Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. Reports Results for Second Quarter 2012; Declares 28 Cent Dividend


LAKEVILLE, Conn., July 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. ("Salisbury") (NYSE:SAL), the holding company for Salisbury Bank and Trust Company (the "Bank"), announced results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Selected second quarter 2012 highlights

Net income available to common shareholders was $1,069,000, or $0.63 per common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 (second quarter 2012), versus $1,167,000, or $0.69 per common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 (first quarter 2012), and $766,000, or $0.45 per common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 (second quarter 2011).

  • Earnings per common share decreased $0.06, or 8.7%, to $0.63 versus first quarter 2012, and increased $0.18, or 40.0%, versus second quarter 2011. Second quarter 2012 results included three non-recurring items:
    -- Pension plan curtailment expense of $341,000 from retiree lump-sum withdrawals. 
    -- Litigation expense of $250,000.
    -- Securities gain of $267,000 from sale of US Treasury bonds to partially offset the two non-recurring expenses.
  • Tax equivalent net interest income decreased $10,000, or 0.2%, versus first quarter 2012, and increased $48,000, or 1.0%, versus second quarter 2011.
  • Provision for loan losses was $180,000, unchanged versus first quarter 2012 and down from $350,000 for second quarter 2011. Net loan charge-offs were $138,000, versus $90,000 for first quarter 2012 and $349,000 for second quarter 2011.
  • Non-interest income increased $231,000, or 13.9%, versus first quarter 2012 and $660,000, or 53.7%, versus second quarter 2011. Second quarter 2012 included a $267,000 securities gain.
  • Non-interest expense increased $526,000, or 11.7%, versus first quarter 2012 and $594,000, or 13.4%, versus second quarter 2011. However, second quarter 2012 included non-recurring expenses aggregating $591,000 consisting of a $341,000 pension plan curtailment expense and a $250,000 litigation expense.
  • Preferred stock dividends declined to $48,000, versus $84,000 for first quarter 2012 and $115,000 for second quarter 2011.
  • Non-performing assets increased $0.8 million, or 10.6%, to $8.4 million, or 1.4% of total assets, at June 30, 2012 versus March 31, 2012 and decreased $6.6 million versus June 30, 2011. Accruing loans receivable 30-to-89 days past due decreased $1.7 million to $2.5 million, or 0.65% of gross loans receivable, at June 30, 2012 versus March 31, 2012 and increased $1.3 million versus June 30, 2011.

Richard J. Cantele, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Our second quarter operating results reflect continued year-over-year improvement resulting from top line revenue growth and stable operating expenses. Our second quarter 2012 earnings per share of $0.63 represent a 40.0% increase over second quarter 2011 results. Excluding three non-recurring items, second quarter 2012 earnings were comparable to first quarter 2012, and reflect the continued growth of our core business."

"The current interest rate environment continues to exert pressure on our net interest margin and competition for quality loans remains intense with highly competitive loan pricing. However, the low interest environment continues to fuel mortgage refinancing activity and facilitated our origination and sale of $12 million of fixed rate mortgage loans during second quarter 2012. While such volume represented a decrease of $4 million from first quarter 2011, it represented an increase of approximately $10 million over second quarter 2012."

"Past due loans at June 30, 2012 fully reversed the increase reported last quarter. We continue to balance the active administration of our past due loans while supporting our small business and retail customers as they navigate through these ongoing challenging economic times. "We achieved solid revenue growth of Salisbury's Trust and Wealth Advisory business for the second quarter 2012, which represented an 18% increase over second quarter 2011. We continue to consider our Trust and Wealth Advisory business to be an area of expertise which distinguishes Salisbury from its competition and we look to the continued growth of this business as a future source of non-interest revenue to enhance and diversify our revenue stream."

Net Interest Income

Tax equivalent net interest income for second quarter 2012 decreased $10,000, or 0.2%, versus first quarter 2012, and increased $48,000, or 1.0%, versus second quarter 2011. Average total interest bearing deposits increased $7.7 million as compared with first quarter 2012 and increased $25.2 million, or 6.9%, as compared with second quarter 2011. Average earning assets increased $10.9 million as compared with first quarter 2012 and increased $30.0 million, or 5.6%, as compared with second quarter 2011. The net interest margin increased 1 basis point versus first quarter 2012 and decreased 3 basis points versus second quarter 2011 to 3.53% for second quarter 2012.

