Waterstone Financial, Inc. Announces Results of Operations for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2018


WAUWATOSA, Wis., April 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF), holding company for WaterStone Bank, reported net income of $7.0 million, or $0.25 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to $6.6 million, or $0.24 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.    

“We accomplished a record first quarter net income led by a 23.9% increase in earnings of our Community Banking segment,” said Douglas Gordon, CEO of Waterstone Financial, Inc. “The positive impact of continued strong loan growth and an increase in net interest margin were compounded by a reduction of the federal income tax rate, which lead to our first quarter success.  The Mortgage Banking segment faced continued margin compression into the first quarter of 2018, as competition remains strong within the industry to maintain market share.  As a result of our strong earnings and ample capital, we were able to declare dividends totaling $0.62 per share to our shareholders during the first quarter and provide liquidity to shareholders through stock repurchase activity.”     

Highlights of the Quarter Ended March 31, 2018

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (Consolidated)

  • Consolidated net income of Waterstone Financial, Inc. totaled $7.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $6.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • Consolidated return on average assets totaled 1.57% for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to 1.54% for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • The effective income tax rate amounted to 23.2% for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to 34.2% for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 primarily as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reducing the federal rate from 35% to 21%.
  • Dividends declared totaled $0.62 per share during the quarter ended March 31, 2018.
  • Repurchased a total 192,800 shares on the open market during the quarter ended March 31, 2018 at an average price of $17.13 per share. 

Community Banking Segment

  • Pre-tax income of the segment totaled $7.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, which represents a 9.2% increase compared to $6.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • Continued improvement in the overall risk profile of our loan portfolio resulted in a negative provision for loan losses of $900,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to a negative provision of $1.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.  
  • Net interest income of the segment totaled $13.3 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, which represents a 13.9% increase compared to $11.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The increase in net interest income, which was driven by loan growth along with a decrease in borrowing costs, drove our net interest margin to 3.18% for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to 2.97% for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.   
  • Average loans held for investment totaled $1.30 billion during the quarter ended March 31, 2018, which represents an increase of $110.8 million, or 9.3% over the comparable quarter in the prior year. 
  • Total loans held for investment increased $22.9 million, or 1.8%, to $1.31 billion at March 31, 2018 compared to $1.29 billion at December 31, 2017. 
  • Total deposits increased $6.8 million, or 0.7%, to $974.2 million at March 31, 2018 compared to $967.4 million at December 31, 2017. 
  • Driven by margin expansion and continued cost control efforts, the efficiency ratio for the community banking segment improved to 53.9% for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to 55.7% for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • Nonperforming assets as percentage of total assets decreased to 0.54% as of March 31, 2018, compared to 0.59% at December 31, 2017 and 0.76% at March 31, 2017.

Mortgage Banking Segment

  • Pre-tax income of the segment totaled $1.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, which represents a 48.4% decrease compared to $3.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • Loan originations increased $21.2 million, or 4.3%, to $516.0 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $494.9 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2017.  Origination volume relative to purchase activity accounted for 85% of originations for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to 86% of total originations for the quarter ended March 31, 2017.
  • Gross margins on loans sold decreased approximately 6% during the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2017. 

About Waterstone Financial, Inc.

Waterstone Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBF) is the savings and loan holding company for WaterStone Bank. WaterStone Bank was established in 1921 and offers a full suite of personal and business banking products. The Bank has branches in Wauwatosa, Brookfield, Fox Point/North Shore, Franklin/Hales Corners, Germantown/Menomonee Falls, Greenfield, Oak Creek, Oconomowoc/Lake Country, Pewaukee, Waukesha/Brookfield, and West Allis, Wisconsin and a commercial lending office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. WaterStone Bank is the parent company to Waterstone Mortgage, which offers mortgage banking offices in 23 states. For more information about WaterStone Bank, go to http://www.wsbonline.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding expected financial and operating activities and results that are preceded by, followed by, or that include words such as “may,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates” or “believes.”  Such statements are subject to important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements.  These factors include (i) exposure to the deterioration in the commercial and residential real estate markets which could result in increased charge-offs and increases in the allowance for loan losses,  (ii) various other factors, including changes in economic conditions affecting borrowers, new information regarding outstanding loans and identification of additional problem loans, which could require an increase in the allowance for loan losses, (iii) Waterstone’s ability to maintain required levels of capital and other current and future regulatory requirements, (iv) the impact of recent and future legislative initiatives on the financial markets, and (v) those factors referenced in Item 1A. Risk Factors in Waterstone’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and as may be described from time to time in Waterstone’s subsequent SEC filings, which factors are incorporated herein by reference.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect only Waterstone’s belief as of the date of this press release.


