Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2016 Results (Unaudited)

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PPBI) (the “Company”), the holding company of Pacific Premier Bank (the “Bank”), reported net income for the first quarter of 2016 of $8.6 million, or $0.33 per diluted share. This compares with net income of $8.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2015 and net income of $1.8 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2015. Net income for the first quarter of 2016 includes $3.1 million of pretax merger related expenses associated with the acquisition of Security California Bancorp ("Security"). Excluding the merger related expenses, adjusted net income for the first quarter of 2016 was $10.7 million, or $0.41 per diluted share. This compares with adjusted net income of $8.6 million, or $0.39 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2015 and adjusted net income of $4.3 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2015.

For the three months ended March 31, 2016, the Company’s return on average assets was 1.04% and return on average tangible common equity was 12.02%, or 1.30% and 14.91% after adjusting for the merger related expenses, respectively. For the three months ended December 31, 2015, the Company's return on average assets was 1.18% and the return on average tangible common equity was 14.09%. For the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company's the return on average assets was 0.29% and the return on average tangible common equity was 4.04%.

Steven R. Gardner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented on the results, “We delivered another quarter of strong execution on both our organic and acquisitive growth strategies, which resulted in positive trends in loan and deposit growth, net interest margin and our core profitability.

“Following the closing of our acquisition of Security California Bancorp, we have had a successful integration and we are on track with our system conversion and branch consolidation efforts. We have been pleased with the collaboration between the Pacific Premier and Security teams, and we have seen immediate benefits from combining the expertise and sales culture of both organizations.

“We originated $251 million in new loans in the first quarter of 2016, which is a record level for a first quarter and an increase of 22% over the same period last year. Our new client acquisition activity is also generating significant growth in core deposits and improvement in our overall deposit mix. At March 31, 2016, core deposits increased to 80% of total deposits, up from 76% at the end of the prior quarter.

“As planned, we were able to exit the warehouse lending business without incurring any disruption or expense. The funds that were freed up from exiting this business, along with the proceeds from selling the investment portfolio acquired in the Security acquisition, created excess liquidity that we carried throughout much of the first quarter. We redeployed the majority of the excess liquidity through the purchase of a high quality portfolio of multifamily loans during March, which we anticipate will drive improvement in our net interest income in the second quarter.

“We are optimistic that we can continue to deliver strong results for our shareholders. With the contribution of Security’s team, our loan and deposit pipeline is at the highest level in our history. We expect to have a strong 2016, as the remainder of the year should display our franchise strength, and result in quality balance sheet growth, increased earnings and further creation of franchise value,” said Mr. Gardner.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

INCOME STATEMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income totaled $34.2 million in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of $5.4 million or 18.6% from the fourth quarter of 2015. The increase in net interest income reflected an increase in average interest-earning assets of $487 million and an increase in the net interest margin of 5 basis points to 4.48%. The increase in average interest-earning assets during the first quarter of 2016 was primarily related to the acquisition of Security California Bancorp ("Security"), which added $467 million in loans, before purchase accounting adjustments, and continued organic loan growth. In addition to these increases, our net interest income and average earning assets were impacted by a reduction of loan balances in the beginning of the quarter related to exiting warehouse mortgage lending, that resulted in a $142 million decrease in outstanding balances on these lines in comparison to the fourth quarter of 2015. Furthermore, a $185 million multi-family loan pool was purchased shortly before quarter's end. The expansion in the net interest margin from 4.43% to 4.48% resulted primarily from the lowering of funding costs from .47% to .43%, which was driven by the increase in non-interest bearing deposits, as a percentage of total deposits, from 32% as of December 31, 2015 to 37% as of March 31, 2016. The yield on earning assets increased from 4.90% in the prior quarter to 4.91% in the current quarter. A 12 basis points increase in the yield on loans was offset by average loan balances declining as a percentage of earning assets from 83.52% in the fourth quarter of 2015 to 81.80% in the first quarter of 2016, while the average balance of cash equivalents increased by $106 million in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. The increase in the yield on loans was impacted by additional accretion of fair market value discounts on acquired loans as a result of the Security acquisition. Excluding the impact of this accretion, the yield on loans increased by 5 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2015.

Net interest income for the first quarter of 2016 increased $10.5 million or 44.5% compared to the first quarter of 2015. The increase was related to an increase in average interest-earning assets of $724 million, which resulted from our organic loan growth since the end of the first quarter of 2015 and our acquisition of Security during the first quarter of 2016. Our net interest margin for the first quarter of 2016 increased 39 basis points to 4.48% from the prior year. The expansion of the net interest margin was driven by a 31 basis points increase in the yield on earning assets and an 8 basis points decline in funding costs.

Net interest margin information is presented in the following table for the periods indicated.

