*DJ Ameris Bancorp 4Q EPS 88c >ABCB

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January 23, 2020 17:13 ET (22:13 GMT)

Press Release: Ameris Bancorp Announces Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2019 Financial Results

Ameris Bancorp Announces Fourth Quarter And Full Year 2019 Financial Results

PR Newswire

ATLANTA, Jan. 23, 2020

ATLANTA, Jan. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameris Bancorp (Nasdaq: ABCB) (the "Company") today reported net income of $61.2 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared with $43.5 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The Company reported adjusted net income of $66.6 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, compared with $45.9 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, for the same period in 2018. Adjusted net income excludes after-tax merger and conversion charges, executive retirement benefits, servicing right valuation adjustments, restructuring charges related to previously announced branch consolidations, gain on bank owned life insurance ("BOLI") proceeds, expenses related to the previously announced investigation being conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, loss on sale of bank premises and expenses related to hurricanes.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company reported net income of $161.4 million, or $2.75 per diluted share, compared with $121.0 million, or $2.80 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2018. The Company reported adjusted net income of $222.9 million, or $3.80 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared with $146.2 million, or $3.38 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2018. Adjusted net income for the year excludes the same items listed above for the fourth quarter.

Commenting on the Company's record results, Palmer Proctor, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are proud of our bankers and the successes we had this year. Not only did our Company go through the largest acquisition and system conversion in our history, but we also produced record earnings and record earnings per share this year. To do both of those things simultaneously is quite an accomplishment. Organic loan growth was over 9% for the year while our credit quality metrics continued to improve. Our diverse lines of business continue to produce solid financial results and provide positive momentum for 2020."

Highlights of the Company's results for the fourth quarter of 2019 include the following:

-- Improvement in adjusted efficiency ratio to 55.61%, compared with 57.25%
in the third quarter of 2019

-- Adjusted return on average assets of 1.47%, compared with 1.57% in the
third quarter of 2019 and 1.61% in the fourth quarter of 2018

-- Growth in adjusted net income of $20.7 million, representing a 45%
increase over the fourth quarter of 2018

-- Increase in net interest margin of 2 basis points, to 3.86% in the fourth
quarter, from 3.84% in the third quarter of 2019

-- Improvement in deposit mix such that noninterest bearing deposits
represent 29.94% of total deposits, up from 26.12% a year ago

-- Annualized net charge-offs of 0.09% of average total loans and 0.17% of
average non-purchased loans

-- Improvement in non-performing assets, decreasing to 0.56% of total assets,
compared with 0.73% at the end of the third quarter of 2019

Highlights of the Company's results for 2019 include the following:

-- Successfully completed the acquisition and integration of Fidelity
Southern Corporation, the holding company for Fidelity Bank ("Fidelity")

-- Growth in adjusted net earnings of 52.5%, from $146.2 million in 2018 to
$222.9 million in 2019

-- Improvement in adjusted efficiency ratio to 55.67% in 2019, compared with
56.19% in 2018

-- Organic growth in loans of $751.8 million, or 9.2%

-- Adjusted return on average assets of 1.52%, compared with 1.50% in 2018

-- Growth in tangible book value of 10.5%, from $18.83 at the end of 2018 to
$20.81 at the end of 2019

-- Enhanced shareholder value through an increase in our annual dividend
rate to $0.60 per common share and disciplined repurchases under our
common stock repurchase plan

Following is a summary of the adjustments between reported net income and adjusted net income:

Adjusted Net Income
Reconciliation
Three Months Ended Year Ended Ended
December 31, December 31,
(dollars in thousands,
except per share data) 2019 2018 2019 2018
Net income available to
common shareholders $61,248 $43,536 $161,441 $121,027

