CCBG - Capital City Bank Group Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2023 Results

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCBG) today reported net income attributable to common shareowners of $11.7 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $12.7 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2023, and $9.6 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2022.

For the full year of 2023, net income attributable to common shareowners totaled $52.3 million, or $3.07 per diluted share, compared to net income of $33.4 million, or $1.97 per diluted share, for the same period of 2022.

QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS (4 ^th Quarter 2023 versus 3 ^rd Quarter 2023)

Income Statement

• Tax-equivalent net interest income totaled $39.3 million compared to $39.4 million for the prior quarter – total deposit cost increased 8 basis points to 66 basis points – net interest margin increased four basis points to 4.07%
• Continued strong credit quality metrics – allowance coverage ratio increased from 1.08% to 1.10% - net loan charge-offs were 23 basis points (annualized) of average loans compared to 17 basis points for the prior quarter
• Noninterest income increased $0.4 million, or 2.6%, driven by higher mortgage banking revenues
• Noninterest expense increased $0.9 million, or 2.2%, primarily due to lower realized loan cost (credit offset to salary expense) reflective of lower level of residential loan originations and higher professional/legal fees of $0.6 million

Balance Sheet

• Loan balances grew $38.6 million, or 1.4% (average), and $28.7 million, or 1.1% (end of period)
• Deposit balances (including repurchase agreements) declined by $46.8 million, or 1.3% (average), and increased $165.4 million, or 4.6% (end of period) reflective of the seasonal increase in public fund balances
• Tangible book value per share increased $1.23, or 6.4%, and reflected a $12.5 million ($0.74/share) decrease in the accumulated other comprehensive loss reflective of lower investment security losses of $9.3 million and a favorable year-end re-measurement adjustment for the pension plan of $4.3 million
  

FULL YEAR 2023 HIGHLIGHTS

Income Statement

• Tax-equivalent net interest income totaled $159.4 million for 2023 compared to $125.3 million for 2022 driven by strong loan growth and higher interest rates, partially offset by higher deposit cost which was well controlled at 48 basis points for the year – net interest margin was 4.05% for 2023 compared to 3.14% for 2022
• Credit quality metrics remained strong throughout the year – allowance coverage ratio increased from 0.98% to 1.10% - net loan charge-offs were 18 basis points of average loans for both periods
• Noninterest income decreased $3.6 million, or 4.8%, driven by lower wealth management fees reflective of lower insurance commissions (large policy sales in 2022) and mortgage banking revenues (lower residential loan originations attributable to the higher interest rate environment)
• Noninterest expense increased $5.4 million, or 3.6%, primarily due to higher compensation and occupancy expense reflective of the addition of staffing and banking offices in our new markets

Balance Sheet

• Loan balances grew $467.0 million, or 21.3% (average), and $186.2 million, or 7.3% (end of period)
• Deposit balances (including repurchase agreements) declined by $81.9 million, or 2.2% (average), and decreased $217.1 million, or 5.5% (end of period)
• Tangible book value per share increased $3.18, or 18.4%, driven by strong earnings and favorable investment security and pension plan accumulated other comprehensive loss adjustments
  

“I am pleased with Capital City’s performance this year and am very proud of our team for achieving another year of record earnings,” said William G. Smith, Jr., Chairman, President, and CEO of Capital City Bank Group, Inc. “Amid a challenging year for our industry, our deposit franchise, disciplined credit, diversified revenues, and conservative balance sheet management resulted in strong profitability and capital growth. We are well positioned as we enter 2024 and remain focused on strategies that add long-term value for our clients and shareowners.”

Discussion of Operating Results

Net Interest Income/Net Interest Margin

Tax-equivalent net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled $39.3 million, compared to $39.4 million for the third quarter of 2023, and $38.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2022.   For the full year of 2023, tax-equivalent net interest income totaled $159.4 million compared to $125.3 million for the same period of 2022. Compared to the third quarter of 2023, the decrease reflected higher deposit interest expense and a lower level of interest income from overnight funds, partially offset by higher loan interest due to loan growth and loan re-pricing at higher interest rates. Compared to the full year 2022, the increase reflected loan growth and higher interest rates across a majority of our earning assets, partially offset by higher deposit interest expense.

