Liberty Bell Bank (fka LBBB)

[norweger1979]

Liberty Bell Bank Reports First Quarter 2017 Results of Operations


Company Release - 04/26/2017 16:00



MARLTON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Liberty Bell Bank (OTC:LBBB) today reported net income of $106,000 or $0.01 per diluted share for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to net income of $50,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the same period in 2016, an improvement of $56,000. At March 31, 2017, the Bank is well capitalized by all regulatory measures.

Net income of $106,000 in the first quarter of 2017 was due primarily to net interest income of $1.26 million, loan fees of $154,000, fees from deposits of $41,000 and a tax credit of $15,000 exceeding its provision for loan losses of $64,000 and operating expenses of $1.30 million. Operating expenses included compensation expense of $590,000 and other operating expenses of $710,000.

The Bank’s President, Benjamin Watts, indicated that “the Bank continues to be well situated to benefit from the diverse commercial and consumer base in its market area. The growth in net income is the result of management’s focus on reducing problem assets, expanding sources of fee income and controlling operating expenses. We anticipate continued growth as we execute our strategic plan for 2017.”

The $56,000 improvement from net income of $50,000 in the three months ended March 31, 2016 was due primarily to net interest income, which increased by $57,000, fees from loans which increased by $14,000, operating expenses which decreased by $70,000 and an income tax benefit of $26,000. Partially offsetting these positive variances, the provision for loan losses was $64,000 for the first quarter of 2017 as compared to a $15,000 provision for loan losses for the first quarter of 2016. In addition, there was no gain from the sale of investment securities in 2017 as compared to a gain of $59,000 in the first quarter of 2016 and fees from deposits decreased $3,000.

The Bank reported that the increase of $57,000 in net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2017, as compared to the three months ended March 31, 2016, was due to a $61,000 increase in interest and dividend income partially offset by a $4,000 increase in interest expense, primarily from interest paid on deposits. The increase in interest and dividend income was due to an increase of $83,000 in interest from loans and a $6,000 increase in interest income from interest-bearing deposits with other banks, partially offset by a decrease of $28,000 in interest on investment securities.

The increase of $83,000 in interest from loans was due primarily to an $8.2 million increase in average total loans outstanding for the first three months of 2017 to $118.4 million, as compared to $110.2 million outstanding for the first three months of 2016. However, the yield from the loan portfolio decreased slightly from 4.91%, to 4.84%.

The $70,000 decrease in non-interest expense for 2017 as compared to 2016 was due primarily to a $29,000 decrease in insurance expenses primarily related to deposit insurance premium expense, an $18,000 decrease in expenses related to other real estate owned and a $17,000 decrease in legal expenses. In addition, expenses related to employee compensation and benefits decreased $12,000.

Net interest margin for the first quarter of 2017 was 3.52% as compared to 3.33% for the first quarter of 2016, an improvement of 0.19%. The margin was impacted by a 0.20% higher yield from interest-earning assets. The interest rate paid for deposits increased slightly from 0.63% for the first quarter of 2016 to 0.65% for the first quarter of 2017.

Total assets at March 31, 2017 were $149.9 million, representing an increase of $296,000 from $149.6 million at December 31, 2016. The increase was due primarily to a $496,000 increase in net loans and a $39,000 increase in investment securities. These increases were partially offset by a $170,000 decrease in cash and cash equivalents primarily in the form of excess liquidity held in an interest-bearing account at the Federal Reserve Bank and a $69,000 decrease in other assets.

Total deposits increased $329,000 to $136.5 million at March 31, 2017 from $136.1 million at December 31, 2016. The increase was primarily due to a $1.3 million increase in money market accounts and growth in interest-bearing checking accounts of $995,000. In addition, savings deposits increased $352,000. Partially offsetting these increases, non-interest bearing checking accounts decreased $937,000 and certificates of deposit declined $1.4 million.

Selected Financial Data

Set forth below are certain selected balance sheet and income statement data at March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 and for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and 2016.

SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA
(Unaudited, in thousands)


March 31 2017, December 31 2016,



Cash and cash equivalents $ 13,920 $ 14,090
Investment securities 10,936 10,897
Net loans receivable 119,964 119,468
Total assets 149,872 149,576
Deposits 136,488 136,159
Shareholders’ equity 9,897 9,730


SELECTED INCOME STATEMENT DATA
(Unaudited, in thousands except per share data)





Quarter ended March 31 2017, Quarter ended March 31 2016,


Net interest income $ 1,260 $ 1,204
Provision for loan losses 64 15
Other non-interest income 195 183
Gain on sale of securities available for sale 0 59
Other expenses 1,300 1,370
Provision for income taxes (15 ) 11
Net income $ 106 $ 50

Earnings per share:
Basic $ 0.01 $ 0.01
Diluted $ 0.01 $ 0.01
Capital Ratios:
Common Equity Tier 1 Capital to Risk Weighted Assets 9.25% 9.12%
Leverage Capital 6.59% 6.39%
Tier 1 Capital to Risk Weighted Assets 9.25% 9.12%
Total risk based capital 10.37% 10.37%

Liberty Bell Bank is a full-service, state-chartered commercial bank, whose deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The Bank provides diversified financial products through two locations in Burlington County, New Jersey and one location in Camden County, New Jersey.

The Bank may from time to time make written or oral “forward-looking statements”, including statements contained in this release. Such statements are not historical facts and include expressions about management's confidence and strategies and management's current views and expectations about new and existing programs and products, relationships, opportunities, taxation, technology and market conditions. Actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements, and no undue reliance should be placed on any forward-looking statement. Factors that may cause results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, unanticipated changes in the financial markets and the direction of interest rates; volatility in earnings due to certain financial assets and liabilities held at fair value; stronger competition from banks, other financial institutions and other companies; insufficient allowance for credit losses; a higher level of net loan charge-offs and delinquencies than anticipated; material adverse changes in the Bank’s operations or earnings; a decline in the economy in our primary market areas; changes in relationships with major customers; changes in effective income tax rates; higher or lower cash flow levels than anticipated; inability to hire or retain qualified employees; a decline in the levels of deposits or loss of alternate funding sources; the inability to increase our loan portfolio; merger and acquisition activity, the inability to increase our capital to sustain our growth and meet regulatory requirements; changes in laws and regulations, including issues related to compliance with anti-money laundering and the bank secrecy act laws; adoption, interpretation and implementation of new or pre-existing accounting pronouncements; operational risks, including the risk of fraud by employees and customers; the inability to successfully implement our strategic plan as well as new lines of business or new products and services and other factors, many of which are beyond the Bank's control. The words “may”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “will”, “project”, “continue”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All such statements are made in good faith by the Bank pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Bank does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Bank.





View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170426006347/en/

Liberty Bell Bank
Dennis A. Costa
Chief Financial Officer
856-830-1134

Source: Liberty Bell Bank
http://investors.libertybellbank.com/CorporateProfile.aspx?iid=4089241