Summit Financial Group Reports Third Quarter 2022 EPS of $1.11 on Continued Strong Loan and Revenue Growth

MOOREFIELD, W.Va., Oct. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Summit Financial Group, Inc. (“Company” or “Summit”) (NASDAQ: SMMF) today reported financial results for the third quarter of 2022, including continued strong earnings on growth in loans and total revenue.

The Company, which serves commercial and individual clients across West Virginia, the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, Virginia and Kentucky through Summit Community Bank, Inc., reported net income applicable to common shares of $14.2 million, or $1.11 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2022, as compared to $11.8 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2022 and $12.0 million, or $0.92 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2021.

“Third quarter results included annualized double-digit loan growth and our fourth consecutive quarter of record net interest income growth and margin expansion,” said H. Charles Maddy, III, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our asset quality metrics remain very solid and continue to demonstrate the quality of the underwriting practices of our bankers while we cultivate the relationships from our robust commercial lending pipelines. I am particularly gratified by the continued increases in our tangible book value per common share, despite a challenging interest rate environment. The strength of our balance sheet, operating results and profitability positions us to continue our growth trajectory through fourth quarter 2022 and into 2023.”

Highlights for Q3 2022

• Total loans of $2.9 billion, excluding mortgage warehouse lines of credit and Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) lending, increased 2.7 percent, or 10.9 percent annualized, during the quarter and 21.5 percent since September 30, 2021.
• Net interest income increased 10.2 percent compared to the linked quarter principally due to higher market rates, and increased 21.7 percent from the year-ago period, primarily due to loan growth.
• Net interest margin (“NIM”) increased 18 basis points to 3.84 percent from the linked quarter and 37 basis points from the year-ago quarter, as increased yields on interest earning assets were partially offset by increased cost of deposits and other funding.
• Total noninterest expense increased to $19.2 million in the quarter, up 9.2 percent from the linked quarter primarily due to deferred director compensation expense of $830,000 in Q3 compared to $726,000 deferred director compensation income in the linked quarter and up 10.8 percent from the year-ago quarter, as salary and benefits increases and deferred director compensation increases were largely offset by disciplined management of other operating costs.
• Annualized non-interest expense increased to 2.01 percent of average assets compared to 1.91 percent of average assets for the linked quarter, and remained unchanged from the year-ago period.
• Achieved an efficiency ratio of 47.95 percent compared to 47.45 percent in Q2 2022 and 49.52 percent in the year-ago quarter.
• Incurred $1.50 million provision for credit losses in the quarter increasing period-end allowance for loan credit losses to $36.8 million, or 1.19 percent of total loans and 399.5 percent of nonperforming loans.
• Foreclosed property held for sale declined by 2.4 percent during the quarter and 58.3 percent from the year-ago quarter to $5.19 million or 0.13 percent of assets at period end.
• Nonperforming assets (“NPAs”) improved to 0.37 percent of total assets at period end, excluding restructured assets, down 6 basis points during the quarter and 30 basis points from September 30, 2021.
• Tangible book value per common share (“TBVPCS”) increased $0.62 to $20.69 during the quarter, despite unrealized net losses on debt securities available for sale (“AFS”) of $0.95 per common share (net of deferred income taxes) recorded in Other Comprehensive Income (“OCI”), partially offset by increases in the fair values of derivative financial instruments hedging against higher interest rates totaling $0.62 per common share (net of deferred income taxes) also recorded in OCI. Year-to-date for 2022, Summit’s TBVPCS has increased 5.89 percent, while for the vast majority of our peers TBVPCS has declined, and in some cases significantly so, during the same period.

Results from Operations

Net interest income grew to $34.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 10.2 percent from the linked quarter and 21.7 percent from the prior-year third quarter. NIM for third quarter 2022 was 3.84 percent compared to 3.66 percent for the linked quarter and 3.47 percent for the year-ago quarter. Excluding the impact of accretion and amortization of fair value acquisition accounting adjustments, Summit’s net interest margin would have been 3.81 percent for the third quarter of 2022, 3.62 percent for the linked quarter and 3.41 percent for the year-ago period.

