VBTX - Veritex Holdings Inc. Reports Second Quarter Operating Results

DALLAS, July 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veritex Holdings, Inc. (“Veritex” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: VBTX), the holding company for Veritex Community Bank, today announced the results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.

“The second quarter was dominated by significant pandemic and economic challenges. Despite those headwinds, we delivered solid results while supporting our employees, customers and communities,” said C. Malcolm Holland, III, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our quarterly results reflect strong pre-tax, pre-provision operating net revenue, continued building of our allowance for credit losses and higher capital levels.  I couldn’t be more proud of what the team accomplished during such a disruptive operating period.”

Second Quarter Highlights

• Net income of $24.0 million, or $0.48 diluted earnings per share (“EPS”), compared to $4.1 million, or $0.08 diluted EPS, for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and $26.9 million, or $0.49 diluted EPS, for the quarter ended June 30, 2019;
• Pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings¹ totaled $45.7 million, compared to $39.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 and $44.0 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2019;
• Provision for credit losses and unfunded commitments was $19.0 million, compared to $35.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as a result of continued disruptions in the global economy from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Texas economic forecasts that drive the Company’s current expected credit loss (“CECL”) model;
• Allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) to total loans held for investments (“LHI”), excluding mortgage warehouse (“MW”) and Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans, was 2.01% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 compared to 1.73% for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Net charge-offs to average loans outstanding and nonperforming assets to total assets remained essentially flat quarter over quarter at 3 basis points and 62 basis points, respectively;
• During the second quarter of 2020, the Company funded $400.9 million of PPP loans through the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) as a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The Company elected to carry these loans at fair value, and as a result, the Company recognized $12.5 million of PPP fee income, gross, during the second quarter of 2020;
• Total deposits grew $325.6 million from the first quarter of 2020, or 22.4% annualized, with the average cost of interest-bearing deposits decreasing to 0.84% for the three months ended June 30, 2020 from 1.39% for the three months ended March 31, 2020;
• Declared quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 payable on August 20, 2020.

¹ Refer to the section titled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.
² Annualized ratio.

Second Quarter Global Economic Developments

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruptions to the global economy and the communities which we serve. In response to the pandemic, we have implemented our operational response and preparedness plan during the first and second quarters of 2020, which includes dispersion of critical operational processes, increased monitoring focused on higher risk operations, enhanced remote access security and further restricted internet access, enhanced security around wire transfer execution and flexible scheduling provided to employees who are unable to work from home. Additionally, we are focused on taking care of our clients and communities who may be experiencing financial hardship due to the pandemic, including through our loan deferment program and participation in the PPP designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses.

Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2020

Net Interest Income

For the three months ended June 30, 2020, net interest income before provision for credit losses was $65.8 million and net interest margin was 3.31% compared to $67.4 million and 3.67%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The $1.6 million decrease in net interest income was primarily due to a $7.4 million decrease in interest income on loans, slightly offset by a $4.1 million decrease in interest expense on transaction and savings deposits. Net interest margin decreased 36 basis points from the three months ended March 31, 2020 primarily due to a decrease in yields earned on loan balances and an unfavorable increase in the mix of lower yielding assets, partially offset by decreases in the average rates paid on interest-bearing demand and savings deposits and certificate and other time deposits during the three months ended June 30, 2020. As a result, the average cost of interest-bearing deposits decreased 55 basis points to 0.84% for the three months ended June 30, 2020 from 1.39% for the three months ended March 31, 2020.