Our net interest margin for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 4.07%, an increase of four basis points over the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 31 basis points over the fourth quarter of 2022. For the month of December 2023, our net interest margin was 4.09%. For 2023, our net interest margin was 4.05%, an increase of 91 basis points over 2022. The increase compared to all prior periods reflected a combination of earning assets re-pricing at higher interest rates and loan growth, partially offset by a higher cost of deposits. For the fourth quarter of 2023, our cost of funds was 73 basis points, an increase of 7 basis points over the third quarter of 2023 and an increase of 42 basis points over the fourth quarter of 2022. Our total cost of deposits (including noninterest bearing accounts) was 66 basis points, 58 basis points, and 20 basis points, respectively, for the same periods.

Provision for Credit Losses

We recorded a provision for credit losses of $2.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $2.4 million for the third quarter of 2023 and $3.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. The decrease in the provision compared to the third quarter of 2023 was primarily attributable to a lower level of reserves required for unfunded commitments.   For the full year of 2023, we recorded a provision for credit losses of $9.7 million compared to $7.5 million for 2022. The higher level of provision in 2023 was primarily driven by loan growth and also reflected the favorable impact in 2022 of the release of reserves held for pandemic related losses. We discuss the allowance for credit losses further below.

Noninterest Income and Noninterest Expense

Noninterest income for the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled $17.1 million compared to $16.7 million for the third quarter of 2023 and $15.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. The $0.4 million increase over the third quarter of 2023 reflected an increase in mortgage banking revenues of $0.5 million and wealth management fees of $0.3 million, partially offset by a decrease in deposit fees of $0.2 million and other income of $0.2 million. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, the $1.9 million increase was attributable to a $2.2 million increase in mortgage banking revenues and a $0.6 million increase in wealth management fees partially offset by a $0.7 million decrease in other income and a $0.2 million decrease in deposit fees.

For the full year of 2023, noninterest income totaled $71.6 million compared to $75.2 million for 2022 and reflected decreases in wealth management fees of $1.7 million, mortgage banking revenues of $1.5 million, deposit fees of $0.8 million, and bank card fees of $0.5 million, partially offset by a $0.9 million increase in other income. The decrease in wealth management fees reflected lower insurance commissions of $2.7 million due to the sale of large policies in 2022 and was partially offset by higher trust fees of $0.5 million and retail brokerage fees of $0.5 million. The decrease in mortgage banking revenues was primarily driven by lower production volume in 2023, reflective of the rapid increase in interest rates and lower market driven gain on sale margins. The decline in deposit fees reflected lower commercial account analysis fees and account service charge fees, and the reduction in bank card fees was generally due to lower card volume reflective of slower consumer spending. The increase in other income was primarily due to a $1.4 million gain from the sale of mortgage servicing rights that was partially offset by lower loan servicing income.

Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled $40.0 million compared to $39.1 million for the third quarter of 2023 and $39.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. The $0.9 million increase over the third quarter of 2023 was attributable to increases in compensation expense of $0.8 million and occupancy expense of $0.2 million that was partially offset by a $0.1 million decrease in other expense. The increase in compensation expense was due to a $0.8 million increase in salary expense partially attributable to a $0.5 million decrease in realized loan cost (recorded as a credit offset to salary expense) driven by lower residential loan originations. For the fourth quarter of 2023, other expense included approximately $0.6 million in professional and legal fees related to the financial statement restatement.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2022, the $0.7 million increase in noninterest expense reflected a $0.8 million increase in compensation expense and a $0.8 million increase in occupancy expense that was partially offset by a $0.9 million decrease in other expense. The increases in compensation expense and occupancy expense were generally driven by the same factors discussed in further detail below. The variance in other expense was primarily attributable to lower pension related costs, including the recognition of pension settlement expense of $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 whereas there was no pension settlement expense in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to a significantly lower level of retirements. A $0.7 million increase in the non-service component of pension plan expense was partially offsetting.