Noninterest income, consisting primarily of service fee income from community banking activities and trust and wealth management fees, for third quarter 2022 was $4.89 million compared to $3.86 million for the linked quarter and $4.57 million for the comparable period of 2021. The Company recorded realized securities losses on debt securities of $242,000 in the third quarter of 2022 and $289,000 in the linked quarter. In addition, the Company recognized a gain on equity investments of $283,000 in third quarter 2022 compared to a loss of $669,000 in the linked quarter.

Mortgage origination revenue increased to $538,000 in the third quarter of 2022 compared to $317,000 in the linked quarter and $742,000 for the year-ago period. Mortgage origination revenue for third quarter 2022 includes an increase in the fair value of mortgage servicing rights of $318,000.

Excluding gains and losses on debt securities and equity investments, noninterest income was $4.85 million for third quarter 2022 compared to $4.81 million for Q2 2022 and $4.64 million in the year-ago quarter primarily as result of higher deposit service charges and bank card fees.

Revenue from net interest income and noninterest income, excluding gains and losses on debt securities and equity investments, grew to $39.0 million, up 8.9 percent from $35.8 million in the linked quarter and 19.2 percent from $32.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue, excluding gains and losses on debt securities and equity investments, for the first nine months of 2022, grew to $108.6 million, up 14.6 percent from the first nine months of 2021, outpacing the 6.3 percent noninterest expense increase recorded for the comparable nine-month period.

Total noninterest expense increased to $19.2 million in the third quarter of 2022, up 9.2 percent from $17.6 million in the linked quarter and 10.8 percent from $17.3 million for the prior-year third quarter. The sequential-quarter increase in total noninterest expense, primarily on higher salary and benefits expenses and deferred director compensation expense, reflected modest fluctuations in most other categories of operating costs.

Salary and benefit expenses of $10.2 million in the third quarter of 2022 increased from $10.0 million for the linked quarter and $8.75 million during the year-ago period. Higher group health insurance premiums and increased accruals for anticipated 2022 performance bonuses account for the primary reasons for the increases.

Net losses and expenses on foreclosed properties declined to $26,000 during third quarter 2022 compared to $141,000 in the linked quarter and $370,000 in the year-ago period.

Other expenses were $3.83 million for Q3 2022 compared to $2.36 million for the linked quarter and $2.72 million in the year-ago period. The increase in other expenses was primarily from an increase in deferred director compensation plan-related expense to $830,000 during the third quarter of 2022 compared to $726,000 plan-related income during the second quarter of 2022 and plan-related expense of $72,000 in the year-ago quarter. For the first nine month period of 2022, deferred director compensation plan-related income totaled $296,000 compared to plan related expense of $498,000 for the same period of 2021. During Q3 2022, we purchased investments to hedge the changes in the Plan participants’ phantom investments which should serve to significantly reduce the period-to-period volatility of the Plan’s impact on the Company’s statements of income.

Summit’s efficiency ratio was to 47.95 percent in the third quarter of 2022 compared to 47.45 percent in the linked quarter and 49.52 percent for the year-ago period. Non-interest expense to average assets was 2.01 percent in both the third quarter of 2022 and 2021 and was 1.91 percent in the linked quarter.

Balance Sheet

As of September 30, 2022, total assets were $3.9 billion, an increase of $310.6 million, or 8.7 percent, since December 31, 2021 and an increase of $378.3 million, or 10.8 percent, since September 30, 2021.

Total loans net of unearned fees grew to $3.1 billion on September 30, 2022, up 3.3 percent (or 13.2 percent annualized) during the quarter, and up 20.4 percent from September 30, 2021. Excluding PPP and mortgage warehouse lending, total loans grew to $2.9 billion on September 30, 2022, up 2.73 percent (or 10.9 percent annualized) during the third quarter and up 14.2 percent year-to-date and 21.5 percent since September 30, 2021.

