TriCo Bancshares Announces Quarterly and Annual Results

TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBK) (the "Company"), parent company of Tri Counties Bank, today announced net income of $23,211,000 for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, compared to $2,989,000 for the fourth quarter of 2017. Diluted earnings per share were $0.76 for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $0.13 for the fourth quarter of 2017. Net income was $68,320,000 for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to $40,554,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017. Diluted earnings per share were $2.54 for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to $1.74 for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Net income for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 includes $5,227,000 and $530,000, respectively, of the FNB Bancorp (FNBB) related merger and acquisition expenses. Excluding the impact of the FNBB merger expenses, net of income taxes, net income totaled $72,327,000 for the year ended December 31, 2018, or $2.69 per diluted share. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2017 includes income tax expense of $7,416,000 due to the re-measurement of the Company’s net deferred tax asset (“DTA”) resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Excluding the impact of the FNBB related merger expenses, net of tax, and the DTA re-measurement, net income totaled $48,462,000 for the year ended December 31, 2017, or $2.08 per diluted share.

Financial Highlights

Performance highlights and other developments for the Company during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018 included the following:

• For the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, the Company’s return on average assets was 1.47% and 1.24% and the return on average equity was 11.40% and 10.75%.
• As of December 31, 2018, the Company reached record levels of total assets and total deposits which were $6.35 billion and $5.37 billion, respectively.
• The loan to deposit ratio remained stable at 74.9% at December 31, 2018 as compared to 75.2% at December 31, 2017.
• Net interest margin grew 14 basis points to 4.46% on a tax equivalent basis as compared to 4.32% in the trailing quarter.
• Non-interest bearing deposits as a percentage of total deposits were 32.8% at December 31, 2018 as compared to 34.1% at December 31, 2017.
• The average rate of interest paid on deposits, including noninterest-bearing deposits, remained low at 0.20%, an increase of 4 basis points from the trailing quarter.
• Non-performing assets to total assets were 0.47% as of December 31, 2018 as compared to 0.46% and 0.58% at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.
• Revenue growth and operational changes resulted in notable improvement in the efficiency ratio which was 59.1% for the quarter ended December 31, 2018 as compared to 65.2% in the trailing quarter and 66.1% in the same quarter of the prior year.

President and CEO, Rick Smith commented, “We are very pleased with the Bank’s strong financial results for 2018. In addition to consistent organic loan and deposit growth, the completion of the acquisition of First National Bank of Northern California in July of this year provided meaningful scale that drove improvement in both our net interest margin and operational efficiency.”

Smith continued, “While TriCo’s franchise covers twenty nine counties across Northern California and the Central Valley, we remain mindful of the communities that were impacted by natural disasters. Our Company and our employees will continue to play a leadership role in driving the restoration efforts and we are continually thankful to those who have partnered with us and who have been so generous with their support.”

Summary Results

The following is a summary of the components of the Company’s operating results and performance ratios for the periods indicated:

The following is a summary of certain of the Company’s consolidated assets and deposits as of the dates indicated:

Overall results for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018 were primarily benefited by the acquisition of First National Bank of Northern California, the wholly owned subsidiary of FNB Bancorp, effective July 6, 2018. In connection with the acquisition and subsequent integration and restructuring, the Company incurred a variety of expenses. During the three and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2018 total non-interest expenses increased by $7,209,000 (18.9%) and $21,671,000 (14.7%) as compared to the same periods in 2017. There were no merger related costs incurred in the fourth quarter of 2018. Costs related to the merger were $5,227,000 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, as compared to $530,000 during the year ended December 31, 2017.