For the full year of 2023, noninterest expense totaled $157.0 million compared to $151.6 million for 2022 and reflected increases in occupancy expense of $3.1 million and compensation expense of $2.3 million. The increase in occupancy expense was primarily driven by the addition of four new banking offices in mid-to-late 2022 and early 2023, and to a lesser extent higher expense for property insurance (increased premiums) and maintenance agreements (network and security upgrades). The increase in compensation expense reflected a $4.7 million increase in salary expense that was partially offset by a $2.4 million decrease in associate benefit expense. The increase in salary expense was primarily due to a $3.6 million increase in base salaries (primarily the addition of staffing in new markets and annual merit), a $3.0 million reduction in realized cost (lower new residential loan originations in 2023) and higher incentive expense of $1.2 million that was partially offset by lower commission expense of $3.3 million (lower residential loan originations and insurance policy sales in 2023). The decrease in associate benefit expense reflected a $2.9 million decrease in pension plan service cost expense that was partially offset by a $0.5 million increase in associate insurance expense (higher premiums). The net variance in other expense was primarily due to lower expenses for OREO of $1.6 million (gain from the sale of a banking office in the first quarter of 2023), mortgage servicing asset amortization of $1.0 million (mid-2023 sale of servicing rights), and pension plan expense (non-service component) of $0.5 million, offset by higher expenses for professional fees of $0.8 million and FDIC insurance of $0.6 million. Further, there was no pension settlement expense in 2023 whereas we realized $2.3 million in total pension settlement expense in 2022.

Income Taxes

We realized income tax expense of $2.9 million (effective rate of 20.3%) for the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $3.0 million (effective rate of 20.7%) for the third quarter of 2023 and $1.9 million (effective rate of 18.1%) for the fourth quarter of 2022. For the full year of 2023, we realized income tax expense of $13.0 million (effective rate of 20.4%) compared to $7.8 million (effective rate of 19.0%) for 2022.   The increase in our effective tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2023 reflected a lower level of tax benefit accrued from an investment in a solar tax credit equity fund. The increase in our effective tax rate for the full year of 2023 was attributable to a lower level of pre-tax income from our 51% owned residential mortgage subsidiary, Capital City Home Loans (“CCHL”), in relation to our consolidated income as the non-controlling interest adjustment for CCHL is accounted for as a permanent tax adjustment. Further, we recognized a lower level of tax benefit accrued from an investment in a solar tax credit equity fund. Absent discrete items or new tax credit investments, we expect our annual effective tax rate to approximate 21-22% for 2024.

Discussion of Financial Condition

Earning Assets

Average earning assets totaled $3.824 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of $53.0 million, or 1.4%, from the third quarter of 2023, and a decrease of $208.8 million, or 5.2%, from the fourth quarter of 2022. The decrease from both prior periods was attributable to lower deposit balances (see below – Deposits ). Compared to both prior periods, the mix of earning assets improved as overnight funds were utilized to fund loan growth.

Average loans held for investment (“HFI”) increased $38.6 million, or 1.4%, over the third quarter of 2023 and $271.9 million, or 11.1%, over the fourth quarter of 2022. Period end loans increased $28.7 million, or 1.1%, over the third quarter of 2023 and $186.2 million, or 7.3%, over the fourth quarter of 2022. Compared to both prior periods, the loan growth was primarily in the residential real estate category and was partially offset by lower indirect auto and construction loan balances.

Allowance for Credit Losses

At December 31, 2023, the allowance for credit losses for HFI loans totaled $29.9 million compared to $29.1 million at September 30, 2023 and $25.1 million at December 31, 2022. Activity within the allowance is provided on Page 9. The increase in the allowance over both prior periods was driven primarily by loan growth. Further, the increase from December 31, 2022 reflected a higher loss rate for the residential real estate portfolio due to slower prepayment speeds. At December 31, 2023, the allowance represented 1.10% of HFI loans compared to 1.08% at September 30, 2023, and 0.98% at December 31, 2022.

Credit Quality

Overall credit quality remains strong. Nonperforming assets (nonaccrual loans and other real estate) totaled $6.2 million at December 31, 2023 compared to $4.7 million at September 30, 2023 and $2.7 million at December 31, 2022. At December 31, 2023, nonperforming assets as a percent of total assets equaled 0.15%, compared to 0.11% at September 30, 2023 and 0.06% at December 31, 2022. Nonaccrual loans totaled $6.2 million at December 31, 2023, a $1.5 million increase over September 30, 2023 and a $3.9 million increase over December 31, 2022. Further, classified loans totaled $22.2 million at December 31, 2023, a $0.4 million increase over September 30, 2023 and a $2.9 million increase over December 31, 2022.

