Premier Financial Corp. Announces Full Year 2022 Results and Dividend Increase

Fourth Quarter 2022 Highlights

• Loan growth of $239.0 million (up 15.1% annualized) including $131.5 million for commercial loans excluding PPP (up 12.8% annualized)
• Customer deposits growth of $100.4 million (up 6.0% annualized) including $43.0 million of non-interest-bearing (up 9.4% annualized)
• Net interest income (tax equivalent) of $62.8 million or $62.2 million excluding PPP and acquisition marks accretion, up 9.3% and 17.0%, respectively, from 2021 fourth quarter
• Completed an insurance agency acquisition
• Declared dividend of $0.31 per share, up 3.3% from prior year comparable period

Full Year 2022 Highlights

• Loan growth of $1.1 billion (up 20.5%) including $694.7 million for commercial loans excluding PPP (up 19.6%)
• Customer deposits growth of $481.0 million (up 7.7%) including $144.7 million of non-interest-bearing (up 8.4%)
• Net interest income (tax equivalent) of $243.7 million or $237.3 million excluding PPP and acquisition marks accretion, up 6.7% and 14.1%, respectively, from 2021
• Asset quality improved with non-performing loans down 30% and classified loans down 37% from 2021

Premier Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: PFC) (“Premier” or the “Company”) announced today 2022 fourth quarter and full year results. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2022 was $25.3 million, or $0.71 per diluted common share, compared to $25.3 million, or $0.69 per diluted common share, for the fourth quarter of 2021. Net income for 2022 was $102.2 million, or $2.85 per diluted common share, compared to $126.1 million, or $3.39 per diluted common share, for 2021.

“We continued to have stronger than anticipated loan and deposit growth as we closed the fourth quarter,” said Gary Small, President and CEO of Premier. “Full year loan growth exceeded 20% with core customer deposits up 7.7%. For the full year, tax equivalent net interest income grew $29 million, or 14% on a core basis excluding PPP and purchase accounting marks. The growth reflects the strength of our client base and the markets in which we operate. We did experience a step up in deposit betas during the quarter although this is in line with our overall historical range for the deposit book of business. As noted last quarter, we are utilizing non-core funding enabling us to thoughtfully manage core deposit costs across the organization. Diligent funding cost management will be a key for the organization and the industry in 2023.”

Quarterly results

Strong loan and deposit growth

Gross loans including those held for sale increased $239.0 million (up 15.1% annualized) on a linked quarter basis. Loan growth occurred in each category, including $131.5 million from commercial loans excluding PPP (up 12.8% annualized), $100.9 million from residential loans including held for sale (up 23.4% annualized) and $5.9 million from consumer/home equity loans (up 4.8% annualized). PPP loans decreased $38 thousand and were only $1.1 million as of December 31, 2022.

Customer deposits increased $100.4 million (up 6.0% annualized) on a linked quarter basis. Deposit growth occurred in each customer category, including $43.0 million from non-interest bearing deposits (up 9.4% annualized) and $57.4 million from interest-bearing deposits (up 4.7% annualized). Brokered deposits also added $73.8 million.

Net interest income and margin

Net interest income of $62.8 million on a tax equivalent (“TE”) basis in the fourth quarter of 2022 was down 1.1% from $63.5 million in the third quarter of 2022 but up 9.3% from $57.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. TE net interest margin of 3.28% in the fourth quarter of 2022 decreased 12 basis points from 3.40% in the third quarter of 2022 and 13 basis points from 3.41% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Results for all periods include the impact of PPP as well as acquisition marks and related accretion. Fourth quarter 2022 includes $329 thousand of accretion in interest income, $225 thousand of accretion in interest expense and $6 thousand of interest income on average balances of $1.2 million for PPP. Excluding the impact of acquisition marks accretion and PPP loans, core net interest income was $62.2 million, down 1.0% from $62.9 million in the third quarter of 2022 but up 17.0% from $53.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Additionally, core net interest margin was 3.25% for the fourth quarter of 2022, down 11 basis points from 3.36% for the third quarter of 2022 but up 4 basis points from 3.21% for the fourth quarter of 2021. These results are positively impacted by the combination of loan growth excluding PPP as discussed above and higher loan yields excluding PPP and acquisition marks accretion, which were 4.51% for the fourth quarter of 2022 compared to 4.24% in the third quarter of 2022 and 3.86% in the fourth quarter of 2021. The fourth quarter increase of 27 basis points represents a beta of 18% compared to the change in the quarterly average effective Federal Funds rate that increased 147 basis points to 3.65% for the fourth quarter of 2022 as reported by the Federal Reserve Economic Data. The cost of funds in the fourth quarter of 2022 was 1.00%, up 45 basis points from the third quarter of 2022 and up 79 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2021. The year-over-year increase is largely due to utilization of higher cost FHLB borrowings in support of loan growth in excess of deposit growth. The linked quarter increase is due to higher rates on FHLB borrowings, utilization of brokered deposits and higher average deposit costs. Excluding brokered deposits and acquisition marks accretion, average deposit costs increased 33 basis points to 0.72% for the fourth quarter of 2022, which represents a beta of 22% compared to the change in the quarterly average effective Federal Funds rate.

