First Commonwealth Announces Third Quarter 2013 Financial Results; Declares Quarterly Dividend

Credit Quality

The provision for credit losses was $2.7 million and $18.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013, respectively, as compared to $6.8 million and $14.8 million in the prior-year periods. The nine-month increase in provision expense is primarily related to the $13.1 million charge-off of an $18.6 million legacy credit relationship to a local real estate developer in the second quarter of 2013.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2013, nonperforming loans were $71.2 million, or 1.68% of total loans, a decrease of $1.9 million from June 30, 2013 and $22.7 million from September 30, 2012.

During the third quarter of 2013, net charge-offs were $5.2 million compared to $4.3 million in the third quarter of 2012. Net charge-offs for the third quarter included $2.3 million for a loan to a local energy company that was previously classified as nonaccrual and had a specific reserve of $2.3 million. For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, net charge-offs were $30.2 million, or 0.95% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to $12.0 million, or 0.38% of average loans on an annualized basis, for the same period in 2012. 

The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans outstanding was 1.30%, 1.36% and 1.52% for September 30, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively.

Other Real Estate Owned ("OREO") acquired through foreclosure was $9.7 million at September 30, 2013, as compared to $15.6 million and $16.0 million at June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012, respectively. During the third quarter of 2013, five OREO properties were sold generating gains of $1.1 million.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income, excluding net security gains, decreased $0.8 million, or 5%, in the third quarter of 2013 compared to the same period last year. Positive factors affecting noninterest income include the aforementioned OREO gains and a $0.8 million increase in deposit/debit card revenues in 2013. The third quarter 2012 results included a $1.9 million gain on the early termination of a mortgage banking joint venture relationship.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, noninterest income, excluding net security gains, decreased $4.5 million, or 9%, when compared to the same period of 2012, primarily attributable to $2.3 million of lower gains on the sale of troubled commercial loans and the aforementioned mortgage banking termination fee in 2012.

Net security gains for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2012 were $0.2 million. First Commonwealth has not incurred any other-than-temporary impairment charges in the investment portfolio since the third quarter of 2010.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense decreased $4.7 million to $40.0 million in the third quarter of 2013 as compared to $44.8 million in the third quarter of 2012.  The third quarter of 2012 included the effects of a $3.5 million loss related to an external fraud. Other noninterest expense improvements in the third quarter 2013, as compared to the same period of 2012, include $0.5 million of data processing expense and $0.4 million of loan collection expense.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, as compared to the same period last year, noninterest expense decreased $9.9 million, or 7%.  The decline was primarily attributable to reductions of $3.2 million in operational/fraud losses, $3.2 million in OREO write-downs, $1.8 million in collection and repossession costs, $1.1 million in salaries and employee benefits, $1.2 million in data processing/professional expense, $0.4 million in FDIC insurance and $1.0 million in other expense. These expense reductions were partially offset by a $1.6 million charge for early extinguishment of debt for $32.5 million of fixed-rate trust preferred debt and a $0.8 million contingency reserve established for a tax reporting issue in the first half of 2013.

Full-time equivalent staff was 1,377 and 1,412 for the periods ended September 30, 2013 and 2012, respectively. The efficiency ratio, calculated as total noninterest expense as a percentage of total revenue (total revenue consists of net interest income, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, plus total noninterest income, excluding net impairment losses and net securities gains), was 66% for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, and 68% for the same period of 2012. 

On September 30, 2013, First Commonwealth executed a contract with Jack Henry and Associates to license the Jack Henry and Associates SilverLake System® core processing software and to outsource certain data processing services. A system conversion is expected to occur during the second or third quarter of 2014.  First Commonwealth will incur approximately $12.0 million of charges related to accelerated depreciation for data processing hardware and software, early termination charges on existing contracts and staffing and employment-related charges.  These charges will be recognized beginning in the fourth quarter of 2013 through the anticipated conversion date.  First Commonwealth expects to achieve $6.0 to $8.0 million in lower annual technology-related expenses as well as employment and other operational expense reductions following the conversion date.

"To date, our efficiency efforts have been effective, but incremental in nature," stated Norm Montgomery, Executive Vice President / Business Integration. "The conversion of our core processing platform represents a defining step in the evolution of our IT and operations infrastructure, and we are confident that the transition to an integrated, best-of-suite platform will provide a transformative catalyst for both our operating efficiency and our delivery process, resulting in a vastly improved customer experience."

Dividend/Buybacks

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation declared a common stock quarterly dividend of $0.06 per share which is payable on November 15, 2013 to shareholders of record as of November 4, 2013. This dividend represents a 3% projected annual yield utilizing the October 22, 2013 closing market price of $8.14.

