Greene County Bancorp, Inc. Reports 25.7% Increase in Net Income for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2018 and Opens Full Service Branch in Woodstock, NY


CATSKILL, N.Y., Oct. 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Greene County Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GCBC), the holding company for The Bank of Greene County and its subsidiary Greene County Commercial Bank, today reported net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, which is the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal year ending June 30, 2019.  Net income for the quarters ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 was $4.4 million compared to $3.5 million, a 25.7% increase.  Earnings per share were $0.51 per basic and diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, and $0.41 per basic and diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.

Donald Gibson, President & CEO, stated, “I am pleased to report record net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. We remain committed to our long term strategy focusing on our local communities and customers. That focus continues to drive steady growth across all three of our primary banking lines – retail, commercial, and municipal, which in turn has driven long term solid earnings growth.”

Gibson continued, “I am also pleased to report that we completed the renovations and opened our full service branch in Woodstock, NY. This represents our second branch in Ulster County and has been extremely well received.”

Selected highlights for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 are as follows:

Net Interest Income and Margin

  • Net interest income increased $1.5 million to $9.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 from $8.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017. The growth in average loan and securities balances led to an increase in net interest income when comparing the quarters ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, and was complemented by an increase in net interest spread and net interest margin.  The increases in net spread and margin are due primarily to recent interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.
  • Net interest rate spread increased four basis points to 3.31% as compared to 3.27% when comparing the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.    
  • Net interest margin increased six basis points to 3.41% for the three months ended September 30, 2018 as compared to 3.35% for the three months ended September 30, 2017.   
  • Net interest income on a taxable-equivalent basis includes the additional amount of interest income that would have been earned if the Company’s investment in tax-exempt securities and loans had been subject to federal and New York State income taxes yielding the same after-tax income. Tax-equivalent net interest margin was 3.57% and 3.62% for the quarters ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.  Tax-equivalent net interest margin for the quarter ended September 30, 2018 have been adjusted to reflect the Federal statutory tax rate applicable to our fiscal year 2019 of 21.0% resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”) enacted in December 2017. 

Asset Quality and Loan Loss Provision

  • Provision for loan losses amounted to $354,000 and $347,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively. Allowance for loan losses to total loans receivable was 1.67% at September 30, 2018, and 1.68% at June 30, 2018.
  • Net charge-offs amounted to $70,000 and $271,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, a decrease of $201,000. This decrease in charge-off activity was primarily within the commercial loan and residential real estate portfolios. 
  • Nonperforming loans amounted to $3.4 million and $3.6 million at September 30, 2018 and June 30, 2018, respectively. At September 30, 2018 and June 30, 2018, respectively, nonperforming assets were 0.29% and 0.32% of total assets, and nonperforming loans were 0.47% and 0.51% of net loans. At September 30, 2017, nonperforming assets to total assets were 0.40% and nonperforming loans to net loans were 0.53%.

Noninterest Income and Noninterest Expense

  • Noninterest income increased $312,000, or 17.9%, and totaled $2.1 million and $1.7 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. This increase was primarily due to increases in debit card fees and service charges on deposit accounts resulting from continued growth in the number of checking accounts with debit cards, as well as increased monthly or transactional service charges on deposit accounts. Investment services income also increased during the period due to higher sales volume of investment products.
  • Noninterest expense increased $1.1 million, or 21.8%, to $6.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2018 as compared to $4.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2017. This increase was primarily due to an increase in salaries and employee benefits expenses, resulting from additional staffing for the addition of two new branches located in Copake and Woodstock, New York. Staffing was also increased within our lending department, customer service center and investment center.  The increase is also due to costs associated with the opening of the newest branch in Woodstock, New York during the three months ended September 30, 2018, and an increase in professional fees.          

Income Taxes

  • Provision for income taxes directly reflects the expected tax associated with the pre-tax income generated for the given year and certain regulatory requirements.  The effective tax rate was 18.8% for the three months ended September 30, 2018, compared to 25.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2017.  The decrease in the effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2018 is primarily the result of the impact of the enactment of the TCJA in December 2017.  The TCJA permanently reduces the maximum corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. The statutory tax rate is impacted by the benefits derived from tax exempt bond and loan income, the Company’s real estate investment trust subsidiary income, as well as the tax benefits derived from premiums paid to the Company’s pooled captive insurance subsidiary to arrive at the effective tax rate.    