Deposits

Average total deposits were $3.549 billion for the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease of $48.3 million, or 1.3%, from the third quarter of 2023 and a decrease of $254.5 million, or 6.7%, from the fourth quarter of 2022. Compared to both prior periods, the decreases were primarily attributable to lower noninterest bearing and savings accounts, partially offset by increases in NOW balances and certificates of deposit.

At December 31, 2023, total deposits were $3.702 billion, an increase of $161.4 million, or 4.6%, from September 30, 2023 and a decline of $237.5 million, or 6.0%, from December 31, 2022. Our public fund deposit balances increased $234.4 million and declined $10.9 million from September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. Compared to September 30, 2023, the increase in public funds reflected the seasonal increase in these balances as municipal tax receipts are received.   Lower deposit balances year-over-year reflected continued client spend of stimulus savings and clients seeking higher yielding investment products outside the Bank, a portion of which have moved to our wealth division. Additionally, compared to both prior periods, we realized a remix of deposit balances of $33 million and $140 million, respectively, as noninterest bearing accounts migrated into interest bearing accounts (primarily NOW and money market accounts).

Business deposit transaction accounts classified as repurchase agreements averaged $26.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase of $1.5 million over the third quarter of 2023 and $18.4 million over the fourth quarter of 2022. At December 31, 2023, repurchase agreement balances were $27.0 million compared to $22.9 million at September 30, 2023 and $6.6 million at December 31, 2022.

Liquidity

The Bank maintained an average net overnight funds (deposits with banks plus FED funds sold less FED funds purchased) sold position of $99.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $136.6 million in the third quarter of 2023 and $469.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2022. The declining overnight funds position reflected growth in average loans and lower average deposit balances.

At December 31, 2023, we had the ability to generate approximately $1.488 billion (excludes overnight funds position of $229 million) in additional liquidity through various sources including various federal funds purchased lines, Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings, the Federal Reserve Discount Window, and brokered deposits.

We also view our investment portfolio as a liquidity source and have the option to pledge securities in our portfolio as collateral for borrowings or deposits, and/or to sell selected securities.  Our portfolio consists of debt issued by the U.S. Treasury, U.S. governmental agencies, municipal governments, and corporate entities.  At December 31, 2023, the weighted-average maturity and duration of our portfolio were 2.91 years and 2.53, respectively, and the available-for-sale portfolio had a net unrealized tax-effected loss of $22.3 million.

Capital

Shareowners’ equity was $440.6 million at December 31, 2023 compared to $419.7 million at September 30, 2023 and $387.3 million at December 31, 2022. For the fourth quarter of 2023, the $20.9 million increase was partially attributable to a $12.5 million decrease in the accumulated other comprehensive loss including a $9.3 million net decrease in the investment securities loss and a $4.3 million decrease in the pension plan loss from the year-end re-measurement of the plan. For the full year 2023, shareowners’ equity was positively impacted by net income attributable to common shareowners of $52.3 million, a $4.1 million decrease in the accumulated other comprehensive loss for our pension plan, a $11.7 million decrease in the unrealized loss on investment securities, the issuance of stock of $2.5 million, and stock compensation accretion of $1.3 million.   Shareowners’ equity was reduced by common stock dividends of $12.9 million ($0.76 per share), the repurchase of stock of $3.7 million (122,538 shares), net adjustments totaling $1.3 million related to transactions under our stock compensation plans, and a $0.7 million decrease in the fair value of the interest rate swap related to subordinated debt.