In addition to the $834,683,000 in loans acquired, recorded net of a $33,417,000 discount, organic loan growth totaled $172,166,000 (5.7%) during 2018. Organic deposit growth for 2018 was $365,400,000 (9.1%) in addition to the $991,935,000 in acquired deposits. Total assets acquired from FNB Bancorp totaled $1,306,539,000, inclusive of the core deposit intangible. Goodwill associated with the acquisition of FNB Bancorp was $156,661,000 and the core deposit intangible, which will be amortized over an estimated weighted average life of 6.2 years, was $27,605,000.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

The following is a summary of the components of net interest income for the periods indicated:

Loans may be acquired at a premium or discount to par value, in which case, the premium is amortized (subtracted from) or accreted (added to) interest income over the remaining life of the loan. Generally, as time goes on, the effects of loan discount accretion and loan premium amortization decrease as the purchased loans mature or pay off early. Upon the early pay off of a loan, any remaining (unaccreted) discount or (unamortized) premium is immediately taken into interest income; and as loan payoffs may vary significantly from quarter to quarter, so may the impact of discount accretion and premium amortization on interest income. During the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, purchased loan discount accretion was $1,982,000 and $5,271,000, respectively; for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2017, purchased loan accretion was $1,498,000 and $6,564,000, respectively. The changes in volume of interest earning assets and interest bearing liabilities contributed an additional $15,601,000 in interest income while the changes in rates contributed $3,005,000 during the current quarter as compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2017. The decreases in Federal tax equivalent yield adjustment are due to tax rate changes which became effective on January 1, 2018 whereby the Federal tax rate was reduced from 35% to 21%.

The following table shows the components of net interest income and net interest margin on a fully tax-equivalent (FTE) basis for the periods indicated:

Net interest income (FTE) during the three months ended December 31, 2018 increased $3,478,000 or 5.7% to $64,324,000 compared to $60,846,000 during the three months ended September 30, 2018. The increase in net interest income (FTE) was due primarily to an increase in the average rates on loans which increased 26 basis points.

The index utilized in a significant portion of the Company’s variable rate loans, Wall Street Journal Prime, has increased by 1.00% to 5.50% at December 31, 2018 as compared to 4.50% at December 31, 2017. The 35 basis point increase in loan yields from 5.18% during the three months ended December 31, 2017 to 5.53% during the three months ended December 31, 2018 was due to increases in market rates. More specifically, there was no change on the effect purchased loan discount accretion had to net interest margin between the three months ended December 31, 2018 and September 30, 2018. More importantly, yields on loans increased 26 basis points as compared to the prior quarter from 5.27% for the three months ended September 30, 2018, of which 28 basis points were contributed by changes in the coupon rate associated with loans, offset by a decrease of 2 basis points attributed to the decreased impact from accretion of purchased loans.

The impact of changes in rates and volumes of interest bearing liabilities resulted in neutral impact as interest expense declined by $2,000 during the quarter. Comparing the quarter ended December 31, 2018 to the trailing quarter the total cost of interest bearing liabilities remained unchanged at 0.44% but increased 17 basis points from the same quarter in the prior year due in part to differences in market rates associated with deposits acquired from First National Bank of Northern California and to increases in the variable rates paid on other borrowings and subordinated debt. The weighted average rate associated with interest bearing acquired deposits was 0.29% for non-time deposits and 0.92% for time deposits on the day of acquisition. The average rate paid on other borrowings was 2.09% at December 31, 2018 as compared to 1.91% and 0.91% as of the trailing quarter and the same quarter in the prior year, respectively.

Net interest income (FTE) during the year ended December 31, 2018 increased $39,547,000 or 22.3% to $216,650,000 compared to $177,103,000 during the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in net interest income (FTE) was due primarily to an increase in the average balance of loans, which was partially offset by an increase in the average balance of interest-bearing liabilities and a 14 basis point increase in the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities.

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, the average balance of loans increased by $705,839,000 (24.8%) to $3,548,498,000. The increase in net interest income was partially offset by a decrease in the year-to-date purchased loan discount accretion from $6,564,000 during the year ended December 31, 2017 to $5,271,000 during the year ended December 31, 2018. This decrease in purchased loan discount accretion reduced loan yields by 8 basis points, and net interest margin by 6 basis points. The 14 basis point increase in the average rate paid on interest-bearing liabilities was primarily due to increases in market rates that increased the rates the Company pays on its time deposits, overnight borrowings, and junior subordinated debt.