Adjustment items:
Merger and conversion
charges 2,415 997 73,105 20,499
Executive retirement
benefits -- 2,005 -- 8,424
Restructuring charges -- 754 245 983
Servicing right
impairment 366 -- 507 --
Financial impact of
hurricanes -- 882 (39) 882
Gain on BOLI proceeds 752 -- (3,583) --
Expenses related to SEC
and DOJ investigation 463 -- 463 --
Loss on sale of
premises 1,413 250 6,021 1,033
Tax effect of
adjustment items (898) (810) (16,065) (4,923)
After-tax adjustment
items 4,511 4,078 60,654 26,898

Tax expense
attributable to merger
related compensation
and acquired BOLI 849 -- 849 --
Reduction in state tax
expense accrued in
prior year, net of
federal tax impact -- (1,717) -- (1,717)
Adjusted net income $66,608 $45,897 $222,944 $146,208

Reported net income per
diluted share $0.88 $0.91 $2.75 $2.80
Adjusted net income per
diluted share $0.96 $0.96 $3.80 $3.38

Reported return on
average assets 1.35 % 1.53 % 1.10 % 1.24 %
Adjusted return on
average assets 1.47 % 1.61 % 1.52 % 1.50 %

Reported return on
average common equity 9.97 % 12.09 % 8.19 % 10.27 %
Adjusted return on
average tangible
common equity 18.45 % 20.95 % 18.74 % 19.18 %

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis for 2019 totaled $509.5 million, compared with $347.5 million for 2018. The Company's net interest margin was 3.88% for 2019, down from 3.92% reported for 2018. Accretion income for 2019 increased to $19.9 million, compared with $11.8 million for 2018. The decrease in net interest margin is primarily attributable to an increase in funding costs, partially offset by an increase in the yield on earning assets.

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis for the fourth quarter of 2019 totaled $156.5 million, compared with $149.9 million for the third quarter of 2019 and $100.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. The Company's net interest margin was 3.86% for the fourth quarter of 2019, up from 3.84% reported for the third quarter of 2019 and down from 3.91% reported for the fourth quarter of 2018. The increase in net interest margin in the current quarter is primarily attributable to an increase in accretion income and a decrease in cost of interest-bearing liabilities. Accretion income for the fourth quarter of 2019 increased to $9.7 million, compared with $4.2 million for the third quarter of 2019 and $4.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. The increase in accretion income in the fourth quarter is primarily attributable to the successful resolution of an acquired non-performing loan that had a substantial discount, as well as an overall increase in the level of payoffs of acquired loans.

Yields on all loans decreased to 5.11% during the fourth quarter of 2019, compared with 5.16% for the third quarter of 2019 and 5.19% reported for the fourth quarter of 2018. Loan production in the banking division during the fourth quarter of 2019 totaled $1.1 billion, with weighted average yields of 4.70%, compared with $1.2 billion and 5.08%, respectively, in the third quarter of 2019 and $604.9 million and 5.74%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2018. Loan production in the lines of business (including retail mortgage, warehouse lending, SBA and premium finance) amounted to an additional $4.1 billion during the fourth quarter of 2019, with weighted average yields of 4.29%, compared with $4.2 billion and 4.51%, respectively, during the third quarter of 2019 and $1.8 billion and 5.56%, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2018.

Interest expense for 2019 increased to $131.2 million, compared with $69.9 million in 2018. The Company's total cost of funds moved 23 basis points higher to 1.05% in 2019 as compared with 2018. Costs of interest-bearing deposits increased 37 basis points in 2019 to 1.23%, compared with 0.86% in 2018.

Interest expense during the fourth quarter of 2019 decreased to $38.7 million, compared with $39.6 million in the third quarter of 2019, and increased from $23.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2018. The Company's total cost of funds moved seven basis points lower to 1.00% in the fourth quarter of 2019 as compared with the third quarter of 2019. Deposit costs also decreased six basis points during the fourth quarter of 2019 to 0.80%, compared with 0.86% in the third quarter of 2019. Costs of interest-bearing deposits decreased during the quarter from 1.23% in the third quarter of 2019 to 1.13% in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Noninterest Income

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January 23, 2020 17:13 ET (22:13 GMT)