RED BANK, N.J., Jan. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OceanFirst Financial Corp. (NASDAQ:“OCFC”) (the “Company”), the holding company for OceanFirst Bank N.A. (the “Bank”), announced net income available to common stockholders of $52.3 million, or $0.89 per diluted share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, as compared to $37.6 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, for the prior linked quarter, and $21.7 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, for the corresponding prior year period. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company reported net income available to common stockholders of $142.6 million, or $2.42 per diluted share, as compared to $106.1 million, or $1.78 per diluted share, for the prior year. Selected performance metrics are as follows (refer to “Selected Quarterly Financial Data” for additional information):

^{(a) Return on average tangible stockholders’ equity and return on average tangible common equity (“ROTCE”), which are non-GAAP (“generally accepted accounting principles”) financial measures, exclude the impact of intangible assets and goodwill from both assets and stockholders’ equity. ROTCE also excludes preferred stock from stockholders’ equity. Refer to “Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and the “Non-GAAP Reconciliation” tables for additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures.}

Core earnings¹ for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 amounted to $39.5 million and $138.0 million, respectively, or $0.67 and $2.34 per diluted share, an increase from core earnings of $28.5 million and $111.2 million, or $0.48 and $1.86 per diluted share, for the corresponding prior year periods. Non-core operations, net of tax, had a favorable impact of $12.7 million and $4.6 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively. Non-core operations, net of tax, had an adverse impact of $6.8 million and $5.1 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021, respectively.

Core earnings for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 increased $4.5 million from $35.0 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, for the prior linked quarter. Non-core operations, net of tax, had a favorable impact of $2.6 million for the prior linked quarter.

Core earnings PTPP for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 were $56.5 million and $190.7 million, respectively, or $0.96 and $3.24 per diluted share, as compared to $33.1 million and $133.1 million, or $0.56 and $2.23 per diluted share for the corresponding prior year periods. Selected performance metrics are as follows:

Key developments for the recent quarter are described below:

• Net Interest Income and Margin Expansion: Net interest income increased by $10.5 million to $106.5 million, from $96.0 million in the prior linked quarter. Net interest margin increased to 3.64%, from 3.36% in the prior linked quarter, largely driven by the impact of the rising rate environment on interest earning assets and loan growth, partly offset by an increased cost of funds.
• Loan Growth: Loan growth for the quarter was $199.3 million, reflecting loan originations of $684.1 million, while loan growth for the year was $1.30 billion, reflecting record loan originations of $3.09 billion for the year ended December 31, 2022.
• Stockholders’ Equity per Common Share Growth: Stockholders’ equity per common share increased to $26.81, from $26.04 in the prior linked quarter. Tangible common equity per common share increased to $17.08, from $16.30 in the prior linked quarter, reflecting capital accretion from earnings growth and stable other comprehensive income.

_{¹ Core earnings and core earnings before income taxes and credit loss provision (“PTPP or Pre-Tax-Pre-Provision”), and ratios derived therefrom, are non-GAAP financial measures. For the periods presented, core earnings exclude merger related expenses, net branch consolidation (benefit) expense, net loss (gain) on equity investments, and the income tax effect of these items, (collectively referred to as “non-core” operations). PTPP excludes the aforementioned pre-tax “non-core” items along with income tax expense (benefit) and credit loss provision (benefit). Refer to “Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and the “Non-GAAP Reconciliation” tables for additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures.}

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher D. Maher, commented on the Company’s results, “We are pleased to report exceptional financial performance for the fourth quarter and for the year driven by record net income and net interest income, net interest margin expansion, and continued loan growth. Throughout the challenging economic environment in 2022, OceanFirst has produced some of the strongest results in the history of our Company.” Mr. Maher added, “I am very proud of the entire team who worked tirelessly to serve our customers, to drive these results, and position OceanFirst to continue to deliver for our stockholders in 2023.”

As previously announced, in November 2022, the Company made an additional minority, non-controlling equity investment in Auxilior Capital Partners, Inc. (“Auxilior”), of $2.8 million as part of a new round of financing by the Company and other investors, in addition to the original $10.0 million investment the Company made in 2021. The new round of financing resulted in an unrealized gain of $17.5 million on the prior investments, which is included in other income for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022.