Net interest income before provision for credit losses decreased by $5.6 million from $71.4 million to $65.8 million and net interest margin decreased by 69 basis points from 4.00% to 3.31% for the three months ended June 30, 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019. The decrease in net interest income before provision for credit losses was primarily due to a $16.3 million decrease in interest income on loans, partially offset by an $8.9 million decrease in interest expenses on transaction and savings deposits during the three months ended June 30, 2020 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2019. Net interest margin decreased 69 basis points from the three months ended June 30, 2019 primarily due to a decrease in yields earned on loan balances, partially offset by decreases in the average rate paid on interest-bearing demand and savings deposits for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and an unfavorable shift in the mix of earning assets compared to the three months ended June 30, 2019. As a result, the average cost of interest-bearing deposits decreased 95 basis points to 0.84% for the three months ended June 30, 2020 from 1.79% for the three months ended June 30, 2019.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was $21.3 million, an increase of $14.0 million, or 193.8%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $10.6 million of increase in government guaranteed loan income, net. In the second quarter, the Company earned fee income of 5% on PPP loans under $350 thousand, 3% on PPP loans between $350 thousand and $2 million and 1% on PPP loans greater than $2 million totaling $12.5 million. The recognized fee was partially offset by a valuation allowance on the PPP loans of $2.0 million as the Company elected to carry these loans at fair value. 

Compared to the three months ended June 30, 2019, noninterest income for the three months ended June 30, 2020 increased by $15.3 million, or 252.8%. The increase was primarily due to a $10.0 million increase in government guaranteed loan income, net, as a result of the fee income earned PPP loans discussed above and a $3.5 million increase in gain on sales of investment securities.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense was $40.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020, compared to $35.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020, an increase of $4.5 million, or 12.7%. The increase was primarily driven by a $1.1 million increase in salaries and employee benefits, a $0.6 million increase in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) assessment fees, and a $1.6 million increase in bank service charges resulting from pre-payment fees on Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) advances paid off early in the second quarter of 2020. Noninterest expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020 includes $1.2 million of COVID related expenses primarily related to Community Reinvestment Act donations, lender incentives, employee overtime and cleaning services.

Compared to the three months ended June 30, 2019, noninterest expense for the three months ended June 30, 2020 increased by $165 thousand, or 0.4%.

Financial Condition

Total loans were $6.6 billion at June 30, 2020, an increase of $355.9 million, or 22.8% annualized, compared to March 31, 2020. The net increase was primarily the result of the Company’s origination of $400.9 million of loans in the second quarter of 2020 under the PPP. The Company has elected to carry such PPP loans at fair value, which represent $398.9 million of the Company’s outstanding loan balance as of the second quarter 2020.

Total deposits were $6.1 billion at June 30, 2020, an increase of $325.6 million, or 22.4% annualized, compared to March 31, 2020. The increase was primarily the result of increases of $177.3 million and $358.4 million in interest-bearing transaction and savings deposits and noninterest-bearing demand deposits, respectively, partially offset by a decrease of $210.1 million in certificates and other time deposits.

Goodwill

During the second quarter of 2020, the Company observed a significant decline in the market valuation of our common shares as a result of sustained economic disruption occurring after the first quarter of 2020, including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the sustained economic disruption, the Company determined a triggering event had occurred that required an interim quantitative impairment assessment for the Company’s reporting unit to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value is less than the carrying value as a result of a sustained price decrease. The Company determined the fair value of its reporting unit using a combination of a market and income approach. The fair value of our reporting unit exceeded its related carrying value by approximately 26%.

Asset Quality and Adoption of ASU 2016-13

Nonperforming assets totaled $53.3 million, or 0.62% of total assets at June 30, 2020, compared to $39.4 million, or 0.50% of total assets, at December 31, 2019. The Company had a net charge-off of $1.8 million for the quarter, which is primarily the result of one relationship charge-off that was fully reserved against in the first quarter of 2020.

