ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Jan. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNOB) (the “Company” or “ConnectOne”), parent company of ConnectOne Bank (the “Bank”), today reported net income available to common stockholders of $31.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with $27.4 million for the third quarter of 2022 and $31.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. Diluted earnings per share were $0.79 for the fourth quarter of 2022 compared with $0.70 in the third quarter of 2022 and $0.79 in the fourth quarter of 2021. The increase in net income available to common stockholders and diluted earnings per share from the third quarter of 2022 was primarily attributable to a $6.7 million decrease in the provision for credit losses due to changes in forecasted macroeconomic factors and a $0.2 million increase in noninterest income, partially offset by a $0.2 million decrease in net interest income, a $1.2 million increase in noninterest expenses and a $1.9 million increase in income tax expenses. The decrease in net income available to common stockholders from the fourth quarter of 2021 was primarily due to a $5.2 million increase in noninterest expenses and a $2.5 million increase in the provision for credit losses, partially offset by a $7.5 million increase in net interest income. Full-year 2022 net income available to common stockholders was $119.2 million, compared to $128.6 million for 2021. Diluted earnings per share for the full-year 2022 was $3.01, compared with $3.22 for 2021.

Frank Sorrentino, ConnectOne’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer stated, “ConnectOne had another successful year as we gained even further traction in all of our markets, delivering solid organic growth and best-in-class efficiency while also investing in our operating platform to support future performance.”

“Like many others in the industry, the fourth quarter presented some challenges with respect to deposit retention and cost as competition significantly increased. However, despite this headwind, we delivered solid performance. Metrics remained in the industry’s upper quartile. Return on assets was 1.36% for the quarter while our return on tangible common equity was 14.8%. Additionally, ConnectOne’s pre-tax, pre-provision net revenue (“PPNR”) as a percent of assets again exceeded 2%, the 10th consecutive quarter PPNR has been higher than 2%.”

“We also continued to leverage our technological advantages and our culture to drive results. Tangible book value per share increased 3.7% sequentially, 7.9% from a year ago, and has now increased for 11 consecutive quarters. Our efficiency ratio remained below 40% for the quarter, despite a compressed net interest margin and continued investment in our platform and our staff. Even during these challenging conditions, ConnectOne remains one of the industry’s most efficient banks nationwide.” Mr. Sorrentino added, “Our capital ratios remain strong and, while others in the industry have experienced weakness, our tangible common equity ratio was very solid at 9% at year-end. Further, we enter 2023 with sound credit quality and continued improving credit metrics including delinquencies at their lowest levels in recent history.” 

“With respect to organic growth, ConnectOne had a record year for both loan originations and deposits. Highlighting our strategy to invest in and further strengthen our origination franchise, ConnectOne’s loan portfolio increased 19% year-over-year and deposits grew 16%.” Mr. Sorrentino concluded, “We enter 2023 with a strong and resilient balance sheet and remain committed to investing in our franchise to drive results. Coupled with our strong client-centric culture and commitment to efficiency through investment in technology, ConnectOne remains well positioned for continued success.”

Dividend Declarations

The Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on both its common stock and its outstanding preferred stock.

A cash dividend on common stock of $0.155 per share will be paid on March 1, 2023, to common stockholders of record on February 17, 2023. A dividend of $0.328125 per depositary share, representing a 1/40^th interest in the Company’s 5.25% Fixed Rate Reset Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A, will also be paid on March 1, 2023 to preferred stockholders of record on February 17, 2023.

Operating Results

Fully taxable equivalent net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $78.8 million, roughly flat from the third quarter of 2022 due to a 5.5% increase in average interest-earning assets, primarily loans, offset by a 20 basis-point contraction in the net interest margin While the net interest margin benefitted from a 43 bps increase in the loan portfolio yield, to 5.20%, the average cost of deposits, including noninterest bearing demand, increased by 69 basis points to 1.46% from 0.77% in the third quarter of 2022. Loan yields continued to increase as a result of new loan originations combined with repricing and maturities of lower rate interest-earning loans outstanding. Funding cost increases were a result of higher market interest rates combined with increased competition due to a contracting U.S. money supply.

Fully taxable equivalent net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by $7.9 million, or 11.1%, from the fourth quarter of 2021. The increase from the fourth quarter of 2021 resulted primarily from a 19.5% increase in average interest earning assets, primarily loans, and was partially offset by a 27 basis-point contraction of the net interest margin to 3.48% from 3.75%. The contraction in the net interest margin resulted from a 141 basis-point increase in the cost of average interest-bearing liabilities, partially offset by an 81 basis-point increase in the yield on average interest-earning assets and a 4.7% increase in average noninterest-bearing demand deposits.

Noninterest income was $3.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, $3.3 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $3.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Included in noninterest income were net losses on equity securities of $0.1 million, $0.4 million, and $0.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, third quarter of 2022 and fourth quarter of 2021, respectively. Excluding equity securities losses, adjusted noninterest income was $3.6 million, $3.8 million and $3.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, third quarter of 2022 and fourth quarter of 2021, respectively. The $0.2 million decrease in adjusted noninterest income for the fourth quarter 2022 versus the third quarter of 2022 was primarily due to decreases in net gains on loans held-for-sale of $0.1 million and deposit, loan and other income of $0.1 million. The $0.3 million decrease in adjusted noninterest income for the fourth quarter 2022 versus the fourth quarter 2021 was primarily due to a decrease in net gains on loans held-for-sale of $1.0 million, partially offset by increases in BOLI income of $0.3 million and deposit, loan and other income of $0.4 million.