The Company’s Board of Directors declared its 104th consecutive quarterly cash dividend on common stock. The quarterly cash dividend on common stock of $0.20 per share will be paid on February 17, 2023 to common stockholders of record on February 6, 2023. The Board declared a quarterly cash dividend on preferred stock of $0.4375 per depositary share, representing 1/40th interest in the Series A Preferred Stock. This dividend will be paid on February 15, 2023 to preferred stockholders of record on January 31, 2023.

Results of Operations
On April 1, 2022, the Company completed its acquisition of a majority interest in Trident Abstract Title Agency, LLC (“Trident”) and its results of operations are included in the consolidated results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, but do not impact the results of operations for the period from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Refer to “Supplemental Information on Trident” for the impact of Trident on the Company’s consolidated results.

Net Interest Income and Margin
Net interest income for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 increased to $106.5 million and $377.5 million, respectively, as compared to $80.6 million and $305.3 million for the corresponding prior year periods, reflecting an increase in average interest-earning assets and net interest margin.

Net interest margin for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 increased to 3.64% and 3.37%, respectively, from 2.99% and 2.93% for the same prior year periods. Excluding the impact of purchase accounting accretion and prepayment fees of 0.10% and 0.18% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, net interest margin increased to 3.54% from 2.81%. Excluding the impact of purchase accounting accretion and prepayment fees of 0.11% and 0.17% for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, net interest margin increased to 3.26% from 2.76%. Net interest margin for both the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 were enhanced by the impact of the rising rate environment on interest earning assets and the redeployment of excess cash into loans, partly offset by an increased cost of funds and the growth of interest-bearing liabilities.

Average interest-earning assets increased by $899.7 million and $779.9 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to the corresponding prior year periods, primarily due to loan growth and, to a lesser extent securities growth, funded by the redeployment of excess cash and increased Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") advances. Average loans receivable, net of allowance for loan credit losses, increased by $1.47 billion and $1.40 billion, primarily in commercial loans, for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to the same prior year periods.

For the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities increased to 1.09% and 0.65%, respectively, from 0.40% and 0.49% for the corresponding prior year periods, as a result of higher costs associated with FHLB advances and interest-bearing deposits, including time deposits issued in an elevated rate environment in 2022. The total cost of deposits (including non-interest bearing deposits) was 0.53% and 0.31% for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to 0.20% and 0.26% for the same prior year periods. While costs of deposits have increased, deposit betas remain under 10% and are a fraction of the Company’s historical experience in the last rising interest rate cycle.

Net interest income for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 increased by $10.5 million, as compared to the prior linked quarter, reflecting an increase in net interest margin to 3.64%, as compared to 3.36% for the prior linked quarter. Excluding the impact of purchase accounting accretion and prepayment fees of 0.10% and 0.08% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, respectively, net interest margin increased to 3.54% from 3.28%. The expansion in net interest margin was primarily attributable to the impact of the rising rate environment on interest earning assets, loan growth and, to a lesser extent, loan payoffs impacting interest income. This was partly offset by an increased cost of funds and the expansion in FHLB advances to fund loan growth. Average interest-earning assets increased by $279.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the prior linked quarter, primarily due to loan growth. The yield on average interest-earning assets increased to 4.46% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, from 3.88% in the prior linked quarter, primarily due to the impact of the rising rate environment on interest earning assets. The total cost of average interest-bearing liabilities increased to 1.09% for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, as compared to 0.69% in the prior linked quarter, primarily due to higher costs associated with interest-bearing deposits and higher costs and balances of FHLB advances.

Credit Loss Expense (Benefit)
Credit loss expense for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, was $3.6 million and $7.8 million, respectively, as compared to credit loss benefit of $1.6 million and $11.8 million for the corresponding prior year periods, and a credit loss expense of $1.0 million in the prior linked quarter. The credit loss expense for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 was primarily influenced by loan growth, slowing prepayment assumptions, and increasingly uncertain macro-economic forecasts due to persistent inflation, interest rate increases, and global economic headwinds, partly offset by positive trends in the Company’s criticized and classified assets. The Company’s credit loss expense for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 increased from the prior linked quarter due to the heightened levels of uncertainty in macro-environment projections, despite the strength in the Company’s borrower performance and overall asset quality.

