Capital Bank Financial Corp. Reports Second Quarter GAAP EPS of $0.45 and Core EPS of $0.50

CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capital Bank Financial Corp. (Nasdaq:CBF) (the “Company”) today reported second quarter GAAP net income of $23.8 million, which increased 14% quarter over quarter. GAAP net income per diluted share was $0.45. Core net income increased to $26.7 million, up 12% quarter over quarter. Core net income per diluted share was $0.50.  Core pre-tax adjustments for the second quarter of 2017 included $3.0 million of branch closure expenses and $1.0 million of merger related expenses, offset by $0.1 million net gain on investment securities. The reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures (including core net income, core net income per diluted share, and core ROA) are included in tabular form at the end of this release.

Highlights of the quarter include:

• Announcement of a definitive agreement to merge with First Horizon National Corporation;
• GAAP ROA of 0.95%, up 11 bps quarter over quarter and core ROA of 1.06%, up 10 bps quarter over quarter;
• GAAP efficiency ratio of 60.2%; and
• Declared quarterly dividend of $0.12 per common share.

“We are very excited about joining with First Horizon in creating a $40 billion regional bank with strong growth and high returns. Comprehensive pre-merger integration planning is off to a fast start,” said Gene Taylor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Capital Bank Financial Corp.

“We are pleased with this quarter's results which demonstrated very significant progress toward our profitability and return targets for 2017. We continue to execute on cost savings initiatives and are well-positioned to carry our momentum into the second half of the year,” added Chris Marshall, Chief Financial Officer of Capital Bank Financial Corp.

Loan Portfolio and Composition

During the second quarter, the loan portfolio increased by $58.2 million to $7.6 billion, consisting of a $95.4 million increase in commercial real estate and commercial and industrial loans, a $43.9 million decrease in consumer loans, and a $6.7 million increase in other loans.  New loan production of $481.9 million was in line with plan and partially offset by strong special assets resolutions of $42.8 million, continued run-off of the prime indirect loan portfolio of $25.1 million, and the sale of $14.1 million in loans.

The relative composition of the Company’s loan portfolio at the end of the second and first quarter of 2017 and fourth quarter of 2016 was as follows:

Deposits Composition and Cost of Funds               

During the second quarter, total deposits decreased by $17.6 million to $8.1 billion. The quarterly average balance on deposits, which is less sensitive to individual customer activity, increased by $65.2 million. Contributing to the fluctuation in deposits was a commercial deposit of $50.1 million that was recorded late in the first quarter and subsequently withdrawn early in the second quarter. The cost of total deposits increased by two basis points sequentially to 0.41%, and was flat year over year, as the Company continues to implement carefully targeted pricing strategies.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income increased $3.1 million to $85.2 million from $82.1 million for the first quarter of 2017 and increased $23.7 million from $61.5 million for the second quarter of 2016. The net interest margin for the second quarter of 2017 was 3.75%, an increase of two basis points sequentially and 13 basis points year over year.

Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income increased $0.1 million to $16.0 million from $15.9 million for the first quarter of 2017 and increased $4.1 million from $11.9 million for the second quarter of 2016. The sequential increase was mainly driven by a $0.3 million increase in debit card income that was partially offset by a $0.1 million decrease in service charges on deposit accounts. The year over year increase was mainly due to the acquisition of CommunityOne and includes a $1.8 million increase in debit card income, a $1.4 million increase in other income (includes BOLI, credit card and merchant service income), and a $0.8 million increase in service charges.

Provision for Loan and Lease Losses and Credit Quality

The provision of $2.3 million recorded for the second quarter of 2017 included a $1.5 million provision for non-purchased credit impaired loans and a $0.8 million provision on purchased credit impaired loans. Net charge-offs for the second quarter of 2017 were $1.6 million, $1.0 million lower than the first quarter of 2017.

At June 30, 2017, the allowance for loan and lease losses was $44.6 million of which $24.0 million related to purchase credit impaired loans and $20.6 million related to non-purchased credit impaired loans. The allowance for loan and lease losses represents 0.59% of the Company’s total $7.6 billion loan portfolio.