Balance Sheet Summary

  • Total assets of the Company were $1.2 billion at September 30, 2018 and at June 30, 2018, an increase of $36.4 million, or 3.2%. 
  • Securities available-for-sale and held-to-maturity increased $5.0 million, or 1.3%, to $400.4 million at September 30, 2018 as compared to $395.4 million at June 30, 2018.  Securities purchases totaled $56.8 million during the three months ended September 30, 2018 and consisted of $43.8 million of state and political subdivision securities and $13.0 million of mortgage-backed securities. Principal pay-downs and maturities during the three months amounted to $51.6 million, of which $14.3 million were mortgage-backed securities, and $37.3 million were state and political subdivision securities.    
  • Net loans receivable increased $20.1 million, or 2.9%, to $724.5 million at September 30, 2018 from $704.4 million at June 30, 2018.  The loan growth experienced during the three months consisted primarily of $5.5 million in commercial real estate loans, $3.1 million in commercial loans, $6.4 million in residential real estate loans, and $6.1 million in multi-family real estate loans.
  • Deposits totaled $1.0 billion at September 30, 2018 and at June 30, 2018, a decrease of $22.8 million, or 2.2%. Noninterest-bearing deposits increased $6.7 million, or 6.5%, and NOW deposits increased $12.2 million, or 2.3%, when comparing September 30, 2018 and June 30, 2018.  These increases were offset by a decrease in money market deposits of $21.3 million, or 16.0%, a decrease in savings deposits of $4.3 million, or 2.0%, and a decrease in certificates of deposits of $16.0 million, or 31.2%, when comparing September 30, 2018 and June 30, 2018. Typically deposits increase during the first quarter of the Company’s fiscal year as a result of an increase in municipal deposits at Greene County Commercial Bank, primarily from tax collection.  However, several taxing authorities experienced delays in sending out tax bills to property owners and as a result extended the due date for payments into October 2018.  As a result of this delay, the Company did not experience the normal growth in deposits at September 30, 2018.  Included within certificates of deposits at June 30, 2018 were $15.0 million in brokered certificates of deposit. These brokered certificates of deposit matured during the three months ended September 30, 2018 and were not renewed.
  • Borrowings for the Company amounted to $58.8 million of overnight borrowings and $17.2 million of term borrowings, with the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York at September 30, 2018, compared to no overnight borrowings and $18.2 million of term borrowings at June 30, 2018.
  • Shareholders’ equity increased to $99.6 million at September 30, 2018 from $96.2 million at June 30, 2018, as net income of $4.4 million which was partially offset by dividends declared and paid of $854,000 and an increase in other accumulated comprehensive loss of $76,000.     

Greene County Bancorp, Inc. is the direct and indirect holding company, respectively, for The Bank of Greene County, a federally chartered savings bank, and Greene County Commercial Bank, a New York-chartered commercial bank, both headquartered in Catskill, New York.  Our primary market area is the Hudson Valley in New York State.  For more information on Greene County Bancorp, Inc., visit www.tbogc.com.

This press release contains statements about future events that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.  Factors that might cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, changes in interest rates, regulatory considerations, competition, technological developments, retention and recruitment of qualified personnel, and market acceptance of the Company’s pricing, products and services.


Greene County Bancorp, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Income, and Selected Financial Ratios (Unaudited)


 
At or for the Quarter   
 Ended September 30,   
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)2018  2017   
Interest income$10,997  $9,089   
Interest expense1,340  919   
Net interest income9,657  8,170   
Provision for loan losses354  347   
Noninterest income2,052  1,740   
Noninterest expense5,961  4,893   
Income before taxes5,394  4,670   
Tax provision1,014  1,198   
Net Income$4,380  $3,472   
   
Basic EPS$0.51  $0.41   
Weighted average shares outstanding 8,537,814   8,502,734   
Diluted EPS$0.51  $0.41   
Weighted average diluted shares outstanding 8,537,814   8,531,242   
Dividends declared per share$0.10   $0.0975    
   
