Hilltop Holdings Inc (HTH)

[Enterprising Investor]

Hilltop Holdings Inc. Announces Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2013 (3/03/14)

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hilltop Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HTH) (“Hilltop”), the parent company of PlainsCapital Corporation (“PlainsCapital”), announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2013. PlainsCapital, through its operating subsidiaries PlainsCapital Bank (the “Bank”), PrimeLending and First Southwest, provides banking, mortgage origination and financial advisory services, respectively. Hilltop’s insurance subsidiary, National Lloyds Corporation (“NLC”), provides property and casualty insurance.

Hilltop produced income to common stockholders of $29.5 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2013, compared to $8.6 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2012. Income to common stockholders for the third quarter of 2013 was revised to $38.2 million, or $0.43 per diluted share, an increase from previously reported operating results due to adjustments to the preliminary bargain purchase gain associated with the acquisition of substantially all of the assets and assumption of substantially all of the liabilities of First National Bank, Edinburg, Texas, from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as receiver, on September 13, 2013 (“FNB Transaction”). Income to common stockholders for the full year 2013 was $121.0 million, or $1.40 per diluted share. Hilltop’s annualized return on average assets and return on average equity for the fourth quarter of 2013 were 1.34% and 10.97%, respectively. The return on average assets and return on average equity for the full year 2013 were 1.67% and 11.00%, respectively.

“2013 was a strong and rewarding year for Hilltop’s shareholders, employees and customers. The bank’s operating results drove our earnings and every business segment was profitable in 2013. Our mortgage origination and financial advisory businesses performed well in the face of continued challenges in their respective industries. We also were able to effectively deploy excess capital and grow our balance sheet and commercial banking business through the FNB Transaction. This transaction put us in every major Texas market and improved the composition of our balance sheet and funding profile. We enter 2014 optimistic and well-positioned, but cautious given the current headwinds in our operating environments,” said Jeremy Ford, CEO of Hilltop.

Fourth Quarter 2013 Highlights for Hilltop:

• Hilltop’s total assets decreased to $8.9 billion at December 31, 2013, compared to $9.1 billion at September 30, 2013;

• Total stockholders’ equity increased by $105.6 million from September 30, 2013 to $1.3 billion at December 31, 2013;

• Loans held for investment, net of allowance for loan losses, increased by 2.6% to $4.5 billion (including covered and non-covered loans1), and loans held for sale increased by 4.0% to $1.1 billion, from September 30, 2013 to December 31, 2013;

• Total deposits decreased by $214.1 million from September 30, 2013 to $6.7 billion at December 31, 2013;

• Hilltop was well-capitalized with a Tier 1 Leverage Ratio2 of 12.81% and Total Capital Ratio of 19.13% at December 31, 2013; and

• Hilltop continues to retain approximately $164 million of freely usable cash at December 31, 2013, following the redemption of the senior exchangeable notes held by its insurance company subsidiaries for cash in the fourth quarter and a $35 million capital contribution to the Bank in connection with the FNB Transaction in the third quarter.