WATERSTONE FINANCIAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Unaudited)
  For The Three Months Ended March 31,
  2018
2017
  (In Thousands, except per share amounts)
Interest income:   
Loans$15,458 14,238 
Mortgage-related securities 638 696 
Debt securities, federal funds sold and short-term investments 867 852 
Total interest income 16,963 15,786 
Interest expense:   
Deposits 2,314 1,795 
Borrowings 1,508 2,096 
Total interest expense 3,822 3,891 
Net interest income 13,141 11,895 
Provision for loan losses (880)(1,211)
Net interest income after provision for loan losses 14,021 13,106 
Noninterest income:   
Service charges on loans and deposits 399 367 
Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance 328 318 
Mortgage banking income 24,187 24,687 
Other 269 565 
Total noninterest income 25,183 25,937 
Noninterest expenses:   
Compensation, payroll taxes, and other employee benefits 20,983 19,995 
Occupancy, office furniture, and equipment 2,639 2,527 
Advertising 860 724 
Data processing 625 598 
Communications 382 379 
Professional fees 700 607 
Real estate owned 317 411 
FDIC insurance premiums 125 120 
Other 3,516 3,697 
Total noninterest expenses 30,147 29,058 
Income before income taxes 9,057 9,985 
Income tax expense 2,104 3,413 
Net income$6,953 6,572 
Income per share:   
Basic$0.25 0.24 
Diluted$0.25 0.24 
Weighted average shares outstanding:   
Basic 27,509 27,323 
Diluted 27,802 27,867 



WATERSTONE FINANCIAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
  March 31,  December 31,
 2018
2017
 (Unaudited) 
Assets(In Thousands, except per share amounts)
Cash$53,000 $22,306 
Federal funds sold 27,143  17,034 
Interest-earning deposits in other financial institutions and other short term investments 3,264  9,267 
Cash and cash equivalents 83,407  48,607 
Securities available for sale (at fair value) 186,983  199,707 
Loans held for sale (at fair value) 127,638  149,896 
Loans receivable 1,314,672  1,291,814 
Less: Allowance for loan losses 13,190  14,077 
Loans receivable, net 1,301,482  1,277,737 
   
Office properties and equipment, net 22,592  22,941 
Federal Home Loan Bank stock (at cost) 18,675  16,875 
Cash surrender value of life insurance 66,324  65,996 
Real estate owned, net 3,374  4,558 
Prepaid expenses and other assets 28,789  20,084 
Total assets$1,839,264 $1,806,401 
   
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity  
Liabilities:  
Demand deposits$131,520 $129,597 
Money market and savings deposits 145,506  148,804 
Time deposits 697,198  688,979 
Total deposits 974,224  967,380 
   
Borrowings 434,365  386,285 
Advance payments by borrowers for taxes 12,004  4,876 
Other liabilities 21,252  35,756 
Total liabilities 1,441,845  1,394,297 
   
Shareholders' equity:  
Common stock 293  295 
Additional paid-in capital 327,748  326,655 
Retained earnings 173,163  183,358 
Unearned ESOP shares (18,694) (18,991)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of taxes (2,631) (477)
Cost of shares repurchased (82,460) (78,736)
Total shareholders' equity 397,419  412,104 
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity$1,839,264 $1,806,401 
   
Share Information   
Shares Outstanding 29,324  29,501 
Book Value per share$13.55 $13.97 
Closing market price$17.30 $17.05 
Price to book ratio 127.68% 122.05%



WATERSTONE FINANCIAL, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
SUMMARY OF KEY QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA
(Unaudited)
      
 At or For the Three Months Ended
 March 31,December 31,September 30,June 30,March 31,
 2018
2017
2017
2017
2017
 (Dollars in Thousands)
Condensed Results of Operations:     
Net interest income$13,141 13,324 13,033 12,481 11,895 
Provision for loan losses (880)- 20 25 (1,211)
Total noninterest income 25,183 28,181 33,054 37,241 25,937 
Total noninterest expense 30,147 32,318 34,316 36,187 29,058 
Income before income taxes 9,057 9,187 11,751 13,510 9,985 
Income tax expense 2,104 6,072 4,362 4,622 3,413 
Net income$6,953 3,115 7,389 8,888 6,572 
Income per share – basic$0.25 0.11 0.27 0.32 0.24 
Income per share – diluted$0.25 0.11 0.26 0.32 0.24 
Dividends declared per share$0.62 0.12 0.12 0.62 0.12 
      
Performance Ratios:     
Return on average assets - QTD 1.57%0.67%1.56%1.99%1.54%
Return on average equity - QTD 6.90%2.98%7.12%8.70%6.44%
Net interest margin - QTD 3.18%3.08%2.95%3.00%2.97%
Community Banking Segment     
Efficiency ratio - QTD 53.94%48.36%47.78%48.76%55.69%
      
Return on average assets - YTD 1.57%1.43%1.70%1.77%1.54%
Return on average equity - YTD 6.90%6.32%7.42%7.56%6.44%
Net interest margin - YTD 3.18%3.00%2.97%2.98%2.97%
Community Banking Segment     
Efficiency ratio - YTD 53.94%49.98%50.56%52.09%55.69%
      
Asset Quality Ratios:     
Past due loans to total loans 0.53%0.45%0.71%0.74%0.71%
Non accrual loans to total loans 0.50%0.47%0.56%0.70%0.67%
Non performing assets to total assets 0.54%0.59%0.62%0.71%0.76%


Contact: Mark R. Gerke
Chief Financial Officer
414.459.4012
markgerke@wsbonline.com