SBCF - Seacoast Reports First Quarter 2024 Results

Q1 Highlights Included Impressive Growth in Deposits, Successful Completion of

Our Expense Initiative, and Building Wealth and Lending Pipelines

Strong Capital Position Builds Quarter over Quarter

STUART, Fla., April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida ("Seacoast" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: SBCF) today reported net income in the first quarter of 2024 of $26.0 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, compared to $29.5 million, or $0.35 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $11.8 million, or $0.15 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2023.

Adjusted net income ¹ for the first quarter of 2024 was $31.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared to $31.4 million, or $0.37 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $23.7 million, or $0.29 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2023.

For the first quarter of 2024, return on average tangible assets was 0.89% and return on average tangible shareholders' equity was 9.55%, compared to 0.99% and 11.22%, respectively, in the prior quarter, and 0.52% and 5.96%, respectively, in the prior year quarter. Adjusted return on average tangible assets ¹ in the first quarter of 2024 was 1.04% and adjusted return on average tangible shareholders' equity ¹ was 11.15%, compared to 1.04% and 11.80%, respectively, in the prior quarter, and 0.88% and 10.16%, respectively, in the prior year quarter.

Charles M. Shaffer, Seacoast's Chairman and CEO, said, “As the complexity of our successful period of sequential acquisitions falls further in the rearview mirror, I was pleased with our focus on organic customer acquisition, which resulted in growth in noninterest-bearing accounts and strong annualized deposit growth of 8%. Over the past 24 months, we have focused on acquiring the best banking talent across Florida, and we are now seeing an accelerated return on that investment. The combination of strategic investments in talent, marketing, and innovative products is driving growth across our markets, and we are exiting the first quarter with robust pipelines across all of our businesses.”

Shaffer added, “We are well positioned at this point, with the completion of our expense initiative, fortress balance sheet with industry-leading capital levels, ample liquidity, and an incredibly engaged and excited banking team, we are primed to continue to take market share across one of the strongest markets in the country.”

