UMB Financial Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2016 Earnings of $41.9 million, or $0.85 per Diluted Share

UMB Financial Corporation Reports Third Quarter 2016 Earnings of $41.9 million, or $0.85 per Diluted Share

UMB Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: UMBF), a diversified financial holding company, announced earnings for the third quarter 2016 of $41.9 million or $0.85 per diluted share, compared to $37.5 million or $0.76 per diluted share in the second quarter 2016 (linked quarter) and $22.5 million or $0.46 per diluted share during the third quarter 2015. Year-to-date earnings as of September 30, 2016, were $115.9 million or $2.36 per diluted share, compared to $86.4 million or $1.84 per diluted share for the nine month period ended September 30, 2015.

Net operating income, a non-GAAP financial measure which is reconciled to the nearest comparable GAAP measure later in this release, was $43.0 million or $0.87 per diluted share for the third quarter 2016, compared to $39.5 million or $0.80 per diluted share for the linked quarter and $26.1 million or $0.53 per diluted share for the third quarter 2015. Year-to-date net operating income as of September 30, 2016, was $121.2 million or $2.46 per diluted share, compared to $89.1 million or $1.89 per diluted share for the nine month period ended September 30, 2015.

“Our strong results reflect double-digit revenue growth, driven by continued loan growth, higher loan yields, and improved noninterest income, compared to the third quarter 2015,” said Mariner Kemper, chairman and chief executive officer. “During the same period, operating expenses declined approximately one percent as we continued to execute on efficiency initiatives, as evidenced by our improved performance metrics.”

Net interest income

• On a linked quarter basis, the increase in net interest income was driven by an increase in average loans of $294.4 million, higher average loan yields, and an extra day of interest income. The average loan yields increased four basis points to 3.86 percent.
• On a year-over-year basis, the increase in net interest income was driven by growth in average loans of $1.2 billion and higher average loan yields, which increased ten basis points from a year ago.
• For the third quarter 2016, average earning assets stood at $18.4 billion, an increase of 1.6 percent over the linked quarter and 9.1 percent over the third quarter 2015.

Noninterest income

• Third quarter 2016 noninterest income remained flat as compared to the linked quarter and represented 49.4 percent of total revenue.
• The improvement in noninterest income over the same quarter in 2015 was driven by increases in equity earnings on alternative investments due to improvements in the valuation of the underlying Prairie Capital Management (PCM) fund investments, an increase in trading and investment banking fees, increases in gains on sales of securities available for sale, an increase in brokerage fees driven by corporate debt underwriting fees and 12b-1 income, and a $3.5 million increase in the fair value of company-owned life insurance recorded in other noninterest income.
• Trust and securities processing income decreased year-over-year primarily due to a $4.7 million, or 36.5 percent, decrease in advisory fee income from the Scout Funds.

Noninterest expense

• On a non-GAAP basis, operating noninterest expense, which excludes the impact of acquisition expenses and other items as reconciled later in this release, was $178.2 million for the third quarter 2016, a decrease of $4.0 million, or 2.2 percent, compared to the linked quarter, and $1.4 million, or 0.8 percent, compared to the third quarter 2015.
• Severance related to previously disclosed efficiency initiatives, Marquette-related severance, and other acquisition-related expenses totaled $1.6 million in the third quarter 2016, compared to $3.0 million for the linked quarter and $5.8 million for same quarter last year.
• On a linked quarter basis, the decrease in other noninterest expense was driven by a $1.8 million decline in operational losses.
• The decrease in noninterest expense compared to the third quarter 2015 was primarily driven by:
  • lower legal and consulting fees driven by a $1.9 million decrease in legal-related acquisition expenses;
  • decreased processing fees paid to distributors of the Scout Funds;
  • a $1.1 million decrease in off-balance sheet commitment reserves in other noninterest expense; and
  • Offset by increased salaries and employee benefits due to $3.5 million of deferred compensation plan fair value increases, and $2.0 million in volume-related bonus and commission expense driven by increased company performance, partially offset by a decrease of $1.8 million in Marquette-related severance.
• The company’s effective tax rate decreased to 22.2 percent for the third quarter 2016, compared to 25.4 percent for the linked quarter. The decrease is primarily attributable to an increase in federal tax credits and a larger portion of income earned from excludable life insurance policy gains.

Balance Sheet

• Average total assets for the third quarter 2016 were $19.7 billion compared to $18.1 billion for the same period in 2015, an increase of $1.6 billion, or 8.7 percent.

