USCB - USCB Financial Holdings Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter 2021 Results and Announces Share Repurchase Program

MIAMI, Jan. 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: USCB) , reported net income of $5.7 million or $0.30 per diluted share for the three months ended December 31, 2021, compared with net income of $4.2 million or $0.67 and $0.14 per diluted share for Class A and Class B common stock, respectively, for the same period in 2020. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2021, was $21.1 million or $(6.72) per diluted common share compared with net income of $10.8 million or $1.50 and $0.30 per diluted share for Class A and Class B common stock, respectively, for the same period in 2020.

Operating net income per diluted share (non-GAAP) for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $1.81 compared to operating net income per diluted share (non-GAAP) for the same period in 2020 of $1.50 and $0.30 for Class A and Class B common stock, respectively. Operating net income per diluted share (non-GAAP) for the year ended December 31, 2021 excludes the $89.6 million one-time accounting impact of the exchange and redemption of the preferred shares. A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to GAAP measures appears at the end of this press release.

On December 21, 2021, the Company entered into agreements with the Class B shareholders to exchange all outstanding Class B non-voting common stock for Class A voting common stock at a ratio of 5 to 1. On the same day, a total of 6,121,052 shares of Class B common stock was exchanged for 1,224,212 shares of Class A common stock. As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s only class of shares issued and outstanding were Class A common stock.

Effective December 30, 2021, the Company became the parent bank holding company of U.S. Century Bank (the “Bank”). Each share of the Bank was exchanged for one share of the Company, making the Bank a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Shares of the Company continue to trade under ticker symbol “USCB” on the Nasdaq Global Market. Due to the reorganization, the Company is subject to periodic filings with the Securities Exchange Commission (“SEC”) instead of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). As of December 31, 2021, all the business of the Company is conducted by the Bank.

On January 24, 2022, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program of up to 750,000 shares of Class A common stock. Under the repurchase program, the Company may purchase shares of Class A common stock on a discretionary basis from time to time through open market repurchases, privately negotiated transactions, or other means. The repurchase program has no expiration date and may be modified, suspended, or terminated at any time. Repurchases under this program will be funded from the Company’s existing cash and cash equivalents or future cash flow.

“Over the course of 2021, we achieved many notable milestones thanks to the unwavering commitment and support from our employees, customers, and partners. Together, we were able to complete an IPO, simplify our capital structure, and form a bank holding company. We continue to grow and remain very optimistic about our future.” said Luis de la Aguilera, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The formation of the holding company provides more efficient access to capital while allowing flexibility for growth and acquisition strategies. We believe that forming a holding company places us in the best position to respond to evolving market conditions and enables us to take advantage of future opportunities.”

Profitability

• Annualized return on average assets for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 was 1.23% compared to 1.11% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
  
  
• Annualized return on average stockholders’ equity for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 was 11.08% compared to 9.96% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
  
  
• The efficiency ratio for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 decreased to 55.74% compared to 63.81% for the fourth quarter in 2020.
  
  
• Net interest margin (NIM) increased to 3.19% for the quarter ended December 31, 2021 compared to 3.14% for the fourth quarter in 2020.
  
  
• Net interest income was $14.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $2.6 million or 22.4% compared to the fourth quarter in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by higher loan and investment income along with lower deposit costs.
  

Balance Sheet

• Total assets were $1.9 billion at December 31, 2021, representing an increase of $352.2 million or 23.5% from the fourth quarter in 2020.
  
  
• Total deposits were $1.6 billion at December 31, 2021, representing an increase of $317.0 million or 24.9%, from the fourth quarter in 2020.
  
  
• Total shareholders’ equity was $203.9 million at December 31, 2021, representing an increase of $32.9 million or 19.2% from the fourth quarter in 2020.
  
  
• Total loans were $1.2 billion at December 31, 2021, representing an increase of $151.6 million or 14.6% from the fourth quarter in 2020.
  
  
• The Company purchased a portfolio of commercial real estate loans within the quarter with an aggregate principal balance of $36.0 million.
  

Asset Quality

• The allowance for credit losses was $15.1 million at December 31, 2021 and 2020.
  
  
• The allowance for credit losses represented 1.27% of total loans at December 31, 2021 compared to 1.45% at December 31, 2020.
  
  
• Non-performing loans to total loans was 0.10% at December 31, 2021 compared to 0.15% at December 31, 2020.
  

N on-interest Income and Non-interest Expense

• Non-interest income totaled $2.6?million for the three months ended December 31, 2021, an increase of $1.2 million or 81.9% compared to the same period in 2020. The increase was primarily driven by a $983 thousand gain on the sale of a building.
  