At June 30, 2017, non-performing loans were $68.2 million, or 0.90% of loans, and decreased 4.7% from March 31, 2017, mainly as a result of resolutions and upgrades. The balance on non-performing loans increased 4.8% from June 30, 2016, due primarily to the acquisition of CommunityOne.

Non-Interest Expense

Non-interest expense declined $1.7 million to $61.0 million from $62.7 million for the first quarter of 2017 and increased $16.5 million from $44.5 million for the second quarter of 2016. The sequential decrease was mainly due to a decrease of $2.1 million in conversion and merger expense and $1.5 million in salaries and benefits. Partially offsetting the decrease was a $1.1 million increase in restructuring charges. The year over year increase was mainly due to increases of $7.5 million in salaries and benefit expense, $3.0 million in restructuring charges, and $1.5 million in occupancy and equipment expense, which were mostly related to the acquisition of CommunityOne. The Company benefited from cost savings associated with the integration of CommunityOne and continues to review opportunities for additional cost savings.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense was $14.1 million for the second quarter of 2017 with an effective tax rate of 37%, compared to $11.0 million and 34% for the first quarter of 2017. Income tax expense was $10.3 million and an effective tax rate of 37% for the second quarter of 2016.

Financial Position

Total assets decreased by $4.3 million to $10.1 billion as of June 30, 2017, from $10.1 billion as of March 31, 2017. During the quarter, the Company’s loan portfolio increased $58.2 million to $7.6 billion. Total deposits decreased by $17.6 million to $8.1 billion. Core deposits include all checking, savings and money market accounts, excluding brokered, and represent 71% of total deposits. FHLB borrowings decreased $20.1 million. Book value per share was $25.62 as of June 30, 2017, an increase of $0.45 and $2.10 from March 31, 2017 and June 30, 2016, respectively. Tangible book value per share was $20.76 as of June 30, 2017, an increase of $0.47 and $0.54 from March 31, 2017 and June 30, 2016, respectively. During the second quarter, the Company did not repurchase shares of common stock. The Company has $88 million remaining under the current board authorized stock repurchase program. The reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures (including tangible book value and tangible book value per share) are included in tabular form at the end of this release.

The Company declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per share, payable on August 21, 2017, to shareholders of record as of August 7, 2017.

Adoption of New Accounting Guidance

The Company elected to early adopt ASU 2016-09 in the fourth quarter of 2016, which addresses, among other items, the accounting for income taxes and forfeitures. Upon adoption, excess tax benefits generated when stock awards vest or settle are no longer recognized in equity but are instead recognized as a reduction to provision for income taxes. The Company reflected the adjustments on a modified prospective basis as of January 1, 2016, the beginning of the annual period that includes the interim period of adoption.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information in this press release contains forward-looking statements.  Any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, predictions, forecasts, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking.  These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believes,” “can,” “could,” “may,” “predicts,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “estimate,” “plans,” “projects,” “continuing,” “ongoing,” “expects,” “intends” and similar words or phrases.  Accordingly, these statements are only predictions and involve estimates, known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in them.  Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of several factors more fully described under the caption “Risk Factors” in the annual report on Form 10-K and other periodic reports filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Any or all of our forward-looking statements in this press release may turn out to be inaccurate.  The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the future plans, estimates or expectations contemplated by us will be achieved.  We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs.  There are important factors that could cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements including, but not limited to: (1) changes in general economic and financial market conditions; (2) changes in the regulatory environment; (3) economic conditions generally and in the financial services industry; (4) changes in the economy affecting real estate values; (5) our ability to achieve loan and deposit growth; (6) the completion of future acquisitions or business combinations and our ability to integrate any acquired businesses into our business model; (7) projected population and income growth in our targeted market areas; (8) competitive pressures in our markets and industry; (9) our ability to attract and retain key personnel; (10) changes in accounting policies or judgments and (11) volatility and direction of market interest rates and a weakening of the economy which could materially impact credit quality trends and the ability to generate loans.  All forward-looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future results, and actual results may differ materially from expectations.  You are, therefore, cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements, which should be read in conjunction with the other cautionary statements that are included elsewhere in this press release. Further, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Core net income, core efficiency ratio, core return-on-assets (“core ROA”), tangible book value and tangible book value per share are each non-GAAP measures used in this report.  A reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures – net income in the case of core net income and core ROA, total non-interest income and total non-interest expense in the case of core efficiency ratio, and total shareholders’ equity in the case of tangible book value and tangible book value per share – appears in tabular form at the end of this release.  The Company believes core net income, core efficiency ratio, and core ROA are useful for both investors and management to understand the effects of certain non-interest items and provide an alternative view of the Company’s performance over time and in comparison to the Company’s competitors. These measures should not be viewed as a substitute for net income.  The Company believes that tangible book value and tangible book value per share are useful for both investors and management as these are measures commonly used by financial institutions, regulators and investors to measure the capital adequacy of financial institutions.  The Company believes these measures facilitate comparison of the quality and composition of the Company’s capital over time and in comparison to its competitors. These measures should not be viewed as a substitute for the most directly comparable GAAP measure.