Selected Financial Ratios  
Return on average assets11.52% 1.40%  
Return on average equity117.92  16.33   
Net interest rate spread13.31  3.27   
Net interest margin13.41  3.35   
Fully taxable-equivalent net interest margin23.57  3.62   
Efficiency ratio350.91  49.37   
Non-performing assets to total assets0.29  0.40   
Non-performing loans to net loans0.47  0.53   
Allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans363.39  328.54   
Allowance for loan losses to total loans1.67  1.71   
Shareholders’ equity to total assets8.39  8.37   
Dividend payout ratio419.61  23.78   
Actual dividends paid to net income519.50  10.92   
Book value per share$11.67  $10.21   

1 Ratios are annualized when necessary.
2 Interest income calculated on a taxable-equivalent basis includes the additional interest income that would have been earned if the Company’s investment in tax-exempt securities and loans had been subject to federal and New York State income taxes yielding the same after-tax income.  The rate used for this adjustment was approximately 21% and 34% for federal income taxes and 3.98% and 3.32% for New York State income taxes for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.  The following table summarizes the adjustments made to arrive at the fully taxable-equivalent net interest margin.

 For the quarters ended September 30,
(Dollars in thousands) 2018  2017 
Net interest income (GAAP) $9,657  $8,170 
Tax-equivalent adjustment 473  647 
Net interest income (fully taxable-equivalent basis) $10,130  $8,817 
   
Average interest-earning assets $1,134,102  $975,036 
Net interest margin (fully taxable-equivalent basis) 3.57% 3.62%

3 The efficiency ratio has been calculated as noninterest expense divided by the sum of net interest income and noninterest income.
4 The dividend payout ratio has been calculated based on the dividends declared per share divided by basic earnings per share.  No adjustments have been made to account for dividends waived by Greene County Bancorp, MHC (“MHC”), the Company’s majority shareholder, owning 54.0% of the shares outstanding. 
5 Dividends declared divided by net income.  The MHC did not waive its right to receive dividends declared during the quarter ended September 30, 2018, and did waive its right to receive dividends declared during the quarter ended September 30, 2017.

The above information is preliminary and based on the Company’s data available at the time of presentation.

Greene County Bancorp, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition (Unaudited)

 As of
September 30, 2018
 As of
June 30, 2018
(Dollars In thousands, except share data)   
Assets   
Total cash and cash equivalents$35,132  $26,504 
Long term certificate of deposit 2,385   2,385 
Securities- available for sale, at fair value 119,600   120,806 
Securities- held to maturity, at amortized cost 280,774   274,550 
Equity securities, at fair value 232   217 
Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost 4,147   1,545 
    
Gross loans receivable 736,076   715,641 
Less:  Allowance for loan losses (12,308)  (12,024)
Unearned origination fees and costs, net 758   814 
Net loans receivable 724,526   704,431 
    
Premises and equipment 13,267   13,304 
Accrued interest receivable 5,437   5,057 
Foreclosed real estate 79   119 
Prepaid expenses and other assets 2,294   2,560 
Total assets$1,187,873  $1,151,478 
    
Liabilities and shareholders’ equity   
Noninterest bearing deposits$109,358  $102,694 
Interest bearing deposits 893,103   922,540 
Total deposits 1,002,461   1,025,234 
    
Borrowings from FHLB, short term 58,800   - 
Borrowings from FHLB, long term 17,150   18,150 
Accrued expenses and other liabilities 9,821   11,903 
Total liabilities 1,088,232   1,055,287 
Total shareholders’ equity 99,641   96,191 
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity$1,187,873  $1,151,478 
Common shares outstanding 8,537,814   8,537,814 
Treasury shares 73,526   73,526 

                                                                                                                                                                                      
The above information is preliminary and based on the Company’s data available at the time of presentation.

For Further Information Contact:
Donald E. Gibson
President & CEO
(518) 943-2600
donaldg@tbogc.com

Michelle M. Plummer, CPA
EVP, COO & CFO
(518) 943-2600
michellep@tbogc.com