Net loan recoveries were $5,000 and $340,000 for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively. Net loan recoveries were $19,000 and $461,000 for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021, respectively. Net loan recoveries were $252,000 in the prior linked quarter. Refer to “Asset Quality” section for further discussion.

Non-interest Income
For the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, other income increased to $27.6 million and $59.1 million, respectively, as compared to $9.4 million and $51.9 million for the corresponding prior year periods.

Other income for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 was impacted by non-core operations of $17.2 million and $9.7 million, respectively, related to net gains on equity investments, which included a $17.5 million unrealized gain on the Auxilior investment. The year ended December 31, 2022 included $8.9 million of net unrealized losses, mostly on preferred stock equity investments, primarily due to the impact of the rising interest rate environment. The preferred stock equity investments carried a weighted average yield of 5.1% and an amortized cost of $73.0 million at December 31, 2022. Other income for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021 included net losses on equity investments of $1.3 million and net gains on equity investments of $7.1 million, respectively, which are considered non-core operations.

Excluding non-core operations noted above, other income decreased $298,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the corresponding prior year period. This decrease was primarily due to decreases in bankcard services of $1.9 million, primarily as a result of the Durbin amendment, which became effective for the Company on July 1, 2022, and commercial loan swap income of $804,000. These decreases were partly offset by the acquisition of a majority interest in Trident, which added $2.6 million primarily due to title-related fees and service charges.

Excluding non-core operations noted above, other income increased by $4.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the prior year. The increase was primarily due to the impact of Trident, which added $10.4 million, mostly due to title-related fees and services charges, and an increase in commercial loan swap income of $3.0 million. These increases were partly offset by decreases in bankcard services of $4.1 million, primarily as a result of the Durbin amendment, net gain on sale of loans of $2.8 million, fees and service charges (excluding Trident) of $814,000, and Paycheck Protection Program loan origination referral fees of $800,000 recognized in the prior year.

Excluding non-core operations of $3.4 million related to net gain on equity investments in the prior linked quarter, other income for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 decreased by $1.4 million, primarily due to a decrease in commercial loan swap income of $952,000.

Non-interest Expense
Operating expenses decreased to $59.7 million and increased to $234.9 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to $64.8 million and $226.9 million, for the same prior year periods. Operating expenses for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022 were adversely impacted by $387,000 and $3.4 million of non-core operations, respectively. Operating expenses for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021 were adversely impacted by non-core operations of $7.7 million and $13.8 million, respectively.

Excluding non-core operations, operating expenses increased by $2.2 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the corresponding prior year period. This increase was partly due to the acquisition of a majority interest in Trident, which added $2.5 million of expenses for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. Other increases, excluding Trident, included professional fees of $2.0 million and compensation and benefits of $1.3 million, partly offset by a decrease in data processing expense of $3.2 million.

Excluding non-core operations, operating expenses increased by $18.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, as compared to the prior year. This increase was partly due to the impact of Trident, which added $8.5 million of expenses. Other increases, excluding Trident, included compensation and benefits expense of $6.6 million, primarily related to higher compensation and incentive costs, professional fees of $1.9 million, data processing expense of $1.5 million, and federal deposit insurance and regulatory assessments of $1.2 million, partly offset by a decrease in amortization of core deposit intangible of $734,000.

Excluding non-core operations of $48,000, which favorably impacted operating expenses in the prior linked quarter, operating expenses for the quarter ended December 31, 2022 increased by $296,000 primarily due to an increase in professional fees of $2.2 million, partly offset by a decrease in data processing expense of $1.9 million.