Also affecting net interest margin during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2018, was the decrease in the Federal tax rate from 35% to 21%. This decrease in the Federal tax rate caused the fully tax-equivalent (FTE) yield on the Company’s nontaxable investments to decrease from 4.89% during 2017 to 3.97% during 2018.

Asset Quality and Loan Loss Provisioning

The Company recorded provision for loan losses of $806,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2018 as compared to a provision of $1,677,000 in the prior year quarter. While the Company did record net recoveries of $172,000 during the fourth quarter of 2018 as compared to net charge-offs of $101,000 in the 2017 quarter, the primary cause for the increase in provision for loan losses was due to estimated losses related to the Camp Fire. As of December 31, 2018 the Company had established reserves totaling $3,250,000 related to the Camp Fire. While the Company remains cautious about the risks associated with trends in California real estate prices and the affordability of housing in the markets served by the Company, changes in affordability and energy related index rates improved during the quarter ended December 31, 2018. The qualitative factors associated with these two measures reduced the level of calculated required reserves by approximately $2,000,000.

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 the Company recorded a loan loss provision of $2,583,000 as compared to a loan loss provision of $89,000 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. Nonperforming loans were $27,494,000, or 0.68% of loans outstanding as of December 31, 2018, compared to $27,148,000, or 0.67% of loans outstanding as of September 30, 2018 and $24,394,000 or 0.81% of loans outstanding as of December 31, 2017.

Provision for Income Taxes

The Company’s effective tax rate was 24.0% and 26.8%, respectively, for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018. During the quarter ended December 31, 2018, the Company made certain tax method elections in order to benefit from the change in corporate tax rates associated with the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017. As a result, the provision for income taxes was benefited by approximately $1,058,000. Absent this benefit, the Company’s effective tax rate would have been 27.5% and 27.9% for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018, respectively.

Non-interest Income

The following table presents the key components of noninterest income for the periods indicated:

Noninterest income increased $156,000 (1.3%) to $12,634,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2018 compared to the three months ended December 31, 2017. The increase in noninterest income was due primarily to a $659,000 (15.5%) increase in ATM fees and interchange and a $105,000 (2.7%) increase in service charges on deposit accounts. The increases in noninterest income as compared to the prior year quarter were offset by decreases in gain on sale of loans of $276,000 (33.8%) and gain on sale of foreclosed assets of $385,000 (95.5%). The $276,000 decrease in gain on sale of loans was due primarily to decreased residential mortgage refinance activity compared to the year-ago quarter during a rising rate environment.

Noninterest income decreased $737,000 (1.5%) to $49,284,000 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2017. The decrease in noninterest income was due primarily to decreases in gain on sale of loans of $738,000 (23.7%), gain on sale of investment securities of $754,000 (78.5%), gain on sale of foreclosed assets of $303,000 (42.6%), and decreases of $330,000 (20.4%) in miscellaneous income which were partially offset by an increase in commissions on non-deposit investment products of $422,000 (15.5%). Additionally, service charges and fees increased by $1,037,000 (2.8%). The increase in service charges and fees was driven by an increase in ATM fees and interchange of $1,522,000 (9.1%).

The following table presents the key components of the Company’s noninterest expense for the periods indicated:

Salary and benefit expenses increased $4,404,000 (21.4%) to $25,014,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2018 compared to $20,610,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2017. Base salaries, net of deferred loan origination costs increased $3,038,000 (21.8%) to $16,980,000. The increase in base salaries was due primarily to a 15.1% increase in average full time equivalent employees to 1,134 from 985 in the year-ago quarter. Commissions and incentive compensation increased $1,066,000 (47.4%) to $3,313,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2018 compared to the year-ago quarter due primarily to organic loan and deposit growth. Benefits & other compensation expense increased $300,000 (6.8%) to $4,721,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2018 due primarily to increases in the average full time equivalent employees, as mentioned above.