Financial Results

Income Statement

• Net income in the first quarter of 2024 was $26.0 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, compared to $29.5 million, or $0.35 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $11.8 million, or $0.15 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2023. Adjusted net income ¹ for the first quarter of 2024 was $31.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, compared to $31.4 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, for the prior quarter, and $23.7 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, for the prior year quarter.
• Net revenues were $125.6 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $2.6 million, or 2%, compared to the prior quarter, and a decrease of $28.0 million, or 18%, compared to the prior year quarter. Adjusted net revenues ¹ were $125.6 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $5.2 million, or 4%, compared to the prior quarter, and a decrease of $26.0 million, or 17%, compared to the prior year quarter.
• Pre-tax pre-provision earnings ¹ were $35.7 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 15% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 25% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Adjusted pre-tax pre-provision earnings ¹ were $42.5 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 and a decrease of 34% compared to the first quarter of 2023.
• Net interest income totaled $105.1 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of $5.7 million, or 5%, compared to the prior quarter, and a decrease of $26.1 million, or 20%, compared to the prior year quarter. During the first quarter of 2024, higher interest expense on deposits reflects growth in deposit balances and the impact of the continuing elevated rate environment. Accretion on acquired loans totaled $10.6 million in the first quarter of 2024, $11.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, and $15.9 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• Net interest margin decreased 12 basis points to 3.24% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 3.36% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding the effects of accretion on acquired loans, net interest margin decreased 11 basis points to 2.91% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 3.02% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Loan yields were 5.90%, an increase of five basis points from the prior quarter. The effect on loan yields of accretion of purchase discounts on acquired loans was an increase of 42 basis points in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 45 basis points in the fourth quarter of 2023 and an increase of 69 basis points in the first quarter of 2023. Securities yields expanded five basis points to 3.47%, compared to 3.42% in the prior quarter. The cost of deposits increased 19 basis points, from 2.00% in the prior quarter, to 2.19% in the first quarter of 2024. The decline in margin quarter-over-quarter was driven in part by the success in growing deposits.
• Noninterest income totaled $20.5 million in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $3.2 million, or 18%, compared to the prior quarter, and a decrease of $1.9 million, or 9%, compared to the prior year quarter. Changes compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 included:
  • Interchange income decreased $0.5 million, or 22%, to $1.9 million, with the prior quarter benefiting from an annual volume-based incentive earned from the payment network provider.
  • The wealth management division continues to demonstrate success in building relationships, and during the first quarter of 2024, assets under management grew $160 million, driving a $0.3 million or 9%, increase in wealth management income. The team enters the second quarter with a robust pipeline.
  • Insurance agency income increased $0.2 million, or 21%, to $1.3 million, reflecting a record quarter for the agency.
  • Other income increased $0.5 million, or 12%, to $5.2 million, with increases in marine and aircraft loan production sold, and in SBIC income.
  • Net securities gains of $0.2 million in the first quarter of 2024 include gains of $4.1 million on the sale of the Company’s holdings of Visa Class B stock. This was largely offset by losses of $3.8 million on the sale of $86.8 million or 3% of the bank’s investment securities portfolio. The securities were reinvested at a yield of 5.53%, with an expected earnback on the trade of 1.9 years.
• The provision for credit losses was $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $4.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $31.6 million in the first quarter of 2023. The first quarter of 2023 included a $26.6 million day-one provision associated with a bank acquisition.
• Noninterest expense was $90.4 million in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $4.0 million, or 5%, compared to the prior quarter, and a decrease of $17.1 million, or 16%, compared to the prior year quarter. Changes compared to the fourth quarter of 2023 included:
  • Salaries and wages increased $1.9 million, or 5%, to $40.3 million, including $2.1 million in severance-related expenses arising from reductions in the workforce early in the first quarter of 2024.
  • Employee benefits increased $1.2 million, or 18%, to $7.9 million, reflecting higher seasonal payroll taxes and 401(k) contributions.
  • Outsourced data processing costs increased $3.5 million, or 41%, to $12.1 million and included $4.1 million in charges associated with contract terminations and modifications to consolidate systems, which will lead to lower ongoing operating expenses.
  • Occupancy costs increased $0.5 million, or 7%, to $8.0 million in the first quarter of 2024 and included charges of $0.8 million associated with early lease terminations and consolidation of locations. Occupancy expenses will be lower going forward.
  • Legal and professional fees decreased $1.1 million, or 35%, to $2.2 million, with the fourth quarter of 2023 impacted by one-time legal fees associated with a closed matter.
• Seacoast recorded $7.8 million of income tax expense in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $8.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, and $2.7 million in the first quarter of 2023. Tax expense related to stock-based compensation was nominal in the first quarter of 2024 and tax benefits related to stock-based compensation totaled $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $0.2 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• The efficiency ratio was 66.78% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 60.32% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 64.62% in the prior year quarter. The adjusted efficiency ratio ¹ was 61.13% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 60.32% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 53.10% in the prior year quarter. The Company continues to remain keenly focused on disciplined expense control. The increase in the adjusted efficiency ratio in the first quarter of 2024 reflects the continued impact of higher deposit rates mitigated partially by disciplined expense management.
  