Provision for Loan Losses

A provision for loan losses was recorded for the current quarter in the amount of $1.1 million, as a result of growth in the loan portfolio from December 31, 2015 to March 31, 2016. Net loan recoveries were $19,000 for the quarter.

Noninterest income

Noninterest income for the first quarter of 2016 was $4.9 million, an increase of $645,000 or 15.3% from the fourth quarter of 2015. The increase from the fourth quarter of 2015 was primarily related to a $759,000 increase in other income and a $757,000 increase in net gain from the sales of investment securities, partially offset by a $799,000 decrease in net gain from the sale of loans. During the current quarter, $21 million in SBA loans were sold compared to $33 million in the prior quarter.

Compared to the first quarter of 2015, noninterest income for the first quarter of 2016 increased $3.4 million or 231.0%. The increase was primarily related to an increase in gain on the sale of loans of $1.9 million, as there were no loan sales in the first quarter of 2015. In addition, other income increased by $814,000 and there was an increase net gain from the sales of investment securities of $637,000.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense totaled $23.6 million for the first quarter of 2016, an increase of $5.1 million or 27.6%, compared with the fourth quarter of 2015. The increase includes higher non-recurring merger related expenses of $2.7 million and a $2.1 million increase in compensation and benefits expenses related to the acquisition of Security.

In comparison to the first quarter of 2015, noninterest expense grew by $3.2 million or 15.5%. The increase in expense was primarily related to the additional costs from the personnel and branches retained from the acquisition of Security, combined with our continued investment in personnel to support our organic growth in loans and deposits.

Income Tax

For the first quarter of 2016, our effective tax rate was 40.2%, compared with 37.1% for both the fourth quarter of 2015 and first quarter of 2015. The increase in the effective tax rate was primarily the result of the non-deductible merger related expenses incurred in the first quarter of 2016.

BALANCE SHEET HIGHLIGHTS

Loans

Loans held for investment totaled $2.85 billion at March 31, 2016, an increase of $597 million or 26.5% from December 31, 2015, and an increase of $720 million or 33.8% from March 31, 2015. The increase from December 31, 2015, was impacted by the acquisition of Security, which added $456 million in loans after fair market value discounts. The Company exited warehouse mortgage lending during the first quarter of 2016, which resulted in a decrease in loans of $142 million, which was offset by the purchase of $185 million in multi-family loans later in the quarter. The remaining growth was primarily due to growth in franchise loans, construction lending, Small Business Administration ("SBA") loans, and commercial and industrial loans. The $720 million increase in loans from March 31, 2015, included the $456 million in loans acquired from Security and $333 million in loans acquired from Independence Bank after fair market value discounts. The total end of period weighted average interest rate on loans, excluding fees and discounts, at March 31, 2016 was 4.88%, compared to 4.91% at December 31, 2015 and 4.90% at March 31, 2015.

Loan activity during the first quarter of 2016 included organic loan originations of $251 million, including franchise loan originations of $52 million, construction loan originations of $67 million, SBA loan originations of $23 million, commercial real estate loans of $63 million and commercial and industrial loan originations of $39 million. At March 31, 2016 our loan to deposit ratio was 98.4%, compared with 103.1% and 104.3% at December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2015, respectively.

Asset Quality and Allowance for Loan Losses

Nonperforming assets totaled $6.0 million or 0.2% of total assets at March 31, 2016, an increase from $5.1 million at December 31, 2015. During the first quarter of 2016, nonperforming loans increased $854,000 to total $4.8 million and other real estate owned remained unchanged at $1.2 million.

At March 31, 2016, the allowance for loan losses was $18.5 million, an increase of $1.1 million from December 31, 2015. At March 31, 2016, our allowance for loan losses as a percent of nonaccrual loans was 382.65%, a decrease from 436.31% at December 31, 2015. The increase in the allowance for loan losses at March 31, 2016 was mainly attributable to the growth in certain segments of the loan portfolio. At March 31, 2016, the ratio of allowance for loan losses to total gross loans was 0.65%, a decrease from 0.77% at December 31, 2015 and 0.64% at March 31, 2015. Including the loan fair market value discounts recorded in connection with our acquisitions, the allowance for loan losses to total gross loans ratio was 0.97% at March 31, 2016, compared with 0.88% at December 31, 2015 and 0.90% at March 31, 2015.

Investment Securities Available for Sale

Investment securities available for sale totaled $270 million at March 31, 2016, a decrease of $10.6 million from December 31, 2015, and a decrease of $10.8 million from March 31, 2015. The decrease in the first quarter was primarily the result of calls and principal paydowns of $10 million. The investment portfolio acquired from Security was liquidated shortly after the merger, resulting in a gain-on-sale of $753,000.