Other noninterest expense increased $2,805,000 (16.1%) to $20,271,000 during the three months ended December 31, 2018 compared to the three months ended December 31, 2017. The increase in other noninterest expense was due primarily to increased costs related to the merger of FNBB. Highlighting those increases were intangible amortization, occupancy, and advertising, which increased by $1,092,000, $867,000 and $436,000, respectively, as compared to the prior year quarter. The increases in noninterest expenses were partially offset by decreased professional fees and merger & acquisition expenses of $317,000 and $530,000, respectively.

Salary and benefit expenses increased $11,012,000 (13.3%) to $93,942,000 during the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 compared to $82,930,000 during the prior twelve months ended December 31, 2017. Base salaries, net of deferred loan origination costs increased $7,833,000 (14.3%) to $62,422,000. The increase in base salaries was due primarily to a 7.1% increase in average full time equivalent employees to 1,071 from 1,000 in the prior year-to-date period. Also affecting the increase in base salaries were annual merit increases and a higher wage base from the acquired employees of FNBB due to the Bay Area region’s higher cost of living. Commissions and incentive compensation increased $1,920,000 (20.8%) to $11,147,000 during 2018 compared to 2017 primarily due to organic growth of loans and deposits. Benefits & other compensation expense increased $1,259,000 (6.6%) to $20,373,000 during the year ended December 31, 2018 due primarily to increases in the average full time equivalent employees, as mentioned above.

Other noninterest expense increased $10,659,000 (16.6%) to $74,753,000 during the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in other noninterest expense was due primarily to increased costs related to the merger of FNBB. Highlighting some of those increases were merger expenses, increases in intangible amortization, occupancy, data processing, and advertising, which increased by $4,697,000, $2,110,000, $1,245,000, $573,000, and $477,000, respectively, as compared to the prior year. The increases in noninterest expenses were partially offset by decreased equipment expenses and professional fees of $490,000 and $199,000, respectively.

Balance Sheet

In addition to the balance sheet changes which resulted from the acquisition of FNB Bancorp, total assets grew by $127,926,000 between December 2017 and December 2018. This growth was led by $172,166,000 related to organic loan growth which was funded by $365,400,000 in organic deposit growth. Total equity increased to $827,373,000 at December 31, 2018 as compared to $802,115,000 at the close of the trailing quarter and inclusive of $17,879,000 and $26,959,000 in accumulated other comprehensive loss at the same periods. As a result, the Company’s book value per share increased to $27.20 at December 31, 2018 from $26.37 per share at September 30, 2018. The Company’s tangible book value, calculated by subtracting goodwill and other intangible assets from total shareholders’ equity and dividing that sum by total shares outstanding, increased to $18.97 per share at December 31, 2018 from $18.10 per share at September 30, 2018.

About TriCo Bancshares

Established in 1975, Tri Counties Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TriCo Bancshares (NASDAQ: TCBK) headquartered in Chico, California, providing a unique brand of customer Service with Solutions available in traditional stand-alone and in-store bank branches in communities throughout Northern and Central California. Tri Counties Bank provides an extensive and competitive breadth of consumer, small business and commercial banking financial services, along with convenient around-the-clock ATM, online and mobile banking access. Brokerage services are provided by the Bank’s investment services through affiliation with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. Visit www.TriCountiesBank.com to learn more.

Forward-Looking Statement

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 our control. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be the same as those anticipated by management. We caution 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 impact of changes in financial services policies, laws and regulations; technological changes; mergers and acquisitions; changes in the level of our nonperforming assets and charge-offs; any deterioration in values of California real estate, both residential and commercial; the effect of changes in accounting standards and practices; possible other-than-temporary impairment of securities held by us; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; our ability to attract deposits and other sources of liquidity; changes in the financial performance and/or condition of our borrowers; the impact of competition from other financial service providers; the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of our recent merger with FNBB will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period, or that integration of FNBB’s operations will be more costly or difficult than expected; the challenges of integrating and retaining key employees; unanticipated regulatory or judicial proceedings; the costs and effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation; and our ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available in the “Investor Relations” section of our website, https://www.tcbk.com/investor-relations and in other documents we file with the SEC. Annualized, pro forma, projections and estimates are not forecasts and may not reflect actual results.

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