Balance Sheet

• At March 31, 2024, the Company had total assets of $14.8 billion and total shareholders' equity of $2.1 billion. Book value per share was $24.93 as of March 31, 2024, compared to $24.84 as of December 31, 2023, and $24.24 as of March 31, 2023. Tangible book value per share increased to $15.26 as of March 31, 2024, compared to $15.08 as of December 31, 2023, and $14.25 as of March 31, 2023.
• Debt securities totaled $2.6 billion as of March 31, 2024, an increase of $103.0 million, or 4%, compared to December 31, 2023. Debt securities include approximately $1.9 billion in securities classified as available for sale and recorded at fair value. The unrealized loss on these securities is fully reflected in the value presented on the balance sheet. The portfolio also includes $669.9 million in securities classified as held to maturity with a fair value of $540.2 million. Held-to-maturity securities consist solely of mortgage-backed securities and collateralized mortgage obligations guaranteed by U.S. government agencies, each of which is expected to recover any price depreciation over its holding period as the debt securities move to maturity. The Company has significant liquidity and available borrowing capacity and has the intent and ability to hold these investments to maturity.
• Loans decreased $84.9 million from December 31, 2023, totaling $10.0 billion as of March 31, 2024. Loan originations were $368.3 million in the first quarter of 2024, a decrease of 23%, consistent with typical seasonality, compared to $477.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Company continues to exercise a disciplined approach to lending, carefully underwriting loans to strict underwriting guidelines and setting high expectations for risk adjusted returns.
• Loan pipelines (loans in underwriting and approval or approved and not yet closed) totaled $572.9 million as of March 31, 2024, an increase of 46% from December 31, 2023, and an increase of 46% from March 31, 2023.
  • Commercial pipelines were $498.6 million as of March 31, 2024, an increase of 63% from $306.5 million at December 31, 2023, and an increase of 72% from $289.2 million at March 31, 2023. The Company is benefiting from the investment made in recent years to attract talent from regional banks across its markets. This talent is onboarding significant new relationships, resulting in higher deposit growth and growing pipelines.
  • SBA pipelines were $15.6 million as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of 24% from $20.6 million at December 31, 2023, and an increase of 90% from $8.2 million at March 31, 2023.
  • Consumer pipelines were $25.1 million as of March 31, 2024, an increase of $6.3 million, or 34%, from $18.7 million at December 31, 2023, and a decrease of $13.7 million, or 35%, from $38.7 million at March 31, 2023.
  • Residential saleable pipelines were $9.3 million as of March 31, 2024, an increase of 249% from $2.7 million at December 31, 2023, and an increase of 40% from $6.6 million at March 31, 2023. Retained residential pipelines were $24.4 million as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of 45% from $44.4 million at December 31, 2023, and a decrease of 50% from $48.4 million at March 31, 2023.
• Total deposits were $12.0 billion as of March 31, 2024, an increase of $238.9 million, or 8% annualized, when compared to December 31, 2023. Seacoast’s granular, longstanding deposit base is a hallmark of our franchise and serves as a significant source of strength.
  • At March 31, 2024, transaction account balances represented 52% of overall deposits.
  • Noninterest demand deposits represent 30% of overall deposits and grew $10.4 million from the prior quarter.
  • The Company benefits from a granular deposit franchise, with the top ten depositors representing only 4% of total deposits.
  • Average deposits per banking center were $156.0 million at March 31, 2024, an increase of 2% from the prior quarter.
  • Uninsured deposits represented only 35% of overall deposit accounts as of March 31, 2024. This includes public funds under the Florida Qualified Public Depository program, which provides loss protection to depositors beyond FDIC insurance limits. Excluding such balances, the uninsured and uncollateralized deposits were 29% of total deposits. The Company has liquidity sources including cash and lines of credit with the Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Bank that represent 138% of uninsured deposits, and 164% of uninsured and uncollateralized deposits.
  • Consumer deposits represent 42% of overall deposit funding with an average consumer customer balance of $25 thousand. Commercial deposits represent 58% of overall deposit funding with an average business customer balance of $110 thousand.
• Federal Home Loan Bank advances totaled $110.0 million at March 31, 2024 with a weighted average interest rate of 4.15%. In the aggregate, borrowed funds, including FHLB advances, long-term debt and brokered deposits represented only 2.8% of total liabilities as of March 31, 2024.

Asset Quality

• Nonperforming loans were $77.2 million at March 31, 2024, an increase from $65.1 million at December 31, 2023, and $50.8 million at March 31, 2023. Nonperforming loans to total loans outstanding were 0.77% at March 31, 2024, 0.65% at December 31, 2023, and 0.50% at March 31, 2023.
• Nonperforming assets to total assets increased to 0.57% at March 31, 2024, compared to 0.50% at December 31, 2023, and 0.38% at March 31, 2023.
• The ratio of allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.47% at March 31, 2024, 1.48% at December 31, 2023, and 1.54% at March 31, 2023.
• Net charge-offs were $3.6 million in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $4.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $3.2 million in the first quarter of 2023.
• Portfolio diversification , in terms of asset mix, industry, and loan type, has been a critical element of the Company's lending strategy. Exposure across industries and collateral types is broadly distributed. Seacoast's average loan size is $332 thousand, and the average commercial loan size is $742 thousand, reflecting an ability to maintain granularity within the overall loan portfolio.
• Constr uction and land development and commercial real estate loans remain well below regulatory guidance at 39% and 236% of total bank-level risk-based capital, respectively, compared to 48% and 244%, respectively, at December 31, 2023. On a consolidated basis, construction and land development and commercial real estate loans represent 36% and 222%, respectively, of total consolidated risk-based capital.

