First Financial Bancorp Announces Third Quarter 2023 Financial Results and Quarterly Dividend

• Moderate loan growth during the quarter
  • Loan balances increased $96.6 million compared to the first quarter
  • Growth of 3.6% on an annualized basis
  • Residential mortgages and finance leases drove quarterly growth
• Total Allowance for Credit Losses of $162.2 million; Total quarterly provision expense of $11.7 million
  • Loans and leases - ACL of $145.2 million; decreased 5 bps to 1.36% of total loans
  • Unfunded Commitments - ACL of $17.0 million
  • Provision expense driven by net charge-offs; Classified assets increased slightly to $140.6 million
  • Net charge-offs 61 bps of total loans and included $6.1 million from loan sale and $6.9 million from a COVID impacted business
• Capital ratios remain solid
  • Total capital ratio increased 7 bps to 13.51%
  • Tier 1 common equity increased 26 bps to 11.60%
  • Tangible common equity decreased 6 bps to 6.50%⁽¹⁾; 9.07%⁽¹⁾ excluding impact from AOCI
  • Tangible book value per share of $10.91⁽¹⁾

Additionally, the board of directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per common share for the next regularly scheduled dividend, payable on December 15, 2023 to shareholders of record as of December 1, 2023.

Archie Brown, President and CEO, commented on the quarter, "Overall, I am pleased with our third quarter performance.  Strong net interest income and robust fee income led to a 13% increase in net income from the third quarter of 2022.  Adjusted return on assets was 1.49% and adjusted return on average tangible common equity was 23.8%.  As expected, higher deposit costs led to a slight reduction in earnings on a linked quarter basis.  Even so, our net interest margin was 4.33% for the quarter, which was at the high end of our expectations."

Mr. Brown continued, "Loan growth was in line with expectations for the period, led by growth in the Leasing and Mortgage  portfolios.  We expect moderate loan growth over the remainder of the year.  Deposit balances were stable during the quarter.  While the change in mix from non-interest bearing to CDs and Money Market accounts continued, we experienced slight growth in total balances and our loan to deposit ratio remained flat at 82%.  Our fee income continued to exceed expectations this quarter, with strong performance from wealth management, equipment leasing, Bannockburn, and mortgage banking." 

Mr. Brown commented on asset quality, "Credit trends were mixed during the period, and we experienced elevated net charge-offs.  During the third quarter we elected to sell approximately $32 million in commercial real estate loans and incurred a $6.1 million loss on the sale.  We also recorded a $6.9 million loss on a large C&I loan that was negatively impacted during Covid and has been unable to rebound in the period since.  Additionally, nonaccrual loan balances increased during the period due to the downgrade of one office loan whose major tenant vacated the space during the quarter.  Classified Assets remain low and we expect provision expense to to be fairly stable in the fourth quarter."

Mr. Brown concluded, "We remain pleased with our high net interest margin, favorable fee income trends and robust earnings.  During the quarter, our regulatory capital levels strengthened, and our strong earnings helped to maintain the tangible common equity ratio despite the negative impact to AOCI from the increase in market rates.  We are encouraged by our performance in 2023 and we believe we are well positioned to navigate the current economic environment and continue to deliver strong results."

Full detail of the Company's third quarter 2023 performance is provided in the accompanying financial statements and slide presentation.

Teleconference / Webcast Information
First Financial's executive management will host a conference call to discuss the Company's financial and operating results on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.  Members of the public who would like to listen to the conference call should dial (888) 550-5723 (U.S. toll free) or (646) 960-0471 (U.S. local), access code 5048068.  The number should be dialed five to ten minutes prior to the start of the conference call.  A replay of the conference call will be available beginning one hour after the completion of the live call at (800) 770-2030 (U.S. toll free), (647) 362-9199 (U.S. local), access code 5048068.  The recording will be available until November 8, 2023.  The conference call will also be accessible as an audio webcast via the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at  www.bankatfirst.com.  The webcast will be archived on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website for 12 months.

Press Release and Additional Information on Website
This press release as well as supplemental information are available to the public through the Investor Relations section of First Financial's website at www.bankatfirst.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This earnings release contains GAAP financial measures and Non-GAAP financial measures where management believes it to be helpful in understanding the Company's results of operations or financial position.  Where Non-GAAP financial measures are used, the comparable GAAP financial measures, as well as a reconciliation to the comparable GAAP financial measure, can be found in the section titled "Appendix: Non-GAAP to GAAP Reconciliation" in the accompanying slide presentation.

Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this report which are not statements of historical fact constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Words such as ''believes,'' ''anticipates,'' "likely," "expected," "estimated," ''intends'' and other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.  Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make about (i) our future operating or financial performance, including revenues, income or loss and earnings or loss per share, (ii) future common stock dividends, (iii) our capital structure, including future capital levels, (iv) our plans, objectives and strategies, and (v) the assumptions that underlie our forward-looking statements.

