Allegiance Bank of North America Reports Record Operating Results for Year Ended and Quarter Ended December 31, 2004
March 18 2005 - 4:29PM
PR Newswire (US)
Allegiance Bank of North America Reports Record Operating Results
for Year Ended and Quarter Ended December 31, 2004 Earnings per
Share Triple in Fourth Quarter BALA CYNWYD, Pa., March 18
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Allegiance Bank of North America
(OTC:ABPA) (BULLETIN BOARD: ABPA) , reported today its second
consecutive profitable year of operations with record operating
results for the year and quarter ended December 31, 2004. C. Andrew
Cook, President and Chief Executive Officer noted the achievements
of the organization in 2004 and 2005 to date: * The fourth quarter
of 2004 marked the Bank's tenth consecutive quarter of profitable
operations. Earnings for the fourth quarter of 2004 increased to
$150 thousand from $51 thousand, an increase of 194.1%. Earnings
per share tripled to $0.06 in the fourth quarter of 2004 from $0.02
in the fourth quarter of 2003. -- Net income for the year ended
December 31, 2004 grew 56% over net income for the prior year
period. Net income in 2004 increased to $475 thousand or $0.20 per
share from $304 thousand or $0.16 per share in 2003. * Increased
already strong net interest margin. For the year ended December 31,
2004, the Bank's net interest margin grew 30bps from 4.61% for the
prior year period to 4.91% for 2004; * Increased total assets by
24.4% (excluding the impact of a one-time short-term escrow deposit
event further described below) to $87.6 million at December 31,
2004; * Increased total loans by $15.9 million or 24.4% to $81.2
million at December 31, 2004 from $65.7 million at December 31,
2003; * Superior asset quality; at December 31, 2004, the Bank's
non-performing loans as a percentage of total loans was 0.20%; *
Launched subsidiary, Paramount Mortgage and Capital, LLC, in July
2004, offering specialized commercial mortgage lending services. *
Received regulatory approval to open a new branch, the Bank's
second, located in the Olde City section of Philadelphia. The
branch is scheduled to open for business in late March. * On
January 13, 2005, we raised $12.7 million of additional capital
(net of offering expenses) in common stock offering underwritten by
Ryan Beck & Co. to provide the capital necessary for the
continued growth of the Bank. The Bank's shares were listed for
quotation on the OTC Bulletin Board; Net income for the fourth
quarter 2004 was $150 thousand or $0.06 per share compared to $51
thousand or $0.02 per share for the fourth quarter of 2003. For the
year ended December 31, 2004, the Bank earned $474 thousand or
$0.20 per share compared to $304 thousand or $0.16 per share during
the prior year. The increase in earnings is primarily the result of
an $884 thousand or 31% increase in net interest income to $3.7
million in 2004 from $2.9 million in 2003 and a $98 thousand or
114.0% increase in non-interest income to $184 thousand in 2004
from $86 thousand in 2003 partially offset by an 83.7% or $241
thousand increase in the provision for loan losses to $529 thousand
in 2004 from $288 thousand in 2003. The increase in net interest
income was primarily due to $1.1 million increase in interest
income driven by a 23.6% increase in the Bank's loan portfolio. The
increase in the loan loss provision was related to one
non-performing credit totaling $622,000. The Bank has received
partial payment of approximately $107 thousand, charged off $350
thousand and has $165 thousand remaining on non-accrual status, its
only non- performing asset. Net interest income for the fourth
quarter of 2004 increased by 24.2% to $989 thousand from $796
thousand for the fourth quarter of 2003 reflecting continued growth
in assets, primarily loans. For the full year 2004, the net
interest margin was 4.91% versus 4.61% for 2003. To further support
franchise growth, the Bank is scheduled to open its second office
in March 2005 which should stimulate further deposit growth and
improve its deposit mix by emphasizing lower cost core deposit
generation. Non-interest income grew by 243.3% in the fourth
quarter of 2004 to $103 thousand compared to $30 thousand for the
same period in 2003. The increase in non-interest income was
primarily due to mortgage banking activities, which generated $67
thousand of additional income in 2004. Immediately prior to
December 31, 2003, a Bank customer deposited $12.3 million in
proceeds from a legal settlement into an escrow account (the
"Escrow Deposit Event"). This deposit was expected to be short-term
in nature therefore the Bank invested the majority of the funds
into short-term securities maturing early in 2004. The escrow
deposit was substantially withdrawn during the first quarter of
2004. This non-recurring deposit temporarily inflated the Bank's
balance sheet, which negatively impacts reported growth rates in
assets and deposits over December 31, 2003. As reported, assets
increased 5.9% to $87.6 million at December 31, 2004 from $82.7
million at December 31, 2003. Excluding the impact Escrow Deposit
Event, assets increased 24.4% fueled by a 24.4% or $15.9 million
increase in loans to $81.2 million from $65.7 million one year
earlier. Investment securities totaled $2.6 million at December 31,
2004, a decrease of $11.4 million due in large part to the maturity
of the short-term securities related to the Escrow Deposit Event.
Deposits decreased 5.6% to $68.5 million at December 31, 2004 from
$72.6 million at December 31, 2003. Excluding the impact of the
Escrow Deposit Event, deposits increased $8.3 million or 13.7%.
Short-term borrowings increased from zero to $8.3 million over the
same period. At year-end, the Bank's allowance for loan losses
equaled $931 thousand or 1.15% of total loans and 568% of
non-performing loans. At year-end, non- performing loans totaled
$165 thousand or 0.20% of total loans and 0.19% of total assets.
Stockholders' equity increased by $445 thousand to $9.2 million at
December 31, 2004 versus $8.8 million at December 31, 2003.
Stockholders' equity equaled 10.5% of total assets at year end. In
January 2005 the Bank issued 2,415,000 million shares of its common
stock in a public offering underwritten by Ryan Beck & Co. and
received net proceeds of $12.7 million Regulatory capital ratios
are all well in excess of the "well-capitalized" threshold.
Allegiance Bank of North America is a Pennsylvania state-chartered
full- service commercial bank formed in 1999, headquartered in Bala
Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. The Bank offers a sophisticated package of
services beyond traditional bank services, such as escrow account
management, specialty real estate lending programs, internet
banking and non-bank services including title insurance, real
estate settlement services, financial planning, life and health
insurance and retirement programs through its three subsidiaries,
Allegiance Financial Services, Inc., AllSearch Abstract, LLC, and
Paramount Mortgage and Capital, LLC. The common stock of the
Company is traded on OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol ABPA.
Statements contained in this news release, which are not historical
facts, are forward looking statements, as that term is defined in
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Amounts
herein could vary as a result of market and other factors. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual results to differ materially from those
currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which include,
but are not limited to, factors discussed in documents filed by the
Company with the Securities and Commission from time to time. Such
forward- looking statements may be identified by the use of such
words as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "should," "planned,"
"estimated," and "potential." Examples of forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, estimates with respect
to the financial condition, expected or anticipated revenue,
results of operations and business of the Company that are subject
to various factors which could cause actual results to differ
materially from these estimates. These factors include, but are not
limited to, general economic conditions, changes in interest rates,
deposit flows, loan demand, real estate values, and competition;
changes in accounting principals, policies, or guidelines; changes
in legislation or regulation; and other economic, competitive,
governmental, regulatory, and technological factors affecting the
Company's operations, pricing, products and services. DATASOURCE:
Allegiance Bank of North America CONTACT: C. Andrew Cook, President
and Chief Executive Officer of Allegiance Bank of North America,
+1-610-949-0760
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