Total commercial loans, including commercial and industrial (C&I) and commercial real estate (CRE) but excluding PPP lending, grew to $1.9 billion on September 30, 2022, up 1.4 percent during the third quarter, 14.2 percent year-to-date and 24.0 percent since September 30, 2021.

Residential real estate and consumer lending totaled $577.5 million on September 30, 2022, up 2.6 percent during the third quarter, 1.7 percent year-to-date and 1.2 percent from September 30, 2021.

As of September 30, 2022, PPP balances were paid down to $1.99 million and mortgage warehouse lines of credit, sourced solely from a participation arrangement with a large regional bank, totaled $194.7 million compared to $171.4 million at June 30, 2022 and $161.6 million at the year-ago period end.

Deposits totaled $3.1 billion on September 30, 2022, a 4.5 percent (or 17.9 percent annualized) increase during the third quarter, a 5.6 percent increase year-to-date and a 5.1 percent increase since September 30, 2021. Core deposits increased 5.1 percent during third quarter 2022 to $3.0 billion, and increased 6.0 percent year-to-date and 5.6 percent since September 30, 2021. Changes in core deposits by category are as follows:

• Non-interest bearing deposit accounts increased $18.3 million or 3.0 percent in the third quarter of 2022 and increased $43.5 million or 7.6 percent since September 30, 2021.
• Interest bearing checking accounts grew $237.3 million or 19.2 percent in the third quarter of 2022 and $354.6 million or 31.6 percent since September 30, 2021.
• Savings accounts declined $62.2 million or 9.6 percent in the third quarter of 2022 and $110.8 million or 16.0 percent since September 30, 2021.
• Core time deposits declined $47.9 million or 12.4 percent in the third quarter of 2022 and $128.4 million or 27.5 percent since September 30, 2021.

Total shareholders’ equity was $341.7 million as of September 30, 2022 compared to $327.5 million at December 31, 2021 and $323.3 million at September 30, 2021. Summit paid a quarterly common dividend of $0.20 per share in Q3 2022, representing an 11.1 percent increase compared to the $0.18 per share paid in Q2 2022.

Year-to-date 2022, TBVPCS has increased $1.15 to $20.69. TBVPCS was negatively impacted during the first nine months of 2022 by unrealized net losses on AFS debt securities of $3.21 per common share (net of deferred income taxes) recorded in OCI. However, these losses were partially offset by increased fair values of interest rate caps and swaps (also recorded in OCI) held as hedges against higher interest rates totaling $1.86 per common share (net of deferred income taxes), in the same period.

Summit had 12,774,645 outstanding common shares at the end of the third quarter of 2022 compared to 12,743,125 at year-end 2021.

As announced in the first quarter of 2020, the Board of Directors authorized the open market repurchase of up to 750,000 shares of the issued and outstanding shares of Summit’s common stock, of which 323,577 shares have been repurchased to date. The timing and quantity of stock purchases under this repurchase plan are at the discretion of management. During the third quarter of 2022, no shares of Summit’s common stock were repurchased under the Plan.

Asset Quality

Net loan charge-offs (“NCOs”) declined to $8,000 in the third quarter of 2022. NCOs of $159,000 represented 0.02 percent of average loans annualized in the linked quarter and $370,000 or 0.06 percent of average loans annualized in the year-ago period.

Summit recorded a $1.50 million provision for credit losses in the third quarter of 2022, reflecting reserve build to support the Company’s significant loan growth and increasing forecasted economic uncertainty. The provision for credit losses was $2.00 million for the linked quarter and no provision was recorded for the year-ago quarter.

Summit’s allowance for loan credit losses was $36.8 million on September 30, 2022, $35.1 million at the end of the linked quarter, and $32.4 million on September 30, 2021.

