George Makris
Analyst · KBW. You line is open
Thanks Steve, and welcome to our third quarter earnings conference call. In our press release issued yesterday, we reported net income of $55.2 million for the third quarter of 2018, an increase of $26.3 million or 91.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share were $0.59, an increase of $0.15 or 34.1% from that same period in 2017. Included in the third quarter earnings were $1.3 million in net after-tax merger-related and branch right-sizing costs. Excluding the impact of these items, the Company's core earnings were $56.5 million for the third quarter, an increase of $28.8 million or 103.7% compared to the same period in 2017. Diluted core earnings per share were $0.61, an increase of $0.18 or 41.9% from that same period in 2017. Our loan balance at the end of the quarter was $11.9 billion, an increase of $492 million from last quarter, and an increase of $1.1 billon or 10% since year-end. Our markets in North Texas, Northwest Arkansas, Southwest Tennessee, Middle Tennessee, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Oklahoma City have all outpaced the Company's average growth rate. Our loan pipeline, which we define as loans approved and ready to close, was $464 million at the end of the quarter. On a consolidated basis, our concentration of construction and development loans was 97.4% and our concentration of CRE loans was 296.8% at the end of the quarter. Total deposits at September 30th were $12.1 billion, an increase of $135.1 million from last quarter, and an increase of $1 billion or 9% from year-end 2017. The Company’s net interest income for the third quarter was $143 million, and 81.4% increase from the same period last year. Accretion income from acquired loans during the quarter was $10 million. The accretion income in the third quarter was approximately $5.2 million more than our original estimates due to accelerated cash flows of acquired loans. Based on our cash flow projections, we expect accretion for the fourth quarter of approximately $4.2 million. Our net interest margin for the quarter was 3.98% compared to 3.99% the previous quarter. The Company's core net interest margin which excludes the accretion was 3.71% for the third quarter compared to 3.70% the previous quarter. Since December 31, 2017, core loan yield has increased 44 basis points, while cost of interest bearing deposits has risen 42 basis points, and cost of borrowed funds has risen 70 basis points. The subordinated debt issuance at the end of the first quarter had a 5 basis point impact on our third quarter net interest margin. The timing of existing subordinated debt prepayment had an additional 1 basis point impact. Our non-interest income for the quarter was $33.7 million, a decrease of $4.3 million compared to the last quarter primarily due to decreases in debit card fees and mortgage lending income. As of July 1st, we became subject to the interchange rate cap, as established by the Durbin Amendment, resulting in a $3.3 million reduction in debit card fees in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. As a reminder, we estimate that we will receive approximately $7 million less in debit card fees in 2018 and $14 million less in 2019 on a pre-tax basis. Mortgage lending income was $1.4 million less than the second quarter, mainly due to fewer transactions driven by the rising rate environment. SBA income remained flat when compared to the second quarter as we remain selective in our loan sales, as premium rates have lowered in recent months for the 6% to 7% range compared to 10% during the first quarter of the year. Non-interest expense for the quarter was $100.3 million. Core non-interest expense for the quarter was $98.5 million, which represented an increase of $1.5 million when compared to the second quarter of 2018. $1.2 million in computer and software items were expensed during the quarter as part of our Next Generation Banking platform initiative. In addition, we spent an incremental $1.1 million in the third quarter for marketing campaigns directed towards deposit growth and $1.1 million of 401(k) profit-sharing expense. Our efficiency ratio for the quarter was 53.74%. Income tax expense was lower in the third quarter due largely to discrete tax benefits related to tax accounting for a cost segregation study and a state deferred tax asset adjustment. At September 30, 2018, the allowance for loan losses for legacy loans was $55.4 million with an additional $1.3 million allowance for acquired loans. The loan discount credit mark was $54 million for a total of $110.7 million of coverage. This equates to a total coverage ratio of 93 basis points to total of gross loans. At the end of the third quarter, non-performing assets were $71.9 million, $4.1 million decrease from the second quarter. This balance is primarily made up of $40.8 million in non-performing loans and $31.1 million in other real-estate owned, which includes $9.6 million in closed bank branches held for sale. $2.8 million in closed bank branches was added in September as we closed 10 branches. During the third quarter, our annualized net charge-offs total loans were 36 basis points. The provision for loan loss during the quarter was $10.3 million, which includes an increase due to strong legacy loan growth and an increased loan migration during the quarter from the 2017 acquisitions, which is consistent with our previous guidance. During September, the Company sold approximately $32 million of substandard rated loans that consisted of both legacy and acquired loans. The loans had adequate reserves, thus no additional provision expense was required. However, the sale increased net charge-offs by approximately $4.6 million. Excluding these charge-offs, our annualized net charge-offs total loans were 12 basis points. Our capital position remains very strong. At quarter end, the common stockholders' equity was $2.2 billion. Our book value per share was $23.66, an increase of 21.3% from the same period last year. Our tangible book value per share was $13.48, an increase of 5.2% from the same period last year. The ratio of tangible common equity was 8.1%. We're very pleased with the organic balance sheet growth we’ve experience this year; our bankers have done an excellent job. While we have substantial funding sources available to sustain the current level of loan growth. During this time of rising rates and tight liquidity we intend to grow loans at a balance pace with the growth of our core deposit funding. We have a commitment to provide capital for our relationship clients, which we will consider a priority as we manage our loan opportunities. This concludes our prepared comments. We will now take questions from our research analysts and institutional investors. I’ll ask the operator to please come back on the line and give instructions and open the call for questions.