Noninterest expenses totaled $33.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, $32.1 million for the third quarter of 2022 and $28.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. The increase in noninterest expenses of $1.2 million from the third quarter of 2022 was attributable to inflationary pressures including increases in salaries and employee benefits of $0.8 million, professional and consulting expense of $0.2 million, other expenses of $0.1 million and FDIC insurance expenses of $0.1 million. The increase in noninterest expenses of $5.2 million from the fourth quarter of 2021 was attributable to increases in salaries and employee benefits of $5.2 million. The increase in salaries and employee benefits from the prior sequential quarter and prior year quarter was attributable to increased staff in both the revenue and back-office areas of the bank, base salary increases, and incentive compensation accruals.

Income tax expense was $12.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, $10.4 million for the third quarter of 2022 and $12.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. The effective tax rates for the fourth quarter of 2022, third quarter of 2022 and fourth quarter of 2021 were 27.5%, 26.5% and 27.1%, respectively.

Asset Quality

The provision for credit losses was $3.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022, $10.0 million for the third quarter of 2022 and $0.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. The decreased provision for credit losses during the fourth quarter of 2022 reflected changes in forecasted macroeconomic conditions.

Nonperforming assets, which includes nonaccrual loans and other real estate owned, were $44.7 million as of December 31, 2022, $57.7 million as of September 30, 2022 and $61.7 million as of December 31, 2021. Nonaccrual loans were $44.5 million as of December 31, 2022, $57.5 million as of September 30, 2022 and $61.7 million as of December 31, 2021. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets (the “NPA ratio”) were 0.46% as of December 31, 2022, 0.61% as of September 30, 2022 and 0.76% as of December 31, 2021. The NPA ratio declined for the 5^th consecutive quarter and, excluding taxi medallion loans, was 0.23% as of December 31, 2022. The ratio of nonaccrual loans to loans receivable was 0.55%, 0.73% and 0.90%, as of December 31, 2022, September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. The annualized net loan charge-offs ratios were 0.22% for the fourth quarter of 2022, 0.02% for the third quarter of 2022 and 0.01% for the fourth quarter of 2021. The current quarter’s charge-offs relate to the successful workout of nonaccrual loans identified and reserved for in previous periods. The allowance for credit losses represented 1.12%, 1.16%, and 1.15% of loans receivable as of December 31, 2022, September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of nonaccrual loans increase to 203.6% as of December 31, 2022 versus 159.6% as of September 30, 2022 and 127.7% as of December 31, 2021.

Selected Balance Sheet Items

The Company’s total assets were $9.6 billion as of December 31, 2022, an increase of $1.5 billion from December 31, 2021. Loans receivable were $8.1 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion from December 31, 2021. The increase in loans receivable was attributable to organic loan originations.

The Company’s total stockholders’ equity was $1.2 billion as of December 31, 2022, an increase of $54.5 million from December 31, 2021. The increase in retained earnings of $95.7 million was the primary reason for the overall increase in stockholders’ equity, in addition to an increase in additional paid-in capital of $2.9 million, partially offset by a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income of $31.0 million, reflecting the after-tax decline in the fair value of investment securities net of unrealized hedge gains recorded in other assets, and an increase in treasury stock of $13.1 million. As of December 31, 2022, the Company’s tangible common equity ratio and tangible book value per share were 9.04% and $21.71, respectively. As of December 31, 2021, the tangible common equity ratio and tangible book value per share were 10.06% and $20.12, respectively. Total goodwill and other intangible assets were $215.7 million as of December 31, 2022, and $217.4 million as of December 31, 2021.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the results presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"), ConnectOne routinely supplements its evaluation with an analysis of certain non-GAAP measures. ConnectOne believes these non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to the related GAAP measures, provide meaningful information to investors in understanding our operating performance and trends. These non-GAAP measures have inherent limitations and are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for an analysis of results reported under GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures disclosed in this earnings release to the comparable GAAP measures are provided in the accompanying tables.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results Conference Call

Management will also host a conference call and audio webcast at 10:00 a.m. ET on January 26, 2023 to review the Company's financial performance and operating results. The conference call dial-in number is 1-201-689-8471, access code 13735159. Please dial in at least five minutes before the start of the call to register. An audio webcast of the conference call will be available to the public, on a listen-only basis, via the "Investor Relations" link on the Company's website https://www.ConnectOneBank.com or at http://ir.connectonebank.com.

A replay of the conference call will be available beginning at approximately 1:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 26, 2023 and ending on Thursday, February 2, 2023 by dialing 1-412-317-6671, access code 13735159. An online archive of the webcast will be available following the completion of the conference call at https://www.connectonebank.com or at http://ir.connectonebank.com.

About ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc.

ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc., is a modern financial services company that operates, through its subsidiary, ConnectOne Bank, and the Bank’s fintech subsidiary, BoeFly, Inc. ConnectOne Bank is a high-performing commercial bank offering a full suite of banking & lending products and services that focus on small to middle-market businesses. BoeFly, Inc. is a fintech marketplace that connects borrowers in the franchise space with funding solutions through a network of partner banks. ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the trading symbol "CNOB," and information about ConnectOne may be found at https://www.connectonebank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements 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," or similar expressions. 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, those factors set forth in Item 1A – Risk Factors of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as supplemented by the Company’s subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and changes in interest rates, general economic conditions, legislative/regulatory changes, monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board, 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 accounting principles and guidelines and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company, its employees and operations, and its customers. These risks and uncertainties 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.

Investor Contact:

William S. Burns
Senior Executive VP & CFO
201.816.4474: bburns@cnob.com

Media Contact:

Shannan Weeks 
MWW 
732.299.7890: sweeks@mww.com