ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. Reports Third Quarter 2011 Earnings

PLANO, Texas, Oct. 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: VPFG) (the "Company"), the holding company for ViewPoint Bank, announced financial results today for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Detailed results of the quarter will be available in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which will be filed today and posted on our websites, http://www.viewpointbank.com and http://www.viewpointfinancialgroup.com.

Performance Highlights

• Linked quarter growth in Warehouse Purchase Program and commercial real estate drives $290.0 million increase in gross loans: Warehouse Purchase Program balances at September 30, 2011, increased by $258.8 million from June 30, 2011, primarily due to refinance and seasonal activity, while commercial real estate loan balances increased by $19.1 million.
• Year over year and linked quarter increases in the net interest margin: The net interest margin increased six basis points to 2.87% for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, compared to the same period last year. This also represented a four basis point increase from 2.83% for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.
• Loan growth year-to-date: During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, loans increased by $257.8 million, or 16.1%. This increase was driven by a $202.9 million increase in Warehouse Purchase Program loans held for sale and a $52.7 million increase in commercial real estate loan balances.
• Lower net charge-offs led to decrease in provision expense: The provision for loan losses decreased by $1.0 million, or 27.7%, during the nine months ended September 30, 2011, compared to the same period last year.
• Quarterly net income of $5.1 million, an increase of $286,000, or 5.9%, from last quarter: The $286,000 linked quarter increase in net income was driven by higher net interest income and a lower provision for loan losses.
• Basic and diluted EPS increased by $0.01 linked quarter to $0.16: Basic and diluted earnings per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, was $0.16, up $0.01 from the quarter ended June 30, 2011.
• Deposit growth of $56.1 million: Deposits increased by $56.1 million from December 31, 2010, primarily due to growth of $57.6 million in interest-bearing demand accounts.

President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Base said, "ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. has once again posted solid earnings, loan and deposit growth, and improved net interest margins—all in an environment of challenging economic times and increased regulatory pressures facing our industry. We are very proud of our performance this quarter and so far this year."

Net Interest Spread and Margin

The net interest margin for the third quarter of 2011 was 2.87%, a six basis point increase from the third quarter of 2010 and a four basis point increase from the second quarter of 2011. The year over year increase was primarily due to reduced deposit and borrowing costs, while the linked quarter increase was primarily due to increased volume in Warehouse Purchase Program loans and lower deposit costs. Net interest income was $20.5 million for third quarter 2011, compared to $18.5 million for third quarter 2010 and $19.0 million for second quarter 2011. The year over year increase was primarily due to lower rates paid on all deposit categories and a decrease in the volume of time deposits, which offset increased volume in interest-bearing demand, savings and money market accounts, and the November 2010 prepayment and restructuring of $91.6 million in fixed-rate FHLB advances. The linked quarter increase was primarily due to increased volume in our Warehouse Purchase Program, as the average balance of these loans increased by $113.4 million linked quarter, and lower rates paid on Absolute Checking.

Results of Operations for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2011

Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, increased by $286,000, or 5.9%, from the quarter ended June 30, 2011, with this increase being driven by a $1.5 million, or 8.0%, increase in net interest income and a $484,000 reduction in the provision for loan losses. Net charge-offs for the third quarter of 2011 decreased to $205,000 from $400,000 for the second quarter of 2011. Although provision expense decreased on a linked quarter basis, our allowance for loan losses at September 30, 2011, was $16.5 million, or 1.42% of total loans, compared to $16.2 million, or 1.41% of total loans, at June 30, 2011. Our allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans was 94.82% at September 30, 2011, compared to 90.45% at June 30, 2011. The percentage of non-performing loans to total loans, excluding accruing troubled debt restructurings, was 1.50% at September 30, 2011, a six basis point decrease from June 30, 2011, as non-performing loans improved from $17.9 million to $17.4 million.

Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2011, was $5.1 million, a decrease of $265,000, or 4.9%, from the quarter ended September 30, 2010. The decrease in net income was primarily due to lower non-interest income, which was driven by a $2.0 million reduction in the net gain on sale of mortgage loans due to the lower volume of one-to four-family loan originations in the third quarter of 2011 compared to the volume experienced during the same period last year. The decrease was partially offset by higher net interest income and reductions in the provision for loan losses and noninterest expense. Our basic and diluted earnings per share for the three months ended September 30, 2011, was $0.16, a $0.01 decrease from $0.17 for the three months ended September 30, 2010.

The provision for loan losses was $581,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2011, a decrease of $175,000, or 23.1%, from the three months ended September 30, 2010. The balance of the allowance for loan losses increased by $1.9 million from September 30, 2010, to September 30, 2011, as management increased qualitative factors due to the continued weak economic conditions. Despite these trends, the Company has not seen an increase in charge-offs, as net charge-offs declined by $275,000 during the third quarter of 2011 compared to the same period last year.

Results of Operations for the Nine Months Ended September 30, 2011

Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, was $16.6 million, an increase of $5.3 million, or 46.4%, from net income of $11.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2010. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, included a $2.2 million net of tax gain on the sale of available for sale securities. The increase in net income was driven by higher net interest income, the gain on sale of securities and a lower provision for loan losses, and was partially offset by a $4.0 million decline in the net gain on sales of loans and a $1.5 million increase in noninterest expense. Our basic and diluted earnings per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2011, was $0.51, a $0.13 increase from $0.38 for the nine months ended September 30, 2010.

Financial Condition as of September 30, 2011

Total assets increased by $293.3 million, or 10.0%, to $3.24 billion at September 30, 2011, from $2.94 billion at December 31, 2010. The increase in total assets, which was primarily due to a $257.8 million increase in gross loans and a $45.2 million increase in the securities portfolio, was funded by a $210.6 million increase in net FHLB advances and a $56.1 million increase in deposits.

Loan Portfolio

During the nine months ended September 30, 2011, loans increased in all categories except for the consumer portfolio. This increase included a $202.9 million increase in Warehouse Purchase Program loans, a $52.7 million increase in commercial real estate loans and $4.7 million of growth in commercial and industrial loans as compared to December 31, 2010. Gross loans (including $691.2 million in mortgage loans held for sale) increased by $257.8 million, or 16.1%, to $1.86 billion at September 30, 2011, from $1.60 billion at December 31, 2010.  

Conference Call

The Company will host an investor conference call to review these results on Friday, October 28, 2011, at 10 a.m., Central Time. Participants are asked to call (toll-free) 1-877-317-6789 at least five minutes prior to the call. International participants are asked to call 1-412-317-6789 and participants in Canada are asked to call (toll-free) 1-866-605-3852.

The call and corresponding presentation slides will be webcast live on the home page of the Company's website, www.viewpointfinancialgroup.com. An audio replay will be available one hour after the conclusion of the call at 1-877-344-7529, Conference #10001720. This replay will be available until February 29, 2012, at 8 a.m., Central Time. The webcast will be archived on the Company's website until February 29, 2012 or until the Company's next quarterly webcast/conference call.

About ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc.

ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc. is the holding company for ViewPoint Bank. ViewPoint Bank operates 25 community bank offices and 10 loan production offices. For more information, please visit www.viewpointbank.com or www.viewpointfinancialgroup.com.

When used in filings by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in the Company's press releases or other public or shareholder communications, and in oral statements made with the approval of an authorized executive officer, the words or phrases "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," "intends" or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, changes in economic conditions, legislative changes, changes in policies by regulatory agencies, fluctuations in interest rates, the risks of lending and investing activities, including changes in the level and direction of loan delinquencies and write-offs and changes in estimates of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses, the Company's ability to access cost-effective funding, fluctuations in real estate values and both residential and commercial real estate market conditions, demand for loans and deposits in the Company's market area, the industry-wide decline in mortgage production, competition, changes in management's business strategies and other factors set forth under Risk Factors in the Company's Form 10-K, that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical earnings and those presently anticipated or projected. The Company wishes to advise readers that the factors listed above could materially affect the Company's financial performance and could cause the Company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods in any current statements.

The Company does not undertake – and specifically declines any obligation – to publicly release the result of any revisions which may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events.

SOURCE ViewPoint Financial Group, Inc.