As with any forecast or projection, forward-looking statements are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead express only management's beliefs regarding future results or events, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of management's control. It is possible that actual results and outcomes may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results or outcomes indicated in these forward-looking statements.  Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements include the following, without limitation:

• economic, market, liquidity, credit, interest rate, operational and technological risks associated with the Company's business;
• future credit quality and performance, including our expectations regarding future loan losses and our allowance for credit losses
• the effect of and changes in policies and laws or regulatory agencies, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and other legislation and regulation relating to the banking industry;
• Management's ability to effectively execute its business plans;
• mergers and acquisitions, including costs or difficulties related to the integration of acquired companies;
• the possibility that any of the anticipated benefits of the Company's acquisitions will not be realized or will not be realized within the expected time period;
• the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices;
• changes in consumer spending, borrowing and saving and changes in unemployment;
• changes in customers' performance and creditworthiness;
• the costs and effects of litigation and of unexpected or adverse outcomes in such litigation;  
• current and future economic and market conditions, including the effects of changes in housing prices, fluctuations in unemployment rates, U.S. fiscal debt, budget and tax matters, geopolitical matters, and any slowdown in global economic growth;
• the adverse impact on the U.S. economy, including the markets in which we operate, of the novel coronavirus, which causes the Coronavirus disease 2019 ("COVID-19"), global pandemic, and the impact  on the performance of our loan and lease portfolio, the market value of our investment securities, the availability of sources of funding and the demand for our products;
• our capital and liquidity requirements (including under regulatory capital standards, such as the Basel III capital standards) and our ability to generate capital internally or raise capital on favorable terms;
• financial services reform and other current, pending or future legislation or regulation that could have a negative effect on our revenue and businesses, including the Dodd-Frank Act and other legislation and regulation relating to bank products and services;
• the effect of the current interest rate environment or changes in interest rates or in the level or composition of our assets or liabilities on our net interest income, net interest margin and our mortgage originations, mortgage servicing rights and mortgage loans held for sale;
• the effect of a fall in stock market prices on our brokerage, asset and wealth management businesses;
• a failure in or breach of our operational or security systems or infrastructure, or those of our third-party vendors or other service providers, including as a result of cyber attacks;
• the effect of changes in the level of checking or savings account deposits on our funding costs and net interest margin; and
• our ability to develop and execute effective business plans and strategies.

Additional factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements can be found in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as our other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. 

All forward-looking statements included in this filing are made as of the date hereof and are based on information available at the time of the filing.  Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

About First Financial Bancorp.
First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company.  As of September 30, 2023, the Company had $17.1 billion in assets, $10.6 billion in loans, $12.9 billion in deposits and $2.1 billion in shareholders' equity.  The Company's subsidiary, First Financial Bank, founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services products through its six lines of business: Commercial, Retail Banking, Investment Commercial Real Estate, Mortgage Banking, Commercial Finance and Wealth Management.  These business units provide traditional banking services to business and retail clients.  Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management, trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had approximately $3.3 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2023.  The Company operated 130 full service banking centers as of September 30, 2023, located in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, while the Commercial Finance business lends into targeted industry verticals on a nationwide basis.  Additional information about the Company, including its products, services and banking locations, is available at www.bankatfirst.com.

FIRST FINANCIAL BANCORP.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
	Three Months Ended,										Nine months ended,
	Sep. 30,		June 30,		Mar. 31,		Dec. 31,		Sep. 30,		Sep. 30,
	2023		2023		2023		2022		2022		2023		2022
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Net income	$     63,061		$     65,667		$     70,403		$     69,086		$     55,705		$     99,131		$   148,526
Net earnings per share - basic	$         0.67		$         0.70		$         0.75		$         0.74		$         0.60		$         2.12		$         1.59
Net earnings per share - diluted	$         0.66		$         0.69		$         0.74		$         0.73		$         0.59		$         2.09		$         1.57
Dividends declared per share	$         0.23		$         0.23		$         0.23		$         0.23		$         0.23		$         0.69		$         0.69
KEY FINANCIAL RATIOS
Return on average assets	1.48 %		1.55 %		1.69 %		1.63 %		1.35 %		1.57 %		1.22 %
Return on average shareholders' equity	11.62 %		12.32 %		13.71 %		13.64 %		10.58 %		12.53 %		9.29 %
Return on average tangible shareholders' equity (1)	23.60 %		25.27 %		29.02 %		29.93 %		22.29 %		25.87 %		19.14 % Werbung Mehr Nachrichten zur First Financial Bancorp 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 07:02 - dpa-AFX DAX-FLASH: Dax vor positivem Wochenauftakt 05:32 - Jörg Schulte Läuft...:  Rekord-Ergebnisse und steigende Goldpreise! 28.04.24 - dpa-AFX 'Wiwo': Heidelberger Druck sieht gestiegenen Auftragseingang im 4. Quartal Basin Uranium - Es geht los    Der Uran-Superzyklus ist gestartet! weiterlesen» Anzeige wo-site-teaser-box-16791_site-teaser-box_2024-04-29_07%253A00%253A00_2024-04-30_09%253A00%253A59