The Company uses these non-GAAP measures for various purposes, including measuring performance for incentive compensation and as a basis for strategic planning and forecasting.

These non-GAAP measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied, and are not audited.  They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of results reported under GAAP.  These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

About Capital Bank Financial Corp.

Capital Bank Financial Corp. is a bank holding company, formed in 2009 to create a premier regional banking franchise in the southeastern United States. CBF is the parent of Capital Bank Corporation, a State of North Carolina chartered financial institution with $10.1 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2017, and 189 full-service banking offices throughout Florida, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. To learn more about Capital Bank Financial Corp, please visit www.capitalbank-us.com.

⁽¹⁾ We elected to early adopt ASU 2016-09 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The impacts of adoption have been reflected in our consolidated statements of income for the three months ended December 31, 2016, September 30, 2016, and June 30, 2016, and did not have a material effect. Accordingly, adjustments were made using the modified prospective approach and resulted in, among other items, a $0.1 million decrease to net income for the three months ended December 31, 2016, and a $0.0 million increase to net income for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and June 30, 2016. Additionally, there was an increase of $0.01 to the basic earnings per share for the three months ended June 30, 2016. See “Adoption of New Accounting Guidance” above for additional information.

⁽¹⁾ Presented on a fully tax equivalent basis.
⁽²⁾ Capital Ratios are preliminary. 
⁽³⁾ We elected to early adopt ASU 2016-09 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The impacts of adoption have been reflected in our consolidated statements of income for the three months ended December 31, 2016, September 30, 2016, and June 30, 2016, and did not have a material effect. Accordingly, adjustments were made using the modified prospective approach and resulted in, among other items, a one basis point increase to return on average assets for the three months ended September 30, 2016. Additionally, there were changes to return on average shareholders’ equity consisting of a two basis point decrease for the three months ended December 31, 2016, and a one basis point increase for both three months ended September and June 2016. See “Adoption of New Accounting Guidance” above for additional information.

⁽¹⁾ Presented on a fully tax equivalent basis.
⁽²⁾ Includes Federal Home Loan Bank stocks.

⁽¹⁾ Presented on a fully tax equivalent basis.
⁽²⁾ Includes Federal Home Loan Bank stocks.

⁽¹⁾ Presented on a fully tax equivalent basis.
⁽²⁾ Includes Federal Home Loan Bank stocks.

⁽¹⁾ We elected to early adopt ASU 2016-09 in the fourth quarter of 2016. The impacts of adoption have been reflected in our consolidated statements of income for the three months ended December 31, 2016, and did not have a material effect. Accordingly, adjustments were made using the modified prospective approach and resulted in, among other items, a $0.1 million decrease to net income and core net income as well as a one basis point decrease to core ROA for the three months ended December 31, 2016. See “Adoption of New Accounting Guidance” above for additional information.
⁽²⁾ Tax effected at a blended income tax rate of 38%.
⁽³⁾ ROA: Annualized net income / Average assets.
⁽⁴⁾ Core ROA: Annualized core net income / Average assets.

⁽¹⁾ Efficiency Ratio: Non-interest expense / (Non-interest income + Net interest income).
⁽²⁾ Core Efficiency Ratio: Core non-interest expense / (Core non-interest income + Net interest income).

⁽¹⁾ Tax effected at a blended income tax rate of 38%.
⁽²⁾ Tangible book value is equal to shareholders’ equity less goodwill and intangibles net of taxes.