Capital and Liquidity

• The Company continues to operate with a fortress balance sheet with a Tier 1 capital ratio at March 31, 2024 of 14.6% compared to 14.5% at December 31, 2023, and 13.4% at March 31, 2023. The Total capital ratio was 16.0%, the Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio was 14.0%, and the Tier 1 leverage ratio was 11.1% at March 31, 2024. The Company is considered “well capitalized” based on applicable U.S. regulatory capital ratio requirements.
• Cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2024 totaled $682.7 million.
• The Company’s loan to deposit ratio was 83.1% at March 31, 2024, which should provide liquidity and flexibility moving forward.
• Tangible common equity to tangible assets was 9.25% at March 31, 2024, compared to 9.31% at December 31, 2023, and 8.36% at March 31, 2023. If all held-to-maturity securities were adjusted to fair value, the tangible common equity ratio would have been 8.59%.
• At March 31, 2024, in addition to $682.7 million in cash, the Company had $5.1 billion in available borrowing capacity , including $4.4 billion in available collateralized lines of credit, $0.4 billion of unpledged debt securities available as collateral for potential additional borrowings, and available unsecured lines of credit of $0.3 billion. These liquidity sources as of March 31, 2024 represented 164% of uninsured and uncollateralized deposits.
• Our Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program of up to $100 million in shares of the Company’s common stock. No shares were repurchased during the first quarter of 2024.

¹ Non-GAAP measure, see “Explanation of Certain Unaudited Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for more information and for a reconciliation to GAAP.

OTHER INFORMATION

Conference Call Information
Seacoast will host a conference call April 26, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) to discuss the first quarter of 2024 earnings results and business trends. Investors may call in (toll-free) by dialing (800) 715-9871 (Conference ID: 7523995). Charts will be used during the conference call and may be accessed at Seacoast’s website at www.SeacoastBanking.com by selecting “Presentations” under the heading “News/Events.” Additionally, a recording of the call will be made available to individuals shortly after the conference call and can be accessed via a link at www.SeacoastBanking.com under the heading “Corporate Information.” The recording will be available for one year.

About Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ: SBCF)
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ: SBCF) is one of the largest community banks headquartered in Florida with approximately $14.8 billion in assets and $12.0 billion in deposits as of March 31, 2024. Seacoast provides integrated financial services including commercial and consumer banking, wealth management, and mortgage services to customers at 77 full-service branches across Florida, and through advanced mobile and online banking solutions. Seacoast National Bank is the wholly-owned subsidiary bank of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida. For more information about Seacoast, visit www.SeacoastBanking.com .

Tracey L. Dexter
Chief Financial Officer
Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida
(772) 403-0461

Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning, and protections, of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, without limitation, statements about future financial and operating results, cost savings, enhanced revenues, economic and seasonal conditions in the Company’s markets, and improvements to reported earnings that may be realized from cost controls, tax law changes, new initiatives and for integration of banks that the Company has acquired, or expects to acquire, as well as statements with respect to Seacoast's objectives, strategic plans, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical facts. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to the Company’s beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates and intentions about future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond the Company’s control, and which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (“Seacoast” or the “Company”) or its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank (“Seacoast Bank”), to be materially different from results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. You should not expect the Company to update any forward-looking statements.

