 0.06% of total HTM securities for the third quarter of 2023 compared with 0.06% for the sequential quarter.
Capital Management Initiatives
During the third quarter of 2023, First Farmers repurchased 44,930 shares of the Company’s common stock in the open market or privately negotiated transactions at an average price of $30.28 per share with prices ranging from $26.37 to $31.83 per share in accordance with the Company’s stock repurchase program. Authorization to repurchase approximately 99,165 shares remains under the current program, which is set to expire in December 2023, unless extended or otherwise completed.
About First Farmers and Merchants Corporation and First Farmers and Merchants Bank
First Farmers and Merchants Corporation is the holding company for First Farmers and Merchants Bank, a community bank serving the Middle Tennessee area through 22 offices in seven Middle Tennessee counties. As of September 30, 2023, First Farmers reported total assets of approximately $1.9 billion, total shareholders’ equity of approximately $99 million, and administered trust assets of $5.4 billion. For more information about First Farmers, visit us on the Web at www.myfirstfarmers.com under “Investor Relations.”
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