Non-interest income

Service fees in the fourth quarter of 2022 were $6.6 million, a 1.3% increase from $6.5 million in the third quarter of 2022 and a 4.4% increase from $6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, primarily due to fluctuations in consumer activity for interchange and ATM/NSF charges. However, total non-interest income in the fourth quarter of 2022 of $14.2 million was down 14.8% from $16.7 million in the third quarter of 2022 and down 19.1% from $17.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 primarily due to fluctuations in mortgage banking and gains/losses on securities. Mortgage banking income decreased by $4.3 million on a linked quarter basis due to a $4.6 million decrease in gains, primarily from higher hedge costs, partially offset by a $0.3 million higher MSR valuation gain. Mortgage banking income for the fourth quarter decreased $3.4 million year-over-year due to a $4.1 million decrease in gains primarily from compressed margins and lower saleable mix offset partly by a $0.5 million benefit from lower MSR amortization and a $0.2 million higher MSR valuation gain. Securities gains were $1.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 primarily from $1.3 million of gains on the sale of $8.7 million of equity securities, which were partially offset by $0.1 million of decreased valuations on remaining equity securities. This compares to $43 thousand of losses from decreased valuations on equity securities in the third quarter of 2022 and $1.1 million of gains from increased valuations on equity securities in the fourth quarter of 2021. An additional $9.6 million of available-for-sale securities were sold for a gain of $1 thousand during the fourth quarter of 2022. The combined $18.3 million of proceeds from security sales will benefit net interest income beginning in the first quarter of 2023. BOLI income of $1.0 million in the fourth quarter 2022 decreased from $2.1 million in the fourth quarter 2021 due to $1.1 million of claim gains in 2021 compared to none in 2022.

“We are pleased to note we originated over $1 billion in residential mortgages for the year in a very difficult environment,” Small added. “We continue to adjust our product offering to optimize the saleable mix and improve our gain on sale margins and remain very committed to the business over the long-term.”

Non-interest expenses

Non-interest expenses in the fourth quarter of 2022 were $43.0 million, a 4.7% increase from $41.1 million in the third quarter of 2022 and a 3.7% increase from $41.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Compensation and benefits were $25.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to $24.5 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $24.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. The linked quarter increase was primarily due to lower deferred costs related to decreased loan production. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to costs related to higher staffing levels for our growth initiatives and higher base compensation including mid-year adjustments. Data processing and FDIC premiums increased $0.8 million and $0.3 million on a linked quarter basis, respectively, and $0.4 million and $0.5 million on a year-over-year basis, respectively, due to our growth initiatives. All other non-interest expenses increased a net $0.4 million on a linked quarter basis and decreased a net $0.1 million on a year-over-year basis. The efficiency ratio for the fourth quarter 2022 of 56.76% worsened from 51.26% in the third quarter of 2022 and from 56.14% in the fourth quarter of 2021, primarily due to higher expenses.

Credit quality

Non-performing assets totaled $34.4 million, or 0.4% of assets, at December 31, 2022, an increase from $33.6 million at September 30, 2022, but a decrease from $48.2 million at December 31, 2021. Loan delinquencies increased to $18.3 million, or 0.3% of loans, at December 31, 2022, from $13.2 million at September 30, 2022, and from $12.3 million at December 31, 2021. Classified loans totaled $43.8 million, or 0.6% of loans, as of December 31, 2022, a decrease from $45.0 million at September 30, 2022, and from $69.5 million at December 31, 2021.

The 2022 fourth quarter results include net loan charge-offs of $830 thousand and a total provision expense of $2.8 million, compared with net loan charge-offs of $9.6 million and a total provision expense of $2.0 million for the same period in 2021. The current year provision is primarily due to higher non-PPP loan growth in 2022 compared to 2021. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.13% at December 31, 2022, compared with 1.14% at September 30, 2022, and 1.26% at December 31, 2021. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans excluding PPP and including unaccreted acquisition marks was 1.17% at December 31, 2022, compared with 1.19% at September 30, 2022, and 1.37% at December 31, 2021. The continued economic improvement following the 2020 pandemic-related downturn has resulted in a year-over-year decrease in the allowance percentages.

“We are pleased with our improved asset quality this year, including a 28.5% decrease in non-performing assets to 0.41% of total assets and a 37.0% decrease in classified loans to 0.61% of loans,” said Paul Nungester, CFO of Premier. “Net charge-offs for 2022 were only 0.015% of average loans excluding $5.3 million for the student loan servicer credit that was reserved for in 2021.”