All statements other than statements of historical fact could be forward-looking statements. You can identify these forward-looking statements through the use of words such as "may", "will", "anticipate", "assume", "should", "support", "indicate", "would", "believe", "contemplate", "expect", "estimate", "continue", "further", "plan", "point to", "project", "could", "intend", "target" or other similar words and expressions of the future. These forward-looking statements may not be realized due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation: the impact of current and future economic and market conditions generally (including seasonality) and in the financial services industry, nationally and within Seacoast’s primary market areas, including the effects of inflationary pressures, changes in interest rates, slowdowns in economic growth, and the potential for high unemployment rates, as well as the financial stress on borrowers and changes to customer and client behavior and credit risk as a result of the foregoing; potential impacts of adverse developments in the banking industry, including those highlighted by high-profile bank failures, and including impacts on customer confidence, deposit outflows, liquidity and the regulatory response thereto (including increases in the cost of our deposit insurance assessments), the Company's ability to effectively manage its liquidity risk and any growth plans, and the availability of capital and funding; governmental monetary and fiscal policies, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, as well as legislative, tax and regulatory changes, including those that impact the money supply and inflation; the risks of changes in interest rates on the level and composition of deposits (as well as the cost of, and competition for, deposits), loan demand, liquidity and the values of loan collateral, securities, and interest rate sensitive assets and liabilities; interest rate risks (including the impacts of interest rates on macroeconomic conditions, customer and client behavior, and on our net interest income), sensitivities and the shape of the yield curve; changes in accounting policies, rules and practices; changes in retail distribution strategies, customer preferences and behavior generally and as a result of economic factors, including heightened inflation; changes in the availability and cost of credit and capital in the financial markets; changes in the prices, values and sales volumes of residential and commercial real estate, especially as they relate to the value of collateral supporting the Company’s loans; the Company’s concentration in commercial real estate loans and in real estate collateral in Florida; Seacoast’s ability to comply with any regulatory requirements; the risk that the regulatory environment may not be conducive to or may prohibit the consummation of future mergers and/or business combinations, may increase the length of time and amount of resources required to consummate such transactions, and may reduce the anticipated benefit; inaccuracies or other failures from the use of models, including the failure of assumptions and estimates, as well as differences in, and changes to, economic, market and credit conditions; the impact on the valuation of Seacoast’s investments due to market volatility or counterparty payment risk, as well as the effect of a decline in stock market prices on our fee income from our wealth management business; statutory and regulatory dividend restrictions; increases in regulatory capital requirements for banking organizations generally; the risks of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, including Seacoast’s ability to continue to identify acquisition targets, successfully acquire and integrate desirable financial institutions and realize expected revenues and revenue synergies; changes in technology or products that may be more difficult, costly, or less effective than anticipated; the Company’s ability to identify and address increased cybersecurity risks, including those impacting vendors and other third parties which may be exacerbated by recent developments in generative artificial intelligence; fraud or misconduct by internal or external parties, which Seacoast may not be able to prevent, detect or mitigate; inability of Seacoast’s risk management framework to manage risks associated with the Company’s business; dependence on key suppliers or vendors to obtain equipment or services for the business on acceptable terms, including the impact of supply chain disruptions; reduction in or the termination of Seacoast’s ability to use the online- or mobile-based platform that is critical to the Company’s business growth strategy; the effects of war or other conflicts, including the impacts related to or resulting from Russia’s military action in Ukraine and the escalating conflicts in the Middle East, acts of terrorism, natural disasters, including hurricanes in the Company’s footprint, health emergencies, epidemics or pandemics, or other catastrophic events that may affect general economic conditions and/or increase costs, including, but not limited to, property and casualty and other insurance costs; Seacoast’s ability to maintain adequate internal controls over financial reporting; potential claims, damages, penalties, fines, costs and reputational damage resulting from pending or future litigation, regulatory proceedings and enforcement actions; the risks that deferred tax assets could be reduced if estimates of future taxable income from the Company’s operations and tax planning strategies are less than currently estimated, the results of tax audit findings, challenges to our tax positions, or adverse changes or interpretations of tax laws; the effects of competition from other commercial banks, thrifts, mortgage banking firms, consumer finance companies, credit unions, non-bank financial technology providers, securities brokerage firms, insurance companies, money market and other mutual funds and other financial institutions; the failure of assumptions underlying the establishment of reserves for expected credit losses; risks related to, and the costs associated with, environmental, social and governance matters, including the scope and pace of related rulemaking activity and disclosure requirements; a deterioration of the credit rating for U.S. long-term sovereign debt, actions that the U.S. government may take to avoid exceeding the debt ceiling, and uncertainties surrounding the debt ceiling and the federal budget; the risk that balance sheet, revenue growth, and loan growth expectations may differ from actual results; and other factors and risks described under “Risk Factors” herein and in any of the Company's subsequent reports filed with the SEC and available on its website at www.sec.gov .

All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties described in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and in other periodic reports that the Company files with the SEC. Such reports are available upon request from the Company, or from the Securities and Exchange Commission, including through the SEC's Internet website at www.sec.gov .