Southside Bancshares, Inc. Announces Financial Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2016

TYLER, Texas, April 29, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southside Bancshares, Inc. (“Southside” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:SBSI) today reported its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2016.

Southside reported net income of $13.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016, an increase of $4.1 million, or 44.1%, compared to $9.4 million for the same period in 2015.  Diluted earnings per common share were $0.54 for the three months ended March 31, 2016, an increase of $0.17, or 45.9% compared to $0.37 for the three months ended March 31, 2015.

The return on average shareholders’ equity for the three months ended March 31, 2016 was 11.96%, compared to 8.79% for the same period in 2015.  The return on average assets was 1.07% for the three months ended March 31, 2016, compared to 0.79% for the same period in 2015.

“We believe the outstanding financial results for the first quarter provide an excellent start for 2016,” stated Sam Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Southside Bancshares, Inc. “Prior year loan growth in the fourth quarter and a $1.3 million recovery of interest income on the payoff of a long-time nonaccrual loan during the first quarter of 2016, helped fuel a 7.6% increase in net interest income on a linked quarter basis.  While the loan growth this quarter of $11.5 million was not as substantial as we would have liked due to payoffs in our portfolio, the level of our loan approvals and our overall pipeline remain strong and we continue to believe we will enjoy healthy loan growth in 2016.”

“On January 28, 2016, the Board of Directors approved a Stock Repurchase Plan.  The Board authorized the repurchase, from time to time, of up to five percent of the issued and outstanding common stock, or approximately 1.27 million shares, in open market purchases and privately negotiated transactions at prevailing market prices.  During the first quarter we purchased approximately 443,000 shares of our common stock at an average price of $23.00.”

“In late December, we offered early retirement packages to 24 of our employees with an acceptance deadline of January 29, 2016.  A total of 16 employees accepted the early retirement package and we recorded a one-time expense of approximately $2.1 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2016.  During the first quarter we also incurred a negotiated termination fee of $325,000 on a leased facility we no longer needed.”

“We continue to focus on operational efficiencies, cost containment, and revenue generating opportunities.  We are utilizing a consultant for assistance with this effort and incurred professional fees of approximately $450,000 during the quarter in connection with such assistance.  The anticipated results are operational efficiencies through changes in our back office processes, revised branch models commensurate with today's customer delivery preferences and enhanced noninterest income programs, most of which should be implemented throughout the remainder of 2016.”

Loans and Deposits

For the three months ended March 31, 2016, total loans increased by $11.5 million, or 0.5%, when compared to December 31, 2015.  During the three months ended March 31, 2016, construction loans increased $26.5 million, commercial real estate loans increased $22.8 million, municipal loans decreased $1.9 million, commercial loans decreased $8.7 million, 1-4 family real estate loans decreased $10.6 million and loans to individuals decreased $16.6 million, primarily as a result of the decrease in the indirect automobile loan portfolio.  Loans with oil and gas industry exposure totaled 1.23% of the loan portfolio at March 31, 2016.

Nonperforming assets increased during the first three months of 2016 by $1.6 million, or 4.8%, to $34.0 million, or 0.68% of total assets, when compared to 0.63% at December 31, 2015.

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, the allowance for loan losses increased $2.1 million, or 10.5%, to $21.8 million, or 0.9% of total loans, when compared to 0.8% at December 31, 2015, as a result of the additional provision associated with one large impaired commercial borrowing relationship.

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, deposits, net of brokered deposits, increased $160.1 million, or 4.8%, compared to December 31, 2015.  During this three-month period, public fund deposits increased $105.1 million.

Net Interest Income for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2016

Net interest income increased $2.8 million, or 8.4%, to $36.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2016, when compared to $33.8 million for the same period in 2015.  The increase in net interest income was primarily the result of the increase in interest income of $4.4 million which was primarily a result of the increase in the loan portfolio, compared to the same period in 2015, and a $1.3 million recovery of interest income on the payoff of a long-time nonaccrual loan during the first quarter.  For the three months ended March 31, 2016, our net interest spread decreased slightly to 3.40%, compared to 3.42% for the same period in 2015, due to increases in interest expense on deposits and short-term and long-term interest bearing liabilities, as a result of the increase in the rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities, which more than offset the increase in the yield on interest-earning assets. Our net interest margin increased slightly to 3.51% for the three months ended March 31, 2016, compared to 3.50% for the same period in 2015.  The net interest spread and margin on a linked quarter basis increased from 3.26% and 3.35%, respectively.

Net Income for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2016

Net income increased $4.1 million, or 44.1%, for the three months ended March 31, 2016, to $13.5 million when compared to the same period in 2015.  The increase was primarily the result of an increase in interest income of $4.4 million combined with a decrease in provision for loan losses of $1.5 million and an increase to noninterest income of $0.8 million which were partially offset by a $1.6 million increase to interest expense and a $1.1 million increase in income tax expense.

Conference Call

Southside's management team will host a conference call to discuss its first quarter 2016 results on Friday, April 29, 2016 at 9:00 am CDT.  The call can be accessed by dialing 877-340-9220 and by identifying the conference ID number 79789660 or by identifying “Southside Bancshares, Inc., First Quarter 2016 Earnings Call.”  To listen to the call via web-cast, register at www.southside.com/about/investor-relations.