Annual results

For the year ended December 31, 2022, net income totaled $102.2 million, or $2.85 per diluted common share, compared to $126.1 million, or $3.39 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2021. The year-over-year comparison is primarily impacted by fluctuations in the provision for credit losses, which was an expense of $14.3 million or $0.32 per diluted share in 2022 compared to a benefit of $7.1 million or $0.15 per share in 2021. The current year’s provision expense is primarily due to loan growth, whereas the prior year’s provision benefit was primarily due to the improving economic environment following the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic recession and reserve increase in 2020.

TE net interest income of $243.7 million in 2022 was up 6.7% from $228.4 million in 2021. TE net interest margin of 3.37% in 2022 decreased by two basis points from 3.39% in 2021. Results for each period include the impact of PPP as well as acquisition marks and related accretion. 2022 includes $1.7 million of accretion in interest income, $0.9 million of accretion in interest expense and $3.8 million of interest income on average balances of $12.1 million for PPP. Excluding the impact of acquisition marks accretion and PPP loans, core net interest income was $237.3 million, up 14.1% from $208.0 million in 2021. Additionally, core net interest margin was 3.28% for 2022, up four basis points from 3.24% for 2021. These improved results are primarily due to loan growth excluding PPP partially offset by lower PPP income and accretion from acquisition marks. Cost of funds in 2022 was 0.51%, up 26 basis points from 2021. The year-over-year increase is primarily due to an increased utilization of higher cost FHLB borrowings in support of loan growth in excess of deposit growth and higher average deposit costs.

Service fees in 2022 were $25.9 million, a 7.0% increase from $24.2 million in 2021, primarily due to increased consumer activity for interchange and ATM/NSF charges. However, total non-interest income in 2022 of $62.2 million was down 21.6% from $79.3 million in 2021 due to fluctuations in mortgage banking, gains/losses on securities, BOLI and other income. Mortgage banking income decreased $12.1 million from 2021 due to a $10.7 million decrease in gains primarily from compressed margins and lower saleable mix and a $3.8 million decrease from lower MSR valuation gains, partially offset by a $2.5 million benefit from lower MSR amortization. Securities losses were $0.6 million in 2022 primarily from $1.3 million of gains on the sale of $8.7 million of equity securities that partially offset $1.9 million of decreased valuations on equity securities compared to $4.2 million of net gains in 2021 comprised of $2.2 million from available-for-sale security sales gains and $2.0 million of gains from increased valuations on equity securities. BOLI income for 2022 decreased $1.2 million from 2021, primarily due to $1.1 million of claim gains in 2021. Other income for 2022 decreased $1.1 million from 2021, primarily due to a $1.3 million non-recurring settlement payment in 2021.

Non-interest expenses in 2022 were $164.5 million, a 4.6% increase from $157.3 million in 2021, primarily due to fluctuations in compensation and benefit expenses. Compensation and benefits were $97.4 million in 2022 compared to $90.6 million in 2021. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to costs related to higher staffing levels for our growth initiatives and higher base compensation including mid-year adjustments. All other non-interest expenses increased a net $0.4 million on a year-over-year basis. The efficiency ratio for 2022 was 53.68% compared to 51.83% in 2021, partly due to higher expenses but also due to lower non-interest income discussed above.

Total assets at $8.46 billion

Total assets at December 31, 2022, were $8.46 billion, compared to $8.24 billion at September 30, 2022, and $7.48 billion at December 31, 2021. Gross loans receivable were $6.46 billion at December 31, 2022, compared to $6.21 billion at September 30, 2022, and $5.30 billion at December 31, 2021. At December 31, 2022, gross loans receivable increased $1.16 billion from a year ago, despite a $57.8 million decrease in PPP loans. Excluding PPP, loans grew $1.22 billion organically, or 23.3% from a year ago. Commercial loans excluding PPP increased by $694.7 million from December 31, 2021, to 2022, or 19.6%. Securities at December 31, 2022, were $1.05 billion, compared to $1.08 billion at September 30, 2022, and $1.22 billion at December 31, 2021. Also, at December 31, 2022, goodwill and other intangible assets totaled $337.1 million compared to $337.9 million at September 30, 2022, and $342.1 million at December 31, 2021, with the decreases attributable to intangibles amortization.

Total non-brokered deposits at December 31, 2022, were $6.76 billion, compared with $6.66 billion at September 30, 2022, and $6.28 billion at December 31, 2021. At December 31, 2022, customer deposits grew $100.4 million organically, or 6.0% annualized from the prior quarter and $481.0 million or 7.7% from December 31, 2021. Brokered deposits were $143.7 million at December 31, 2022, compared to $69.9 million at September 30, 2022 and none at December 31, 2021.