Income Tax Expense
The provision for income taxes was $17.4 million and $46.6 million for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to $4.1 million and $32.2 million, for the same prior year periods, and $12.3 million for the prior linked quarter. The effective tax rate was 24.6% and 24.0% for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2022, respectively, as compared to 15.3% and 22.6% for the same prior year periods, and 24.1% for the prior linked quarter. The lower effective tax rate for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, as compared to the current year periods and prior linked quarter, was primarily due to allocation of taxable income to jurisdictions other than New Jersey, which was tied to our commercial banking strategy, and other tax optimization efforts.

Financial Condition
Total assets increased by $1.36 billion to $13.10 billion at December 31, 2022, from $11.74 billion at December 31, 2021. Total loans increased by $1.30 billion to $9.92 billion at December 31, 2022, from $8.62 billion at December 31, 2021, due to strong loan originations and to a lesser extent, residential loan pool purchases. Total debt securities decreased by $28.7 million at December 31, 2022, as compared to December 31, 2021, primarily due to principal repayments and maturities, and to a lesser extent, an increase in unrealized losses driven by the rising rate environment. This was partly offset by purchases in the second half of the year, which included approximately $227 million of fixed rate bonds at amortized cost, with a weighted average life of 8.5 years and a weighted average yield of 5.1%, to provide stability to the Company’s net interest income position. Other assets increased by $74.1 million to $221.1 million at December 31, 2022 from $147.0 million at December 31, 2021, primarily due to an increase in market values associated with customer interest rate swap programs.

Total liabilities increased by $1.30 billion to $11.52 billion at December 31, 2022, from $10.22 billion at December 31, 2021. FHLB advances increased to $1.21 billion at December 31, 2022 from $0 at December 31, 2021 to fund liquidity needs, as deposits decreased by $57.6 million during this period from $9.73 billion to $9.68 billion. Total deposits, excluding time deposits, decreased by $824.6 million to $8.13 billion at December 31, 2022, from $8.96 billion at December 31, 2021, due to the net runoff of non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing checking balances. Time deposits increased to $1.54 billion, or 15.9% of total deposits, at December 31, 2022, from $775.0 million, or 8.0% of total deposits, at December 31, 2021, primarily due to an increase in brokered time deposits. The loans-to-deposit ratio at December 31, 2022 was 102.5%, as compared to 88.6% at December 31, 2021. Other borrowings also decreased by $33.7 million to $195.4 million at December 31, 2022, from $229.1 million at December 31, 2021, primarily due to the extinguishment of $35.0 million of subordinated debt in March 2022.

Other liabilities increased by $224.1 million to $346.2 million at December 31, 2022, from $122.0 million at December 31, 2021, primarily due to an increase in the market values associated with customer interest rate swap programs and related collateral received from counterparties.

Stockholders’ equity increased to $1.59 billion at December 31, 2022, as compared to $1.52 billion at December 31, 2021. Accumulated other comprehensive loss increased by $33.2 million to $36.0 million at December 31, 2022 from $2.8 million at December 31, 2021, primarily due to unrealized losses on debt securities available-for-sale, which were adversely impacted by the rising interest rate environment. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company repurchased 373,223 shares totaling $7.4 million under its stock repurchase program at a weighted average cost of $19.82. There were 2,934,438 shares available for repurchase at December 31, 2022 under the existing repurchase program. Stockholders’ equity per common share increased to $26.81 at December 31, 2022, as compared to $25.63 at December 31, 2021. Tangible common equity per common share² increased to $17.08 at December 31, 2022, as compared to $15.93 at December 31, 2021.

_{² Tangible common equity per common share, a non-GAAP financial measure, excludes the impact of intangible assets, goodwill, and preferred equity from stockholders’ equity. Refer to “Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and the “Non-GAAP Reconciliation” tables for additional information regarding non-GAAP financial measures.}

Asset Quality
The Company’s non-performing loans decreased to $23.3 million at December 31, 2022, as compared to $25.5 million at December 31, 2021. The Company’s non-performing loans, excluding $3.9 million and $6.5 million of non-performing purchased with credit deterioration (“PCD”) loans from prior bank acquisitions at December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, increased to $19.3 million at December 31, 2022, as compared to $18.9 million at December 31, 2021. The allowance for loan credit losses as a percentage of total non-performing loans was 244.25% at December 31, 2022, as compared to 191.61% at December 31, 2021. The allowance for loan credit losses as a percentage of total non-performing loans, excluding PCD loans, was 294.10% at December 31, 2022, as compared to 257.81% at December 31, 2021. The level of 30 to 89 days delinquent loans improved to $14.1 million at December 31, 2022, from $14.5 million at December 31, 2021. The level of 30 to 89 days delinquent loans, excluding non-performing and PCD loans, improved to $10.5 million at December 31, 2022, from $13.5 million at December 31, 2021.

