West Bancorporation, Inc. Announces Second Quarter Record Net Income, Declares Quarterly Dividend


WEST DES MOINES, Iowa, July 28, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA), parent company of West Bank, is pleased to report that second quarter 2016 net income was $5.5 million, or $0.34 per diluted common share.  This is the highest net income ever recorded by the Company for the second quarter of any year.  This compares to second quarter 2015 net income of $5.3 million, or $0.33 per diluted common share.  On July 27, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.17 per common share.  The dividend is payable on August 24, 2016 to shareholders of record on August 10, 2016.

For the first six months of 2016, net income was $11.2 million, or $0.69 per diluted common share, up from $10.4 million, or $0.65 per diluted common share, for the first six months of 2015.

The increase in net income for the second quarter and first half of 2016 was primarily the result of higher net interest income, which was due to strong loan growth.  Loan growth usually results in a higher balance in the allowance for loan losses, which was achieved by an increase in the provision for loan losses.

“We are very pleased with the second quarter of 2016,” commented Dave Nelson, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company.  “This is the eighth consecutive quarter we have had record earnings for each respective quarter.”

Mr. Nelson added, “Our bankers were very successful booking new business in the second quarter of 2016.  We added $106 million to our loan portfolio and added $65 million in deposits.”

Brad Winterbottom, West Bank President, said, “We had exceptional loan growth in the second quarter.  While our pipeline of potential new business continues to be strong, we do not expect this kind of growth every quarter.   At June 30, 2016, our loans were 13 percent higher than a year ago, and our deposits were 11 percent higher than a year ago.”

Eastern Iowa Market President, Jim Conard, commented, “The loan portfolio of the Eastern Iowa market grew by 10 percent in the second quarter as our lending team assisted a number of business owners and developers with their financing needs.  We believe our consistent loan growth over the past several months is a reflection of our strong reputation in our market.”

“Our momentum in the Rochester market continued through the second quarter with total loans outstanding exceeding $108 million as of June 30, 2016, which is an increase of almost 8 percent from the end of the first quarter,” said Mike Zinser, Rochester Market President.  “Our growth in 2016 has been generated from new customers moving their business from other banks as well as our existing customers expanding their businesses in this strong local economy.  We are pleased with the loan growth and strong credit quality of our Rochester office, and encouraged by the robust outlook our business customers are reporting to our bankers,” Zinser added.

The Company filed its report on Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission this morning.  Please refer to that document for a more in-depth discussion of our results.  The Form 10-Q document is available on the Investor Relations section of West Bank's website at www.westbankstrong.com

The Company will discuss its results in a conference call scheduled for 10:00 a.m. Central Time tomorrow, Friday, July 29, 2016.  The telephone number for the conference call is 888-339-0814.  A recording of the call will be available until August 12, 2016, by dialing 877-344-7529.  The replay passcode is 10077822.

About West Bancorporation, Inc. (NASDAQ:WTBA)
West Bancorporation, Inc. is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa.  Serving Iowans since 1893, West Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of West Bancorporation, Inc., is a community bank that focuses on lending, deposit services, and trust services for consumers and small- to medium-sized businesses.  West Bank has eight offices in the Des Moines metropolitan area, one office in Iowa City, Iowa, one office in Coralville, Iowa and one office in Rochester, Minnesota.

Certain statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, including estimates, projections, statements relating to our business plans, objectives and expected operating results, and the assumptions upon which those statements are based, are “forward-looking statements” within the meanings of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  Forward-looking statements may appear throughout this press release.  These forward-looking statements are generally identified by the words “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “future,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “strategy,” “plan,” “opportunity,” “will be,” “will likely result,” “will continue,” or similar references, or references to estimates, predictions or future events.  Such forward-looking statements are based upon certain underlying assumptions, risks and uncertainties.  Because of the possibility that the underlying assumptions are incorrect or do not materialize as expected in the future, actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements.  Risks and uncertainties that may affect future results include: interest rate risk; competitive pressures; pricing pressures on loans and deposits; changes in credit and other risks posed by the Company's loan and investment portfolios, including declines in commercial or residential real estate values or changes in the allowance for loan losses dictated by new market conditions or regulatory requirements; actions of bank and non-bank competitors; changes in local, national and international economic conditions; changes in regulatory requirements, limitations and costs; changes in customers' acceptance of the Company's products and services; cyber-attacks; and any other risks described in the “Risk Factors” sections of reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update such forward-looking statements to reflect current or future events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

     
WEST BANCORPORATION, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY    
Financial Information (unaudited)    
(in thousands)    
     