Total stockholders’ equity was $0.89 billion at December 31, 2022, compared to $0.86 billion at September 30, 2022, and $1.02 billion at December 31, 2021. The quarterly increase in stockholders’ equity was primarily due to net earnings after dividends. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”), which was primarily related to a $138 million negative valuation adjustment on the available-for-sale securities portfolio. At December 31, 2022, 1,200,025 common shares remained available for repurchase under the Company’s existing repurchase program.

Insurance Agency Acquisition

On December 30, 2022, Premier, through its wholly owned subsidiary First Insurance Group of the Midwest, Inc. (“FIG”), completed the acquisition of Benham Insurance Associates, Inc. (“BIA”), a property and casualty insurance agency. Located in Holland, Ohio, with annual revenues of approximately $0.2 million, BIA will be added to Premier’s FIG platform.

Dividend to be paid February 17

The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.31 per common share payable February 17, 2023, to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 10, 2023. The dividend represents an annual dividend of 4.5 percent based on the Premier common stock closing price on January 23, 2022. Premier has approximately 35,602,000 common shares outstanding.

Conference call

Premier will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, to discuss the earnings results and business trends. The conference call may be accessed by calling 1-844-200-6205 and using access code 105871. Internet access to the call is also available (in listen-only mode) at the following URL: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/815175646. The webcast replay of the conference call will be available at www.PremierFinCorp.com for one year.

About Premier Financial Corp.

Premier Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: PFC), headquartered in Defiance, Ohio, is the holding company for Premier Bank and First Insurance Group. Premier Bank, headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, operates 74 branches and 12 loan offices in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia (West Virginia office operates as Home Savings Bank) and serves clients through a team of wealth professionals dedicated to each community banking branch. First Insurance Group is a full-service insurance agency with ten offices in Ohio. For more information, visit the company’s website at PremierFinCorp.com.

Financial Statements and Highlights Follow-

Safe Harbor Statement

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding projections, forecasts, goals and plans of Premier Financial Corp. and its management, future movements of interests, loan or deposit production levels, future credit quality ratios, future strength in the market area, and growth projections. These statements do not describe historical or current facts and may be identified by words such as “intend,” “intent,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “target,” “plan,” “anticipate,” or similar words or phrases, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “can,” or similar verbs. There can be no assurances that the forward-looking statements included in this presentation will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties in the forward-looking statements, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Premier or any other persons, that our objectives and plans will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, any one or more of which could affect Premier’s business and financial results in future periods and could cause actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but not limited to: impacts from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the economy, financial markets, our customers, and our business and results of operation; changes in interest rates; disruptions in the mortgage market; risks and uncertainties inherent in general and local banking, insurance and mortgage conditions; political uncertainty; uncertainty in U.S. fiscal or monetary policy; uncertainty concerning or disruptions relating to tensions surrounding the current socioeconomic landscape; competitive factors specific to markets in which Premier operates; increasing competition for financial products from other financial institutions and nonbank financial technology companies; legislative or regulatory rulemaking or actions; capital market conditions; security breaches or unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer or Company information; interruptions in the effective operation of information and transaction processing systems of Premier or Premier’s vendors and service providers; failures or delays in integrating or adopting new technology; the impact of the cessation of LIBOR interest rates and implementation of a replacement rate; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and any further amendments thereto. All forward-looking statements made in this presentation are based on information presently available to the management of Premier and speak only as of the date on which they are made. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. As required by U.S. GAAP, Premier will evaluate the impact of subsequent events through the issuance date of its December 31, 2022, consolidated financial statements as part of its Annual Report on Form 10-K to be filed with the SEC. Accordingly, subsequent events could occur that may cause Premier to update its critical accounting estimates and to revise its financial information from that which is contained in this news release.

Non-GAAP Reporting Measures

We believe that net income, as defined by U.S. GAAP, is the most appropriate earnings measurement. However, we consider core net interest income to be a useful supplemental measure of our operating performance. We define core net interest income as net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis excluding income from PPP loans and purchase accounting marks accretion. We believe that this metric is a useful supplemental measure of operating performance because investors and equity analysts may use this measure to compare the operating performance of the Company between periods or as compared to other financial institutions or other companies on a consistent basis without having to account for income from PPP loans and purchase accounting marks accretion. Our supplemental reporting measures and similarly entitled financial measures are widely used by investors, equity and debt analysts and ratings agencies in the valuation, comparison, rating and investment recommendations of companies. Our management uses these financial measures to facilitate internal and external comparisons to historical operating results and in making operating decisions. Additionally, they are utilized by the Board of Directors to evaluate management. The supplemental reporting measures do not represent net income or cash flow provided from operating activities as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternative measures of profitability or liquidity. Finally, the supplemental reporting measures, as defined by us, may not be comparable to similarly entitled items reported by other financial institutions or other companies. Please see the exhibits for reconciliations of our supplemental reporting measures.