  
• Non-interest expense was $9.3 million for the three months ended December 31, 2021 compared to $8.3 million for the same period in 2020.
  

Capital

• The Company exceeded all regulatory capital requirements and remained significantly above “well-capitalized” guidelines. Total risk-based capital ratio was 14.92% at December 31, 2021 compared to 14.24% for the fourth quarter in 2020.
  

Conference Call and Webcast

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”), will host a conference call on Friday, January 28, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the Company’s unaudited financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2021. To access the conference call, dial (844) 221-2148 (domestically) or (929) 517-0937 (internationally) and use conference code 4543356.

Additionally, interested parties can listen to a live webcast of the call in the “Investor Relations” section of the Company’s website at www.uscentury.com . An archived version of the webcast will be available in the same location shortly after the live call has ended.

About USCB Financial Holdings, Inc.

USCB Financial Holdings, Inc., is a bank holding company that operates primarily through its wholly owned subsidiary, U.S. Century Bank. Established in 2002, U.S. Century Bank is one of the largest community banks headquartered in Miami, and one of the largest community banks in the state. U.S. Century Bank is rated 5-star by BauerFinancial, the nation’s leading independent bank rating firm. U.S. Century Bank offers customers a wide range of financial products and services. U.S. Century Bank has received awards and accolades from numerous organizations for its philanthropic support and leadership, including the Beacon Council, Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, South Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and others. For more information or to find a U.S. Century Bank banking center near you, please call (305) 715-5200 or visit www.uscentury.com .

Forwa rd-Looking Statements

Statements included in this earning release that are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as, forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provided by Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words “may,” “will,” “anticipate,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “expect,” “aim,” “plan,” “estimate,” “continue,” and “intend,” as well as other similar words and expressions of the future, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements related to our projected growth, anticipated future financial performance, and management’s long-term performance goals, as well as statements relating to the anticipated effects on results of operations and financial condition from expected developments or events, or business and growth strategies, including anticipated internal growth.

These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:

• the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations;
• the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on us, our employees, customers and third-party service providers, and the ultimate extent of the impacts of the pandemic and related government stimulus programs;
• our ability to successfully manage interest rate risk, credit risk, liquidity risk, and other risks inherent to our industry;
• the accuracy of our financial statement estimates and assumptions, including the estimates used for our credit loss reserve and deferred tax asset valuation allowance;
• the efficiency and effectiveness of our internal control environment;
• our ability to comply with the extensive laws and regulations to which we are subject, including the laws for each jurisdiction where we operate;
• legislative or regulatory changes and changes in accounting principles, policies, practices or guidelines, including the effects of forthcoming CECL implementation;
• the effects of our lack of a diversified loan portfolio and concentration in the South Florida market, including the risks of geographic, depositor, and industry concentrations, including our concentration in loans secured by real estate;
• the concentration of ownership of our Class A common stock;
• our ability to fund or access the capital markets at attractive rates and terms and manage our growth, both organic growth as well as growth through other means, such as future acquisitions;
• inflation, interest rate, unemployment rate, market, and monetary fluctuations;
• increased competition and its effect on pricing of our products and services as well as our margins;
• the effectiveness of our risk management strategies, including operational risks, including, but not limited to, client, employee, or third-party fraud and security breaches; and
• other risks described from time to time in the Bank or the Company’s filings with the FDIC or SEC.

All forward-looking statements are necessarily only estimates of future results, and there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations. Therefore, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Further, forward-looking statements included in this presentation are made only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, unless required to do so under the federal securities laws. You should also review the risk factors described in the reports the Company filed or will file with the SEC and, for periods prior to the completion of the bank holding company reorganization, the Bank filed with the FDIC.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This earning release includes financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). This financial information includes certain operating performance measures. Management has included these non-GAAP measures because it believes these measures may provide useful supplemental information for evaluating the Company’s underlying performance trends. Further, management uses these measures in managing and evaluating the Company’s business and intends to refer to them in discussions about our operations and performance. Operating performance measures should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative to or substitute for, measures determined in accordance with GAAP, and are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP measures that may be presented by other companies. To the extent applicable, reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures can be found in the ‘Non-GAAP Reconciliation Tables’ included in the exhibits to this earning release.

You should assume that all numbers are unaudited unless otherwise noted.

Contacts:

Investor Relations
InvestorRelations@uscentury.com

Media Relations
Martha Guerra-Kattou
(305) 715-5141
MGuerra@uscentury.com