LOWELL, Mass., April 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBTC), parent of Enterprise Bank, announced net income for the three months ended March 31, 2017 of $5.6 million, an increase of $1.3 million, or 29%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2016. Diluted earnings per share were $0.48 for the three months ended March 31, 2017, an increase of 17%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2016. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2017 includes the dilutive impact of the Company’s equity offering in the second quarter of 2016.
As previously announced on April 18, 2017, the Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share to be paid on June 1, 2017 to shareholders of record as of May 11, 2017. The 2017 dividend rate represents a 3.8% increase over the 2016 dividend rate.
Chief Executive Officer Jack Clancy commented, “The increase in our 2017 earnings compared to 2016 has been positively impacted by our growth over the last twelve months. Total assets, loans, and customer deposits have increased 12%, 11%, and 11%, respectively, as compared to March 31, 2016. This growth continues to be driven by the collective efforts and contributions of our dedicated Enterprise team, active community involvement, relationship building and a customer-focused mindset, market expansion, and ongoing enhancements to our state-of-the-art product and service offerings.”
Mr. Clancy continued, “Strategically, our focus remains on organic growth and continually planning for and investing in our future. We look forward to opening our 24th branch office in Windham, NH near the end of the second quarter. The relocation of our branches in Salem, NH and Leominster, MA will provide improved and state-of-the-art branches in those communities to better serve our customers. We expect the Salem branch to be completed in July of 2017 and Leominster to be completed in late 2017 to early 2018.”
Founder and Chairman of the Board George Duncan commented, “This quarter represents our 110th consecutive profitable quarter and our consistency is a record few banks in the country could duplicate. We are approaching $3.5 billion in assets under management which is a testimony to our long term strategic planning. We also appreciate the tremendous support, including many business referrals, that we have received from our shareholders.”
Results of Operations
Net interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2017 amounted to $22.8 million, an increase of $1.8 million, or 8%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2016. The increase in net interest income was due primarily to loan growth. Average loan balances (including loans held for sale) increased $183.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017 compared to the same 2016 period averages. Net interest margin was 3.90% for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to 4.02% for the three months ended March 31, 2016. The quarterly net interest margin for the three months ended December 31, 2016 was 3.86%.
For the three months ended March 31, 2017 and March 31, 2016, the provision for loan losses amounted to $125 thousand and $850 thousand, respectively. The decrease in the provision in the first quarter was due primarily to net recoveries in the current year, and generally improving credit quality metrics, partially offset by increased loan growth compared to the prior year.
Contributing to the changes in the provision for loan losses compared to the prior year were:
- The Company recorded net recoveries of $216 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2017, compared to net recoveries of $52 thousand for the three months ended March 31, 2016.
- Total non-performing loans as a percentage of total loans (a measure of credit risk) declined to 0.45% at March 31, 2017, compared to 0.60% at March 31, 2016.
- The balance of the allowance for loan losses allocated to impaired and adversely classified loans amounted to $4.1 million at March 31, 2017, compared to $4.3 million at March 31, 2016.
- Loan growth for three months ended March 31, 2017 was $42.1 million, compared to $4.7 million during the three months ended March 31, 2016.
The allowance for loan losses to total loans ratio was 1.53% at March 31, 2017, 1.55% at December 31, 2016 and 1.60% at March 31, 2016.
Non-interest income for the three months ended March 31, 2017 amounted to $4.1 million, an increase of $928 thousand, or 29%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2016. This increase was due primarily to an increase in net gains on the sales of investment securities. Additionally, the Company's growth has contributed to increases in the main components of other non-interest income.
For the three months ended March 31, 2017, non-interest expense amounted to $19.4 million, an increase of $2.6 million, or 15%, over the three months ended March 31, 2016. Increases in expenses over the prior year primarily related to the Company’s strategic growth and market expansion initiatives, particularly increases in salaries and benefits expenses.
In the first quarter of 2017, the Company implemented accounting pronouncement ASU No. 2016-09 “Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718) Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting,” which reduced tax expense and increased earnings by approximately $667 thousand. One of the aspects of this pronouncement relates to the tax treatment of employee and director equity compensation.
Key Financial Highlights
- Total assets amounted to $2.57 billion at March 31, 2017, compared to $2.53 billion at December 31, 2016, an increase of $46.1 million, or 2%.
- Total loans amounted to $2.06 billion at March 31, 2017, compared to $2.02 billion at December 31, 2016, an increase of $42.1 million, or 2%.
- Customer deposits (total deposits excluding brokered deposits) were $2.22 billion at March 31, 2017, compared to $2.21 billion at December 31, 2016, an increase of $6.0 million. Brokered deposits were $59.4 million at both March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016.
- Investment assets under management amounted to $747.5 million at March 31, 2017, compared to $725.3 million at December 31, 2016, an increase of $22.1 million, or 3%.
- Total assets under management amounted to $3.40 billion at March 31, 2017, compared to $3.33 billion at December 31, 2016, an increase of $69.9 million, or 2%.
Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. is a Massachusetts corporation that conducts substantially all of its operations through Enterprise Bank and Trust Company, commonly referred to as Enterprise Bank. The Company is principally engaged in the business of attracting deposits from the general public and investing in commercial loans and investment securities. Through Enterprise Bank and its subsidiaries, the Company offers a range of commercial, residential and consumer loan products, and deposit products and cash management services, as well as investment advisory and wealth management, trust, and insurance services. The Company’s headquarters and the bank’s main office are located at 222 Merrimack Street in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Company’s primary market area is the Greater Merrimack Valley and North Central regions of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Enterprise Bank has 23 full-service branch offices located in the Massachusetts communities of Lowell, Acton, Andover, Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Fitchburg, Lawrence, Leominster, Methuen, Tewksbury, Tyngsborough and Westford and in the New Hampshire communities of Derry, Hudson, Nashua, Pelham and Salem. The Company also anticipates that the Windham, NH office will open mid-year 2017.