The Company’s allowance for loan credit losses was 0.57% of total loans at both December 31, 2022 and 2021. The allowance for loan credit losses plus the unamortized credit and PCD marks amounted to $68.2 million, or 0.69% of total loans, at December 31, 2022, as compared to $67.8 million, or 0.79% of total loans at December 31, 2021.

Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Reported amounts are presented in accordance with GAAP. The Company’s management believes that the supplemental non-GAAP information, which consists of reported net income excluding non-core operations and in some instances excluding income taxes and credit loss provision, and reporting equity and asset amounts excluding intangible assets, goodwill or preferred stock, which can vary from period to period, provides a better comparison of period-to-period operating performance. In addition, a non-GAAP table has been presented excluding the results associated with the acquisition of a majority interest in Trident for better comparison period over period. Additionally, the Company believes this information is utilized by regulators and market analysts to evaluate a company’s financial condition and, therefore, such information is useful to investors. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for financial results in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures which may be presented by other companies. Refer to the Non-GAAP Reconciliation table at the end of this document for details on the earnings impact of these items.

Annual Meeting
The Company also announced today that its Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The record date for stockholders to vote at the Annual Meeting is Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Additional information regarding virtual access to the meeting will be distributed prior to the meeting.

Conference Call
As previously announced, the Company will host an earnings conference call on Friday, January 20, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The direct dial number for the call is 1-844-200-6205, toll free, using the access code 433036. For those unable to participate in the conference call, a replay will be available. To access the replay, dial 1-866-813-9403, access code 427414, from one hour after the end of the call until April 20, 2023. The conference call, as well as the replay, are also available (listen-only) by internet webcast at www.oceanfirst.com - in the Investor Relations section.

OceanFirst Financial Corp.’s subsidiary, OceanFirst Bank N.A., founded in 1902, is a $13.1 billion regional bank providing financial services throughout New Jersey and in the major metropolitan markets of Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, and Boston. OceanFirst Bank delivers commercial and residential financing, treasury management, trust and asset management, and deposit services and is one of the largest and oldest community-based financial institutions headquartered in New Jersey. To learn more about OceanFirst, go to www.oceanfirst.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

In addition to historical information, this news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies and expectations of the Company. These forward-looking statements are generally identified by use of the words “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “view,” “opportunity,” “potential,” or similar expressions or expressions of confidence. The Company’s ability to predict results or the actual effect of future plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Factors which could have a material adverse effect on the operations of the Company and its subsidiaries include, but are not limited to: implications arising from the termination of the proposed merger with Partners Bancorp, including reputational risks and potential adverse effects on the ability to attract other merger partners; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic or any other pandemic on our operations and financial results and those of our customers, changes in interest rates, inflation, general economic conditions, potential recessionary conditions, levels of unemployment in the Bank’s lending area, real estate market values in the Bank’s lending area, future natural disasters, potential increases to flood insurance premiums, the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, terrorism or other geopolitical events, the level of prepayments on loans and mortgage-backed securities, legislative/regulatory changes, monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the quality or composition of the loan or investment portfolios, demand for loan products, deposit flows, competition, demand for financial services in the Company’s market area, changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits, changes in accounting principles, a failure in or breach of the Company’s operational or security systems or infrastructure, including cyberattacks, the failure to maintain current technologies, failure to retain or attract employees and the Bank’s ability to successfully integrate acquired operations. These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, under Item 1A - Risk Factors and elsewhere, and subsequent securities filings and should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

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* Not meaningful as amounts are net loan recoveries.

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SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ON TRIDENT