Non-Interest Income

Non-interest income for second quarter 2012 increased $231,000 versus first quarter 2012 and $660,000 versus second quarter 2011. Trust and Wealth Advisory revenues decreased $20,000 versus first quarter 2012 and increased $139,000 versus second quarter 2011. The year-over-year revenue increase results from growth in managed assets and higher estate fees collected in second quarter 2012. Service charges and fees increased $26,000 versus first quarter 2012 and $25,000 versus second quarter 2011. Income from sales and servicing of mortgage loans decreased $30,000 versus first quarter 2012 and increased $204,000 versus second quarter 2011 due to interest rate driven fluctuations in the volume of fixed rate residential mortgage loan sales and mortgage servicing valuations. Mortgage loan sales totaled $12.2 million for second quarter 2012, $16.3 million for first quarter 2012 and $2.4 million for second quarter 2011. Second quarter 2012, first quarter 2012 and second quarter 2011 included mortgage servicing valuation impairment charges of $10,000, $92,000 and $17,000, respectively. Second quarter 2012 securities gain of $267,000 resulted from the sale of $2.5 million of US Treasury bonds to partially offset non-recurring pension curtailment and litigation expenses. Other income consisted of bank owned life insurance income and rental income.

Non-Interest Expense

Non-interest expense for second quarter 2012 increased $526,000 versus first quarter 2012 and $594,000 versus second quarter 2011. Compensation and employee benefits increased $398,000 versus second quarter 2011 due to a second quarter 2012 pension plan curtailment expense of $341,000 from retiree lump-sum withdrawals and changes in staffing levels and mix. Premises and equipment decreased $14,000 versus first quarter 2012 and increased $23,000 versus second quarter 2011. The increase versus second quarter 2011 was due primarily to higher depreciation and increased machine and software maintenance due to replaced and upgraded equipment and software. Such increase was offset slightly by lower building maintenance and repairs and utilities. Data processing increased $16,000 versus first quarter 2012 and $134,000 versus second quarter 2011 due primarily to a vendor rebate in second quarter 2011 and a higher volume of debit card and ATM transactions. Professional fees decreased $10,000 versus first quarter 2012, and increased $3,000 versus second quarter 2011. Collections and OREO increased $245,000 versus first quarter 2012 due primarily to increased litigation expense, up $249,000, and increased $113,000 versus second quarter 2011, due primarily to increased litigation expenses, up $255,000, offset in part by lower foreclosed property expense, down $145,000. Salisbury has no foreclosed property at June 30, 2012. FDIC insurance decreased $9,000 versus first quarter 2012 and decreased $63,000 versus second quarter 2011 due primarily to a change in the basis of assessment effective July 1, 2011 that lowered the overall assessment rate for subsequent periods. Other operating expenses decreased $18,000 versus first quarter 2012 and decreased $19,000 versus second quarter 2011 due primarily to reductions in other administrative and operational expenses.

The effective income tax rates for second quarter 2012, first quarter 2012 and second quarter 2011 were 18.54%, 24.82% and 17.18%, respectively.

Loans

Net loans receivable increased $5.5 million during second quarter 2012 to $377.2 million at June 30, 2012, versus $371.7 million at March 31, 2012, and increased $12.3 million versus $364.9 million at June 30, 2011.

Asset Quality

Non-performing assets increased $0.8 million during second quarter 2012 to $8.4 million, or 1.4% of assets, at June 30, 2012, versus $7.6 million, or 1.3% of assets, at March 31, 2012, and decreased $6.6 million versus $15.0 million, or 2.5% of assets, at June 30, 2011.

The $0.8 million increase in non-performing assets in second quarter 2012 resulted primarily from $1.7 million of loans placed on non-accrual status, offset in part by $0.6 million of loans returned to accrual status, $0.2 million in loan repayments and $0.1 million in loan charge-offs.

Total impaired and potential problem loans increased $0.1 million during second quarter 2012 to $27.8 million, or 7.3% of gross loans receivable, at June 30, 2012, versus $27.7 million, or 7.4% of gross loans receivable, at March 31, 2012, and decreased $4.3 million versus $32.1 million, or 8.7% of gross loans receivable, at June 30, 2011.

Accruing loans past due 30-to-89 days decreased $1.7 million during second quarter 2012 to $2.5 million, or 0.65% of gross loans receivable, at June 30, 2012 due to seasonal factors, versus $4.2 million, or 1.12% of gross loans receivable, at March 31, 2012, and increased $1.3 million versus June 30, 2011.