Deposits

At March 31, 2016, deposits totaled $2.91 billion, an increase of $711 million or 32.4% from December 31, 2015 and $863 million or 42.2% from March 31, 2015. At March 31, 2016, non-maturity deposits totaled $2.32 billion, an increase of $647 million or 38.67% from December 31, 2015 and $761 million or 48.81% from March 31, 2015. During the first quarter of 2016, deposit increases included $353 million of noninterest bearing deposits, $269 million in money market/savings deposits, and $89.7 million in retail certificate deposits, offset by a decrease of $25.9 million in wholesale/brokered certificates of deposit. The increase in deposits since the end of the first quarter of 2015 was due to organic growth and the acquisition of Security, which added $637 million in deposits.

The weighted average cost of deposits for the three month period ending March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 was 0.31% compared to 0.34% for the three month period ending March 31, 2015.

Borrowings

At March 31, 2016, total borrowings amounted to $195 million, a decrease of $71.2 million or 26.7% from December 31, 2015 and a decrease of $218 million from March 31, 2015. At March 31, 2016, total borrowings represented 5.48% of total assets, compared to 9.55% and 15.03%, as of December 31, 2015 and March 31, 2015, respectively.

Capital Ratios

At March 31, 2016, our ratio of tangible common equity to total assets was 9.15%, with a tangible book value of $11.46 per share and a book value per share of $15.58.

At March 31, 2016, the Bank exceeded all regulatory capital requirements with a ratio for tier 1 leverage capital of 11.79%, common equity tier 1 risk-based capital of 12.19%, tier 1 risk-based capital of 12.19% and total risk-based capital of 12.81%. These capital ratios exceeded the “well capitalized” standards defined by the federal banking regulators of 5.00% for tier 1 leverage capital, 6.5% for common equity tier 1 risk-based capital, 8.00% for tier 1 risk-based capital and 10.00% for total risk-based capital. At March 31, 2016, the Company had a ratio for tier 1 leverage capital of 10.41%, common equity tier 1 risk-based capital of 10.43%, tier 1 risk-based capital of 10.75% and total risk-based capital of 13.32%.

Conference Call and Webcast

The Company will host a conference call at 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET on April 20, 2016 to discuss its financial results. Analysts and investors may participate in the question-and-answer session. A live webcast will be available on the Webcasts page of the Company's investor relations website. An archived version of the webcast will be available in the same location shortly after the live call has ended. The conference call can be accessed by telephone at 866-290-5977 and asking to be joined to the Pacific Premier Bancorp conference call. Additionally a telephone replay will be made available through April 27, 2016 at 877-344-7529, conference ID 10084090.

Annual Meeting

The Company will hold its next Annual Meeting of Shareholders at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at its corporate headquarters located at 17901 Von Karman Ave., Suite 1200, Irvine, CA 92614. The Board of Directors has set the Record Date at April 4, 2016.

About Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc.

Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Pacific Premier Bank, one of the largest community banks headquartered in Southern California. Pacific Premier Bank is a business bank primarily focused on serving small and middle market business in the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego, California. Pacific Premier Bank offers a diverse range of lending products including commercial, commercial real estate, construction, and SBA loans, as well as specialty banking products for homeowners associations and franchise lending nationwide. Pacific Premier Bank serves its customers through its 19 full-service depository branches in Southern California located in the cities of Corona, Encinitas, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Los Alamitos, Murrieta, Newport Beach, Orange, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Redlands, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Seal Beach.

FORWARD-LOOKING COMMENTS

The statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company. Such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and are generally beyond the control of the Company. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be the same as those anticipated by management. The Company cautions readers that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations; the effects of, and changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; the timely development of competitive new products and services and the acceptance of these products and services by new and existing customers; the willingness of users to substitute competitors’ products and services for the Company’s products and services; the impact of changes in financial services policies, laws and regulations (including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) and of governmental efforts to restructure the U.S. financial regulatory system; technological changes; the effect of acquisitions that the Company may make, if any, including, without limitation, the failure to achieve the expected revenue growth and/or expense savings from its acquisitions; changes in the level of the Company’s nonperforming assets and charge-offs; any oversupply of inventory and deterioration in values of California real estate, both residential and commercial; the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted from time-to-time by bank regulatory agencies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board or other accounting standards setters; possible other-than-temporary impairment of securities held by us; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; the effects of the Company’s lack of a diversified loan portfolio, including the risks of geographic and industry concentrations; ability to attract deposits and other sources of liquidity; changes in the financial performance and/or condition of our borrowers; changes in the competitive environment among financial and bank holding companies and other financial service providers; unanticipated regulatory or judicial proceedings; and the Company’s ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing. Additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements are discussed in the 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K of Pacific Premier Bancorp, Inc. filed with the SEC and available at the SEC’s Internet site (http://www.sec.gov).

The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update any factors or to publicly announce the result of revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments.

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

GAAP RECONCILIATIONS