On January 29, 2013, First Commonwealth's Board of Directors authorized a $25.0 million common stock repurchase program in addition to the $50.0 million common stock repurchase program announced on June 19, 2012. Under these programs, management is authorized to repurchase shares through Rule 10b5-1 plans, open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, block purchases or otherwise in accordance with applicable federal securities laws, including Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Depending on market conditions and other factors, repurchases may be made at any time or from time to time, without prior notice. First Commonwealth may suspend or discontinue the programs at any time. As of September 30, 2013, First Commonwealth has purchased 9,821,489 shares at an average price of $6.86 per share under these programs.

First Commonwealth's capital ratios for leverage, Total and Tier I were 9.8%, 13.2% and 12.0%, respectively on September 30, 2013.

Conference Call

First Commonwealth will host a quarterly conference call to discuss its financial results for the third quarter of 2013 on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 2:00 PM (ET). The call can be accessed by dialing (toll free) 1-877-353-0037 or through the company's Investor Relations web page at http://ir.fcbanking.com. A replay of the webcast will be available approximately two hours following the conclusion of the conference. A link to the webcast will be accessible at this web page for 30 days.

About First Commonwealth Financial Corporation

First Commonwealth is a $6.2 billion financial holding company headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania.  It operates 110 retail branch offices in 15 counties in western and central Pennsylvania through First Commonwealth Bank, a Pennsylvania chartered bank and trust company.  Financial services and insurance products are also provided through First Commonwealth Insurance Agency and First Commonwealth Financial Advisors, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements about First Commonwealth's future plans, strategies and financial performance.  These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and often include words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "estimate" or words of similar meaning, or future or conditional verbs such as "will," "would," "should," "could" or "may."  Such statements are based on assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results, performance or achievements contemplated by the forward-looking statements.  These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the following: deterioration of general business and economic conditions; changes in interest rates; deterioration in the credit quality of our loan portfolios or in the value of the collateral securing those loans; the failure of a third party to perform critical functions or services; deterioration in the value of securities held in our investment securities portfolio; the impact of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Law and other legal and regulatory changes; increased competition from both banks and non-banks; changes in customer behavior and preferences; effects of mergers and acquisitions and related integration; effects of critical accounting policies and judgments; management's ability to effectively manage credit risk, market risk, operational risk, legal risk, and regulatory and compliance risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made. First Commonwealth undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.

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FIRST COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
Unaudited
(dollars in thousands, except per share data)
	For the Three Months Ended												For the Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				June 30,				September 30,				September 30,				September 30,
	2013				2013				2012				2013				2012
SUMMARY RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Net interest income (FTE)(1)	$	48,255			$	46,728			$	47,704			$	141,429			$	145,099
Provision for credit losses	2,714				10,800				6,754				18,011				14,838
Noninterest income	17,083				14,931				17,855				46,899				51,331
Noninterest expense	40,045				41,998				44,765				123,497				133,365
Net income	15,854				5,816				9,847				32,223				33,219
Earnings per common share (diluted)	$	0.16			$	0.06			$	0.09			$	0.33			$ Werbung Mehr Nachrichten zur First Commonwealth Financial Aktie kostenlos abonnieren E-Mail-Adresse Bitte überprüfe deine die E-Mail-Adresse. Benachrichtigungen von ARIVA.DE (Mit der Bestellung akzeptierst du die Datenschutzhinweise) -1 Vielen Dank, dass du dich für unseren Newsletter angemeldet hast. Du erhältst in Kürze eine E-Mail mit einem Aktivierungslink. Hinweis: ARIVA.DE veröffentlicht in dieser Rubrik Analysen, Kolumnen und Nachrichten aus verschiedenen Quellen. Die ARIVA.DE AG ist nicht verantwortlich für Inhalte, die erkennbar von Dritten in den „News“-Bereich dieser Webseite eingestellt worden sind, und macht sich diese nicht zu Eigen. Diese Inhalte sind insbesondere durch eine entsprechende „von“-Kennzeichnung unterhalb der Artikelüberschrift und/oder durch den Link „Um den vollständigen Artikel zu lesen, klicken Sie bitte hier.“ erkennbar; verantwortlich für diese Inhalte ist allein der genannte Dritte. Andere Nutzer interessierten sich auch für folgende News 27.04.24 - wallstreet:online ... Besser als Gold und Silber: Kupfer bricht aus, Preisrallye entfesselt 27.04.24 - PR Newswire ROSEN, TOP RANKED INVESTOR COUNSEL, Encourages HireRight Holdings Corporation Investors to Secure Counsel in Securities Class Action - HRT 27.04.24 - Jörg Schulte Well done...: Entdecken Sie das Geheimnis des Reichtums! Diese Firma ist der Schlüssel dazu! Biotech-Einhorn!    FDA Zulassung für das CBD-Wunder?! weiterlesen» Anzeige wo-site-teaser-box-16773_site-teaser-box_2024-04-27_09%253A00%253A00_2024-04-28_09%253A00%253A59