The allowance for loan credit losses stood at 1.19 percent of total loans at September 30, 2022 compared to 1.18 percent at the end of the linked quarter, and 1.27 percent at September 30, 2021. The allowance was 399.5 percent of nonperforming loans at September 30, 2022, compared to 254.4 percent at year-end 2021 and 291.6 percent at September 30, 2021.

Summit’s allowance for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments was $7.60 million on September 30, 2022, $7.79 million at the end of the linked quarter and $5.86 million on September 30, 2021. The allowance for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments decreased $195,000 during the most recent quarter primarily due to a decrease in unfunded commitments for the period.

As of September 30, 2022, nonperforming assets (“NPAs”), consisting of nonperforming loans, foreclosed properties and repossessed assets, totaled $14.4 million, or 0.37 percent of assets, compared to NPAs of $16.3 million, or 0.43 percent of assets at the linked quarter-end, $22.6 million or 0.63 percent of assets at year-end 2021 and $23.6 million, or 0.67 percent of assets at the end of third quarter 2021.

About the Company

Summit Financial Group, Inc. is the $3.9 billion financial holding company for Summit Community Bank, Inc. Its talented bankers serve commercial and individual clients throughout West Virginia, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Virginia, and Kentucky. Summit’s focus on in-market commercial lending and providing other business banking services in dynamic markets is designed to leverage its highly efficient operations and core deposits in strong legacy locations. Residential and consumer lending, trust and wealth management, and other retail financial services are offered through convenient digital and mobile banking platforms, including MySummitBank.com and 44 full-service branch locations. More information on Summit Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMF), headquartered in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle in Moorefield, is available at SummitFGI.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains comments or information that constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as “expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “estimates” and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “should”, “would” and “could” are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially. Factors that might cause such a difference include: the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the negative impacts and disruptions on the communities we serve, and the domestic and global economy, which may have an adverse effect on our business; current and future economic and market conditions, including the effects of declines in housing prices, high unemployment rates, U.S. fiscal debt, budget and tax matters, geopolitical matters, and any slowdown in global economic growth; fiscal and monetary policies of the Federal Reserve; future provisions for credit losses on loans and debt securities; changes in nonperforming assets; changes in interest rates and interest rate relationships; demand for products and services; the degree of competition by traditional and non-traditional competitors; the successful integration of operations of our acquisitions; changes in banking laws and regulations; changes in tax laws; the impact of technological advances; the outcomes of contingencies; trends in customer behavior as well as their ability to repay loans; and changes in the national and local economies. We undertake no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this press release.

NOTES

(A) – Presented on a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal tax rate of 21%.

(B) – Computed on a tax equivalent basis excluding acquisition-related expenses, gains/losses on sales of assets, write-downs of OREO properties to fair value and amortization of intangibles.

(C) – Return on average tangible equity = (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

(D) – Return on average tangible common equity = (Net income applicable to common shares + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average common shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

NOTES

(A) – Presented on a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal tax rate of 21%.

(B) – Computed on a tax equivalent basis excluding acquisition-related expenses, gains/losses on sales of assets, write-downs of OREO properties to fair value and amortization of intangibles.

(C) – Return on average tangible equity = (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

(D) – Return on average tangible common equity = (Net income applicable to common shares + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average common shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

NOTES

(A) – Presented on a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal tax rate of 21%.

(B) – Computed on a tax equivalent basis excluding acquisition-related expenses, gains/losses on sales of assets, write-downs of OREO properties to fair value and amortization of intangibles.

(C) – Return on average tangible equity = (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

(D) – Return on average tangible common equity = (Net income applicable to common shares + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average common shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

NOTES
(A)   – Tangible book value per share = (Common stock and related surplus plus Retained earnings plus Accumulated other comprehensive income/loss – Intangible assets) / Common shares outstanding.
(B)   – Tangible common equity to tangible assets = (Common stock and related surplus plus Retained earnings plus Accumulated other comprehensive income/loss – Intangible assets) / (Total assets – Intangible assets).