The Company recorded a provision for credit losses for the three months ended June 30, 2020 of $16.2 million, compared to $31.8 million and $3.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2019, respectively. The decrease in the recorded provision for credit losses for the three months ended June 30, 2020 was primarily attributable to changes in the Texas economic forecasts used in the CECL model in the second quarter of 2020 to reflect the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as of June 30, 2020, as compared to our Texas economic forecasts and expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as of March 31, 2020. In the second quarter of 2020, we also recorded a $2.8 million provision for unfunded commitments which was also attributable to the change in the Texas economic forecasts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to a $3.9 million provision for unfunded commitments recorded for the three months ended March 31, 2020. Allowance for credit losses as a percentage of loans HFI, excluding MW and PPP loans, was 2.01%, 1.73% and 0.43% of total loans at June 30, 2020, March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2019, respectively.

Dividend Information

On July 28, 2020, Veritex’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share on its outstanding shares of common stock.  The dividend will be paid on or after August 20, 2020 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 6, 2020.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Veritex’s management uses certain non-GAAP (U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) financial measures to evaluate its operating performance and provide information that is important to investors. However, non-GAAP financial measures are supplemental and should be viewed in addition to, and not as an alternative for, Veritex’s reported results prepared in accordance with GAAP. Specifically, Veritex reviews and reports tangible book value per common share, operating earnings, tangible common equity to tangible assets, return on average tangible common equity, pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings, pre-tax, pre-provision operating return on average assets, diluted operating earnings per share, operating return on average assets, operating return on average tangible common equity and operating efficiency ratio. Veritex has included in this earnings release information related to these non-GAAP financial measures for the applicable periods presented. Please refer to “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” after the financial highlights at the end of this earnings release for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures.

Conference Call

The Company will host an investor conference call to review the results on Wednesday, July 29, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. Central Time. Participants may pre-register for the call by visiting https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/pckpzcgt and will receive a unique PIN, which can be used when dialing in for the call. This will allow attendees to access the call immediately. Alternatively, participants may call toll-free at (877) 703-9880.

The call and corresponding presentation slides will be webcast live on the home page of the Company's website, https://ir.veritexbank.com/. An audio replay will be available one hour after the conclusion of the call at (855) 859-2056, Conference #3693902. This replay, as well as the webcast, will be available until August 5, 2020.

About Veritex Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Veritex is a bank holding company that conducts banking activities through its wholly owned subsidiary, Veritex Community Bank, with locations throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and in the Houston metropolitan area. Veritex Community Bank is a Texas state chartered bank regulated by the Texas Department of Banking and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. For more information, visit www.veritexbank.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This earnings release contains certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on various facts and derived utilizing assumptions, current expectations, estimates and projections and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the expected payment date of Veritex’s quarterly cash dividend, the impact of certain changes in Veritex’s accounting policies, standards and interpretations, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken in response thereto, Veritex’s future financial performance, business and growth strategy, projected plans and objectives, as well as other projections based on macroeconomic and industry trends, which are inherently unreliable due to the multiple factors that impact broader economic and industry trends, and any such variations may be material.  Statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “projects,” “estimates,” “plans” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “may” and “could” are generally forward-looking in nature and not historical facts, although not all forward-looking statements include the foregoing words. We refer you to the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of Veritex’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and any updates to those risk factors set forth in Veritex’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.  If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Veritex’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what Veritex anticipates.  Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.  Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made.  Veritex does not undertake any obligation, and specifically declines any obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included in this earnings release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that Veritex or persons acting on Veritex’s behalf may issue.

14.49- VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
Financial Highlights
(Unaudited)

¹Refer to the section titled “Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” after the financial highlights for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures.
²Annualized ratio.

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
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(In thousands)

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
Financial Highlights
(In thousands, except per share data)

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
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(In thousands except percentages)

¹ Includes average outstanding balances of loans held for sale of $22,958, $10,995 and $8,140 for the three months ended June 30, 2020, March 31, 2020, and June 30, 2019, respectively, and average balances of loans held for investment, excluding mortgage warehouse.
² Net interest rate spread is the average yield on interest-earning assets minus the average rate on interest-bearing liabilities.
³ Net interest margin is equal to net interest income divided by average interest-earning assets.

VERITEX HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARY
Financial Highlights
(In thousands except percentages)