For those unable to listen to the conference call live, a recording of the conference call will be available from approximately 3:00 pm CDT, April 29, 2016 through May 11, 2016 by accessing the company website, www.southside.com/about/investor-relations.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Our accounting and reporting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in the United States and prevailing practices in the banking industry.  However, certain non-GAAP measures are used by management to supplement the evaluation of our performance.  These include the following fully-taxable equivalent measures: tax-equivalent net interest income, tax-equivalent net interest margin, tax-equivalent net interest spread, and tax-equivalent efficiency ratio, which include the effects of taxable-equivalent adjustments using a federal income tax rate of 35% to increase tax-exempt interest income to a tax-equivalent basis.  Tax-equivalent adjustments are reported in Notes 2 and 3 to the Average Balances with Average Yields and Rates tables under Results of Operations below.

Tax-equivalent net interest income, net interest margin and net interest spread.  Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis is a non-GAAP measure that adjusts for the tax-favored status of net interest income from loans and investments.  We believe this measure to be the preferred industry measurement of net interest income and it enhances comparability of net interest income arising from taxable and tax-exempt sources.  The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is our net interest income.  Net interest margin on a tax-equivalent basis is net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis divided by average interest-earning assets on a tax-equivalent basis.  The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is our net interest margin.  Net interest spread on a tax-equivalent basis is the difference in the average yield on average interest-earning assets on a tax equivalent basis and the average rate paid on average interest-bearing liabilities.  The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is our net interest spread.

Tax-equivalent efficiency ratio.  The efficiency ratio on a tax-equivalent basis is a non-GAAP measure that provides a measure of productivity in the banking industry.  This ratio is calculated to measure the cost of generating one dollar of revenue.  The ratio is designed to reflect the percentage of one dollar which must be expended to generate that dollar of revenue.  We calculate this ratio by dividing noninterest expense, excluding amortization of intangibles and certain non-recurring expense by the sum of net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis and noninterest income, excluding gains (losses) on sales of investment securities and certain non-recurring impairments.

These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered alternatives to GAAP-basis financial statements, and other bank holding companies may define or calculate these non-GAAP measures or similar measures differently.

About Southside Bancshares, Inc.

Southside Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company with approximately $5.0 billion in assets that owns 100% of Southside Bank.  Southside Bank currently has 60 banking centers in Texas and operates a network of over 70 ATMs.

To learn more about Southside Bancshares, Inc., please visit our investor relations website at www.southside.com/about/investor-relations.  Our investor relations site provides a detailed overview of our activities, financial information and historical stock price data.  To receive e-mail notification of company news, events and stock activity, please register on the E-mail Notification portion of the website.  Questions or comments may be directed to Deborah Wilkinson at (817) 367-4962, or deborah.wilkinson@southside.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements of other than historical fact that are contained in this document and in other written material, press releases and oral statements issued by or on behalf of the Company may be considered to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of and subject to the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, nor should they be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date.  These statements may include words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “anticipate,” “appear,” “believe,” “could,” “should,” “may,” “likely,” “intend,” “probability,” “risk,” “target,” “objective,” “plans,” “potential,” and similar expressions.  Forward-looking statements are statements with respect to the Company’s beliefs, plans, expectations, objectives, goals, anticipations, assumptions and estimates about the Company's future performance and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.  For example, discussions about trends in asset quality, capital, liquidity, the pace of loan and revenue growth, expense reductions, the benefits of the Share Repurchase Plan, planned operational efficiencies, earnings and certain market risk disclosures, including the impact of interest rates and other economic factors, are based upon information presently available to management and are dependent on choices about key model characteristics and assumptions and are subject to various limitations.  By their nature, certain of the market risk disclosures are only estimates and could be materially different from what actually occurs in the future.

Additional information concerning the Company and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect the Company’s financial results, is included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 under “Forward-Looking Information” and Item 1A.  “Risk Factors,” and in the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company disclaims any obligation to update any factors or to announce publicly the result of revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments.

Loan Portfolio Composition

The following table sets forth loan totals by category for the periods presented:

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The analysis below shows average interest earning assets and interest bearing liabilities together with the average yield on the interest earning assets and the average rate of the interest bearing liabilities.

Note: As of March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, loans on nonaccrual status totaled $21,927 and $20,526, respectively.  Our policy is to reverse previously accrued but unpaid interest on nonaccrual loans; thereafter, interest income is recorded to the extent received when appropriate.

Note: As of September 30, 2015 and June 30, 2015, loans on nonaccrual status totaled $20,988 and $21,223, respectively.  Our policy is to reverse previously accrued but unpaid interest on nonaccrual loans; thereafter, interest income is recorded to the extent received when appropriate.

Note: As of March 31, 2015, loans on nonaccrual status totaled $20,321.  Our policy is to reverse previously accrued but unpaid interest on nonaccrual loans; thereafter, interest income is recorded to the extent received when appropriate.