At December 31, 2023, our total risk-based capital ratio was 16.57% compared to 16.30% at September 30, 2023 and 15.30% at December 31, 2022. Our common equity tier 1 capital ratio was 13.52%, 13.26%, and 12.38%, respectively, on these dates. Our leverage ratio was 10.30%, 9.98%, and 8.91%, respectively, on these dates. At December 31, 2023, all our regulatory capital ratios exceeded the thresholds to be designated as “well-capitalized” under the Basel III capital standards. Further, our tangible common equity ratio was 8.26% at December 31, 2023 compared to 8.08% and 6.65% at September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively. If our unrealized held-to-maturity securities losses of $21.5 million (after-tax) were recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss, our adjusted tangible capital ratio would be 7.74%.

About Capital City Bank Group, Inc.

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CCBG) is one of the largest publicly traded financial holding companies headquartered in Florida and has approximately $4.3 billion in assets. We provide a full range of banking services, including traditional deposit and credit services, mortgage banking, asset management, trust, merchant services, bankcards, securities brokerage services and financial advisory services, including the sale of life insurance, risk management and asset protection services. Our bank subsidiary, Capital City Bank, was founded in 1895 and now has 63 banking offices and 103 ATMs/ITMs in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. For more information about Capital City Bank Group, Inc., visit www.ccbg.com .

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Forward-looking statements in this Press Release are based on current plans and expectations that are subject to uncertainties and risks, which could cause our future results to differ materially. The words “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “target,” “vision,” “goal,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ: our ability to successfully manage credit risk, interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and other risks inherent to our industry; legislative or regulatory changes; adverse developments in the financial services industry generally, such as bank failures and any related impacts on depositor behavior; the effects of changes in the level of checking or savings account deposits and the competition for deposits on our funding costs, net interest margin and ability to replace maturing deposits and advances, as necessary; inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; uncertainty in the pricing of residential mortgage loans that we sell, as well as competition for the mortgage servicing rights related to these loans and related interest rate risk or price risk resulting from retaining mortgage servicing rights and the potential effects of higher interest rates on our loan origination volumes; the effects of actions taken by governmental agencies to stabilize the financial system and the effectiveness of such actions; changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government; the effects of security breaches and computer viruses that may affect our computer systems or fraud related to debit card products; the accuracy of our financial statement estimates and assumptions, including the estimates used for our allowance for credit losses, deferred tax asset valuation and pension plan; changes in our liquidity position; changes in accounting principles, policies, practices or guidelines; the frequency and magnitude of foreclosure of our loans; the effects of our lack of a diversified loan portfolio, including the risks of loan segments, geographic and industry concentrations; the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations; our ability to declare and pay dividends, the payment of which is subject to our capital requirements; changes in the securities and real estate markets; structural changes in the markets for origination, sale and servicing of residential mortgages; risks related to changes in key personnel and any changes in our ability to retain key personnel; the effect of corporate restructuring, acquisitions or dispositions, including the actual restructuring and other related charges and the failure to achieve the expected gains, revenue growth or expense savings from such corporate restructuring, acquisitions or dispositions; the effects of natural disasters, harsh weather conditions (including hurricanes), widespread health emergencies (including pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic), acts of war, terrorism, civil unrest or other geopolitical events; our ability to comply with the extensive laws and regulations to which we are subject, including the laws for each jurisdiction where we operate; the impact of the restatement of our previously issued financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2022, the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2023, the three and six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2023, and the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022; any inability to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting or inability to remediate our existing material weaknesses in our internal controls deemed ineffective; the inherent limitations in internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures; the willingness of clients to accept third-party products and services rather than our products and services and vice versa; increased competition and its effect on pricing; technological changes; the outcomes of litigation or regulatory proceedings; negative publicity and the impact on our reputation; changes in consumer spending and saving habits; growth and profitability of our noninterest income; the limited trading activity of our common stock; the concentration of ownership of our common stock; anti-takeover provisions under federal and state law as well as our Articles of Incorporation and our Bylaws; other risks described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and our ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing.   Additional factors can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, and our other filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Forward-looking statements in this Press Release speak only as of the date of the Press Release, and we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements or the reasons why actual results could differ, except as may be required by law.

USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
Unaudited

We present a tangible common equity ratio and a tangible book value per diluted share that removes the effect of goodwill and other intangibles resulting from merger and acquisition activity. We believe these measures are useful to investors because it allows investors to more easily compare our capital adequacy to other companies in the industry.

The GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliations are provided below.