1 Loan portfolio includes “covered loans” acquired in the FNB Transaction that are subject to loss-share agreements with the FDIC, while all other loans are referred to as “non-covered loans.”
2 Based on the end of period Tier 1 capital divided by total average assets during the fourth quarter 2013 excluding goodwill and intangible assets.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, taxable equivalent net interest income was $88.6 million compared with $71.9 million in the third quarter of 2013, a 23.2% increase. The consolidated taxable equivalent net interest margin was 4.52% for the fourth quarter of 2013, a six basis point increase from 4.46% in the third quarter of 2013. During the fourth quarter, the consolidated taxable equivalent net interest margin was impacted by accretion of discount on loans of $19.6 million, amortization of premium on acquired securities of $1.1 million and amortization of premium on acquired time deposits of $2.6 million.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, noninterest income was $182.5 million compared with $215.1 million in the third quarter of 2013, a 15.2% decrease. The decline was driven by lower mortgage origination volumes, as well as a preliminary bargain purchase gain booked to the third quarter of 2013 that was revised upward. Net gains from sale of loans, other mortgage production income and mortgage loan origination fees declined $29.3 million from the third quarter of 2013 to $98.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2013. Mortgage loan originations totaled $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, versus $2.9 billion in the third quarter of 2013, due to seasonally lower volume and rising interest rates. Net premiums earned increased to $41.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 from $40.0 million in the third quarter of 2013, which is primarily attributable to rate increases in homeowners and mobile home products. Advisory fees and commissions from our financial advisory segment were $22.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 and $22.3 million in the third quarter of 2013, as rising interest rates and volatility in fixed income markets continue to pressure financial advisory fees and fixed income sales. We recorded an upward revision to the pre-tax bargain purchase gain associated with the FNB Transaction in the third quarter to $12.6 million, from the preliminary bargain purchase gain initially recorded of $3.3 million.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, noninterest expense was $219.8 million compared with $216.6 million in the third quarter of 2013, a 1.5% increase. Employees’ compensation and benefits declined $6.8 million, or 5.7%, to $112.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2013, primarily due to lower variable compensation tied to mortgage origination volume, offset by a full quarter of FNB compensation expense. Salaries and benefit expenses at the mortgage origination segment specifically declined approximately 9% between the third and fourth quarter, as the benefits of the headcount reductions in the third quarter were realized. Loss and loss adjustment expenses declined to $16.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 from $24.6 million in the third quarter of 2013. This was driven by seasonality and lower claims volume. Primarily due to the FNB Transaction, occupancy and equipment expense increased by $4.7 million from the third quarter of 2013 to $25.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 and other noninterest expense increased to $52.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 from $40.1 million in the third quarter of 2013. Amortization of identifiable intangibles from purchase accounting was $2.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2013.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, the provision for loan losses was $2.2 million, compared to $10.7 million for the third quarter of 2013. The fourth quarter of 2013 provision included provisions for loan losses related to newly originated loans and acquired loans without credit impairment at acquisition of $1.6 million and purchased credit impaired (“PCI”) loans of $1.0 million. Net charge-offs on non-covered loans for the fourth quarter of 2013 were $1.1 million, and the allowance for non-covered loan losses was $33.2 million, or 0.95% of total non-covered loans at December 31, 2013. Non-covered, non-performing assets at December 31, 2013 were $28.2 million, or 0.32% of total assets, compared to $30.5 million, or 0.34% of total assets, at September 30, 2013.

In the fourth quarter, HTH Operating Partnership LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hilltop, completed the call of its outstanding 7.5% Senior Exchangeable Notes due 2025 (the “Notes”). There were $90.9 million in aggregate principal amount of the Notes outstanding, including $6.9 million aggregate principal amount held by our insurance company subsidiaries. The Notes held by third party investors with a par value of $84.0 million were exchanged for 6.2 million shares of Hilltop common stock. The $6.9 million aggregate principal amount of Notes held by the insurance company subsidiaries were settled for $11.1 million in cash, resulting in a $3.7 million gain for the insurance company subsidiaries that was eliminated in consolidation.

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Conference Call Information

Hilltop will host a live webcast and conference call at 8:00 AM Central (9:00 AM Eastern), Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Hilltop President and CEO Jeremy B. Ford and other key management members will discuss 2013 year end results. Interested parties can access the conference call by dialing 1-888-317-6016 (domestic) or 1-412-317-6016 (international). The conference call also will be webcast simultaneously on Hilltop’s Investor Relations website (http://ir.hilltop-holdings.com).

About Hilltop

Hilltop Holdings is a Dallas-based financial holding company. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, PlainsCapital Corporation, a regional commercial banking franchise, it has three operating subsidiaries: PlainsCapital Bank, PrimeLending, and First Southwest. Through Hilltop Holdings’ other wholly owned subsidiary, National Lloyds Corporation, it provides property and casualty insurance through two insurance companies, National Lloyds Insurance Company and American Summit Insurance Company. At December 31, 2013, Hilltop employed approximately 4,550 people and operated approximately 400 locations in 45 states. Hilltop Holdings common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTH." Find more information at Hilltop-Holdings.com and PlainsCapital.com.

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