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS June 30, 2016 June 30, 2015
Assets    
Cash and due from banks $42,688  $61,682 
Federal funds sold 5,456  20,386 
Investment securities available for sale, at fair value 291,939  245,201 
Investment securities held to maturity, at amortized cost 48,963  51,302 
Federal Home Loan Bank stock, at cost 12,439  12,168 
Loans 1,380,841  1,217,378 
Allowance for loan losses (15,829) (14,364)
Loans, net 1,365,012  1,203,014 
Premises and equipment, net 18,719  10,921 
Bank-owned life insurance 32,797  32,474 
Other assets 13,672  17,057 
Total assets $1,831,685  $1,654,205 
     
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity    
Deposits:    
Noninterest-bearing $458,197  $424,558 
Interest-bearing:    
Demand 264,241  225,442 
Savings 677,497  593,369 
Time of $250,000 or more 12,870  14,179 
Other time 97,457  109,062 
Total deposits 1,510,262  1,366,610 
Short-term borrowings 27,240  6,910 
Long-term borrowings 126,302  129,040 
Other liabilities 6,902  6,254 
Stockholders' equity 160,979  145,391 
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $1,831,685  $1,654,205 


         
Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)        
(in thousands)        
         
  Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME 2016 2015 2016 2015
Interest income        
Loans, including fees $14,303  $12,999  $27,769  $25,621 
Investment securities 1,895  1,798  3,933  3,687 
Other 11  22  31  32 
Total interest income 16,209  14,819  31,733  29,340 
Interest expense        
Deposits 824  551  1,529  1,122 
Short-term borrowings 18  3  34  31 
Long-term borrowings 1,094  911  2,198  1,870 
Total interest expense 1,936  1,465  3,761  3,023 
Net interest income 14,273  13,354  27,972  26,317 
Provision for loan losses 500  200  700  200 
Net interest income after provision for loan losses 13,773  13,154  27,272  26,117 
Noninterest income        
Service charges on deposit accounts 619  651  1,215  1,271 
Debit card usage fees 475  469  922  904 
Trust services 294  317  591  642 
Increase in cash value of bank-owned life insurance 164  178  332  367 
Gain from bank-owned life insurance     443   
Realized investment securities gains, net 60  36  60  47 
Other income 291  271  570  551 
Total noninterest income 1,903  1,922  4,133  3,782 
Noninterest expense        
Salaries and employee benefits 4,234  4,005  8,490  7,995 
Occupancy 983  1,010  1,934  2,059 
Data processing 627  569  1,206  1,143 
FDIC insurance expense 224  209  442  411 
Other expenses 1,751  1,650  3,546  3,281 
Total noninterest expense 7,819  7,443  15,618  14,889 
Income before income taxes 7,857  7,633  15,787  15,010 
Income taxes 2,381  2,361  4,615  4,635 
Net income $5,476  $5,272  $11,172  $10,375 


         
Financial Information (continued) (unaudited)        
       
  PER COMMON SHARE MARKET INFORMATION (1)
  Net Income      
  Basic Diluted Dividends High Low
2016          
2nd Quarter $0.34  $0.34  $0.17  $19.65  $17.33 
1st Quarter $0.35  $0.35  $0.16  $19.58  $16.04 
           
2015          
4th Quarter  0.37   0.37   0.16   21.09   17.74 
3rd Quarter  0.34   0.34   0.16   20.99   17.67 
2nd Quarter  0.33   0.33   0.16   20.46   17.98 
1st Quarter  0.32   0.32   0.14   19.94   16.00 
                     

(1) The prices shown are the high and low sale prices for the Company's common stock, which trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, under the symbol WTBA. The market quotations, reported by Nasdaq, do not include retail markup, markdown or commissions.

     
  Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
SELECTED FINANCIAL MEASURES 2016 2015 2016 2015
Return on average assets 1.22% 1.28% 1.27% 1.28%
Return on average equity 13.90% 14.64% 14.33% 14.61%
Net interest margin 3.52% 3.59% 3.52% 3.59%
Efficiency ratio* 46.62% 46.88% 46.76% 47.55%
         
    As of June 30,
      2016 2015
Texas ratio*     0.60% 3.43%
Allowance for loan losses ratio     1.15% 1.18%
Tangible common equity ratio     8.79% 8.79%
           

* A lower ratio is more desirable.

 Definitions of ratios:

  • Return on average assets - annualized net income divided by average assets.
  • Return on average equity - annualized net income divided by average stockholders' equity.
  • Net interest margin - annualized tax-equivalent net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.
  • Efficiency ratio - noninterest expense (excluding other real estate owned expense) divided by noninterest income (excluding net securities gains and gains/losses on disposition of premises and equipment) plus tax-equivalent net interest income.
  • Texas ratio - total nonperforming assets divided by tangible common equity plus the allowance for loan losses.
  • Allowance for loan losses ratio - allowance for loan losses divided by total loans.
  • Tangible common equity ratio - common equity less intangible assets divided by tangible assets.

 


            

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