The provision for loan losses for first and second quarter 2012 was $180,000 each quarter versus $350,000 for second quarter 2011. Net loan charge-offs were $139,000, $90,000 and $349,000, for the respective quarters. Reserve coverage, as measured by the ratio of the allowance for loan losses to gross loans, remained unchanged at 1.10% at June 30, 2012 versus 1.11% at March 31, 2012 and 1.08% at June 30, 2011.

Salisbury endeavors to work constructively to resolve its non-performing loan issues with customers. Substantially all non-performing loans are collateralized with real estate and the repayment of such loans is largely dependent on the return of such loans to performing status or the liquidation of the underlying real estate collateral.

Capital

Both Salisbury and the Bank's regulatory capital ratios remain in compliance with regulatory "well capitalized" requirements. At June 30, 2012 Salisbury's Tier 1 leverage and total risk-based capital ratios were 9.92% and 16.65%, respectively, and the Bank's Tier 1 leverage and total risk-based capital ratios were 8.17% and 13.73%, respectively, versus regulatory "well capitalized" minimums of 5.00% and 10.00%, respectively.

At June 30, 2012, Salisbury's assets totaled $601 million. Book value and tangible book value per common share were $31.44 and $25.09, respectively. Tangible book value excludes goodwill and core deposit intangibles.

In August 2011, Salisbury received $16 million of capital from the U.S. Treasury's Small Business Lending Fund (the "SBLF") program and repaid the $8.8 million of capital received in 2009 from the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program. The SBLF program was established to encourage lending to small businesses by providing Tier 1 capital to qualified community banks with assets of less than $10 billion. To date Salisbury has used this capital to increase its portfolio of qualified small business loans by $16.2 million and to augment its regulatory capital ratios.

Second quarter 2012 dividend on Common Shares

The Board of Directors of Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:SAL), the holding company for Salisbury Bank and Trust Company, declared a $0.28 per common share quarterly cash dividend at their July 27, 2012 meeting. The dividend will be paid on August 31, 2012 to shareholders of record as of August 8, 2012.

Background

Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. is the parent company of Salisbury Bank and Trust Company; a Connecticut chartered commercial bank serving the communities of northwestern Connecticut and proximate communities in New York and Massachusetts, since 1848, through full service branches in Canaan, Lakeville, Salisbury and Sharon, Connecticut, South Egremont and Sheffield, Massachusetts and Dover Plains and Millerton, New York. The Bank offers a full complement of consumer and business banking products and services as well as trust and wealth advisory services.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this news release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on the beliefs and expectations of management as well as the assumptions and estimates made by management using information currently available to management. Since these statements reflect the views of management concerning future events, these statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including among others: changes in market interest rates and general and regional economic conditions; changes in government regulations; changes in accounting principles; and the quality or composition of the loan and investment portfolios and other factors that may be described in Salisbury's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its annual report on Form 10-K, each filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at the Securities and Exchange Commission's internet website (www.sec.gov) and to which reference is hereby made. Therefore, actual future results may differ materially from results discussed in the forward-looking statements.

     
Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. and Subsidiary
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited)
(in thousands, except share data) June 30, 2012 December 31, 2011
ASSETS    
Cash and due from banks $6,917 $4,829
Interest bearing demand deposits with other banks 37,058 32,057
Total cash and cash equivalents 43,975 36,886
Securities    
Available-for-sale at fair value 135,662 155,794
Held-to-maturity at amortized cost (fair value: $- and $52) -- 50
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston stock at cost 5,747 6,032
Loans held-for-sale 3,155 948
Loans receivable, net (allowance for loan losses: $4,208 and $4,076) 377,212 370,766
Other real estate owned -- 2,744
Bank premises and equipment, net 11,725 12,023
Goodwill 9,829 9,829
Intangible assets (net of accumulated amortization: $1,635 and $1,523) 909 1,020
Accrued interest receivable 2,652 2,126
Cash surrender value of life insurance policies 7,172 7,037
Deferred taxes 367 829
Other assets 2,452 3,200
Total Assets $600,857 $609,284
LIABILITIES and SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY    
Deposits    
Demand (non-interest bearing) $87,615 $82,202
Demand (interest bearing) 62,728 66,332
Money market 130,976 124,566
Savings and other 97,147 94,503
Certificates of deposit 99,444 103,703
Total deposits 477,910 471,306
Repurchase agreements 6,181 12,148
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston advances 42,801 54,615
Accrued interest and other liabilities 4,839 4,353
Total Liabilities 531,731 542,422
Commitments and contingencies --  --
Shareholders' Equity    
Preferred stock -- $.01 per share par value    
Authorized: 25,000; Issued: 16,000 (Series B);    
Liquidation preference: $1,000 per share 16,000 16,000
Common stock -- $.10 per share par value    
Authorized: 3,000,000;     
Issued: 1,689,691 and 1,688,731 169 169
Paid-in capital 13,158 13,134
Retained earnings 39,554 38,264
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net 245 (705)
Total Shareholders' Equity 69,126 66,862
Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity $600,857 $609,284
         
Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. and Subsidiary
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (unaudited)
Periods ended June 30, Three months ended Six months ended
(in thousands, except per share amounts) 2012 2011 2012 2011
Interest and dividend income        
Interest and fees on loans $4,583 $4,695 $9,178 $9,359
Interest on debt securities         
Taxable 659 733 1,375 1,516
Tax exempt 510 554 1,044 1,108
Other interest and dividends 14 38 27 75
Total interest and dividend income 5,766 6,020 11,624 12,058
Interest expense        
Deposits 623 829 1,290 1,700
Repurchase agreements 6 12 19 27
Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston advances 451 562 946 1,207
Total interest expense 1,080 1,403 2,255 2,934
Net interest income 4,686 4,617 9,369 9,124
Provision for loan losses 180 350 360 680
Net interest and dividend income after provision for loan losses 4,506 4,267 9,009 8,444
Non-interest income        
Trust and wealth advisory 735 596 1,490 1,263
Service charges and fees 547 522 1,068 1,022
Gains on sales of mortgage loans, net 263 59 635 192
Mortgage servicing, net (5) (5) (89) 26
Gains on securities, net 267 -- 279 11
Other  83 58 166 117
Total non-interest income 1,890 1,230 3,549 2,631
Non-interest expense        
Salaries 1,748 1,657 3,458 3,386
Employee benefits(1) 957 650 1,647 1,283
Premises and equipment  591 568 1,196 1,151
Data processing 418 285 821 662
Professional fees 303 300 616 577
Collections and OREO(2) 356 243 467 367
FDIC insurance 119 182 247 405
Marketing and community support 87 92 175 160
Amortization of intangibles 56 56 111 111
Other 391 399 788 754
Total non-interest expense 5,026 4,432 9,526 8,856
Income before income taxes 1,370 1,065 3,032 2,219
Income tax provision 254 183 666 394
Net income $1,116 $882 $2,366 $1,825
Net income available to common shareholders $1,069 $766 $2,234 $1,594
         
Basic and diluted earnings per common share $0.63 $0.45 $1.32 $0.94
Common dividends per share 0.28 0.28 0.56 0.56
         
(1) Included pension plan curtailment expense of $341,000 for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2012.
(2) Included litigation expense of $294,000 and $340,000, respectively, for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2012.
           
Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. and Subsidiary
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA (unaudited)
At or for the three month periods ended          
(in thousands, except per share amounts and ratios) Q2 2012 Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011
Total assets $600,857 $598,950 $609,284 $618,958 $588,315
Loans receivable, net 377,212 371,709 370,766 362,879 364,854
Total securities 141,409 151,666 161,876 157,162 145,492
Deposits 477,910 472,686 471,306 478,591 459,029
FHLBB advances 42,801 43,207 54,615 55,033 55,460
Shareholders' equity 69,126 68,067 66,862 67,387 58,109
Wealth assets under management 372,506 377,259 360,700 332,400 357,200
Non-performing loans 8,409 7,606 8,076 13,911 14,563
Non-performing assets 8,409 7,606 10,820 13,948 15,015
Accruing loans past due 30-89 days 2,459 4,180 2,460 2,398 1,203
Net interest and dividend income 4,687 4,683 4,738 4,623 4,617
Net interest and dividend income, tax equivalent 4,923 4,933 4,993 4,882 4,875
Provision for loan losses 180 180 580 180 350
Non-interest income 1,890 1,659 1,691 1,334 1,230
Non-interest expense 5,026 4,500 4,249 4,535 4,432
Income before income taxes 1,370 1,661 1,600 1,243 1,065
Income tax provision 254 412 352 204 183
Net income 1,116 1,250 1,248 1,039 882
Net income available to common shareholders 1,069 1,167 1,184 810 766
           
Per share data          
Basic and diluted earnings per common share $0.63 $0.69 $0.70 $0.48 $0.45
Dividends per common share 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28 0.28
Book value per common share 31.44 30.83 30.12 30.43 29.23
Tangible book value per common share - Non-GAAP(1) 25.09 24.44 23.69 23.97 22.74
           
Weighted average equivalent common shares outstanding, diluted 1,689 1,689 1,689 1,689 1,689
Common shares outstanding at end of period 1,690 1,689 1,689 1,689 1,689
           
Profitability ratios          
Net interest margin (tax equivalent) 3.53% 3.52% 3.49% 3.43% 3.56%
Efficiency ratio(2) 66.99 67.17 62.83 70.93 69.43
Non-interest income to operating revenue 25.73 26.02 26.3 22.39 21.04
Effective income tax rate 18.54 24.82 21.99 16.43 17.18
Return on average assets 0.72 0.78 0.77 0.57 0.53
Return on average common shareholders' equity 8.06 9.05 9.21 6.61 6.38
           
Credit quality ratios          
Net charge-offs to average loans receivable, gross 0.15% 0.10% 0.57% 0.14% 0.38%
Non-performing loans to loans receivable, gross 2.21 2.03 2.16 3.8 3.96
Accruing loans past due 30-89 days to loans receivable, gross 0.64 1.11 0.66 0.65 0.33
Allowance for loan losses to loans receivable, gross 1.1 1.11 1.09 1.1 1.08
Allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans 50.04 54.77 50.47 28.95 27.32
Non-performing assets to total assets 1.4 1.27 1.78 2.25 2.55
           
Capital ratios          
Common shareholders' equity to assets 8.84% 8.69% 8.35% 8.30% 8.39%
Tangible common shareholders' equity to assets - Non-GAAP(1) 7.18 7.02 6.69 6.66 6.65
Tier 1 leverage capital 9.92 9.69 9.45 9.49 8.45
Total risk-based capital 16.65 16.34 15.97 15.98 13.93
           
(1) Refer to schedule labeled "Supplemental Information – Non-GAAP Financial Measures".
(2) Calculated using SNL's methodology: Noninterest expense before OREO expense, amortization of intangibles, and goodwill impairments as a percent of net interest income (fully taxable equivalent) and noninterest revenues, excluding gains from securities transactions and nonrecurring pension plan curtailment and litigation expenses.
           
Salisbury Bancorp, Inc. and Subsidiary
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION – Non-GAAP Financial Measures (unaudited)
At or for the quarters ended          
(in thousands, except per share amounts and ratios) Q2 2012 Q1 2012 Q4 2011 Q3 2011 Q2 2011
Shareholders' Equity $69,126 $68,067 $66,862 $67,387 $58,109
Less: Preferred Stock (16,000) (16,000) (16,000) (16,000) (8,749)
Common Shareholders' Equity 53,126 52,067 50,862 51,387 49,360
Less: Goodwill (9,829) (9,829) (9,829) (9,829) (9,829)
Less: Intangible assets (909) (964) (1,020) (1,075) (1,131)
Tangible Common Shareholders' Equity $42,388 $41,273 $40,013 $40,483 $38,400
Total Assets $600,857 $598,950 $609,284 $618,958 $588,315
Less: Goodwill (9,829) (9,829) (9,829) (9,829) (9,829)
Less: Intangible assets (909) (964) (1,020) (1,075) (1,131)
Tangible Total Assets $590,119 $588,156 $598,435 $608,054 $577,355
Common Shares outstanding 1,690 1,689 1,689 1,689 1,689
           
Book value per Common Share – GAAP $31.44 $30.83 $30.12 $30.43 $29.23
Tangible book value per Common Share - Non-GAAP 25.09 24.44 23.69 23.97 22.74
           
Common Equity to Assets – GAAP 8.84% 8.69% 8.35% 8.30% 8.39%
Tangible Common Equity to Assets – Non-GAAP 7.18 7.02 6.69 6.66 6.65
           
Non-interest expense $5,026 $4,500 $4,249 $4,534 $4,432
Less: Amortization of core deposit intangibles (56) (56) (56) (56) (55)
Less: Foreclosed property expense 7 (24) 7 (70) (138)
Less: Nonrecurring expenses          
Pension plan curtailment  (341) -- -- -- --
Litigation  (250) -- -- -- --
Operating Expenses $4,386 $4,420 $4,200 $4,408 $4,239
Net interest and dividend income, tax equivalent $4,923 $4,933 $4,993 $4,882 $4,875
Non-interest income 1,890 1,659 1,691 1,334 1,230
Less: Gains on securities, net (267) (12) -- -- --
Operating Revenue $6,546 $6,580 $6,684 $6,216 $6,105
Efficiency Ratio 66.99% 67.17% 62.83% 70.93% 69.43%
           


            

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