• Average loans at September 30, 2016, increased 3.0 percent, on a linked-quarter basis, and 14.0 percent, compared to third quarter 2015.

• Total securities available for sale decreased 7.0 percent on a linked-quarter basis and 5.6 percent compared to September 30, 2015, demonstrating success in rotating earning assets into loans.
• The growth in the company’s held to maturity securities portfolio is attributed to increased activity in private placement bonds, primarily used to refinance existing revenue bonds in the healthcare and education sectors.

• The cost of interest-bearing liabilities for the third quarter was 25 basis points, and total cost of funds including noninterest-bearing deposits was 17 basis points.

• Nonperforming loans, defined as restructured loans on nonaccrual and all other nonaccrual loans, increased $21.2 million from the linked quarter driven primarily by the migration of two traditional commercial credits to non-performing status.
• Provision for loan losses increased $6.0 million from the linked quarter, consistent with our methodology which considers the inherent risk in our loan portfolio, as well as other qualitative factors, such as macroeconomic conditions. Loan growth, increased impaired loans, and increased net charge-offs impacted the reserve this quarter.

Efficiency Initiatives

In 2015, the company announced efficiency initiatives with cost savings expected to be recognized as follows: $6.8 million in 2015, $22.6 million in 2016, and annualized savings of $32.9 million in 2017 and beyond. As an update, the company recognized $9.5 million of these cost savings in 2015, $15.0 million year-to-date 2016, and expects to recognize an additional $8.4 million in the remainder of 2016 and early 2017.

Dividend Declaration

At the company’s quarterly board meeting, the Board of Directors declared a $0.255 per share cash dividend, which represents a 4.1 percent increase over the previous dividend amount. The dividend is payable on Jan. 3, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 9, 2016.

Conference Call

The company plans to host a conference call to discuss its third quarter 2016 earnings results on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016, at 8:30 a.m. (CT).

Interested parties may access the call by dialing (toll-free) 877-267-8760 or (U.S.) 412-542-4148 and requesting to join the UMB Financial call. The live call can also be accessed by visiting the investor relations area of umbfinancial.com or by using the following the link:

UMB Financial 3Q 2016 Conference Call

A replay of the conference call may be heard through Nov. 9, 2016, by calling (toll-free) 877-344-7529 or (U.S.) 412-317-0088. The replay pass code required for playback is 10093649. The call replay may also be accessed via the company's website umbfinancial.com by visiting the investor relations area.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

In this release, we provide information about net operating income, operating earnings per share (operating EPS), operating return on average equity (operating ROE), operating return on average assets (operating ROA), operating noninterest expense, and operating efficiency ratio, all of which are non-GAAP financial measures. This information supplements the results that are reported according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and should not be viewed in isolation from, or as a substitute for, GAAP results. The differences between the non-GAAP financial measures—net operating income, operating EPS, operating ROE, operating ROA, operating noninterest expense and operating efficiency ratio—and the nearest comparable GAAP financial measures are reconciled later in this release. The company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures and the reconciliations may be useful to investors because they adjust for acquisition- and severance-related items that management does not believe reflect the company’s fundamental operating performance.

Net operating income for the relevant period is defined as GAAP net income, adjusted to reflect the impact of excluding the following: (i) fair value adjustments on contingent consideration for the acquisitions of Prairie Capital Management, LLC (PCM) and Reams Asset Management Company (Reams), (ii) expenses related to the acquisition of Marquette Financial Companies (Marquette), (iii) non-acquisition related severance expense and (iv) the tax impact of the previous adjustments. The company believes that the financial impact of excluding non-acquisition related severance expense will be immaterial in the near future. It is excluded from certain non-GAAP financial measures as it has an unusually large impact on the company’s financial statements.

Operating EPS (basic and diluted) is calculated as earnings per share as report, adjusted to reflect, on a per share basis, the impact of excluding the non-GAAP adjustments described in clauses (i)-(iv) above for the relevant period. Operating ROE is calculated as net operating income, divided by the company’s average total shareholders’ equity for the relevant period. Operating ROA is calculated as net operating income, divided by the company’s average assets for the relevant period. Operating noninterest expense for the relevant period is defined as GAAP noninterest expense, adjusted to reflect the pre-tax impact of non-GAAP adjustments described in clauses (i)-(iii) above. Operating efficiency ratio is calculated as the company’s operating noninterest expense, net of amortization of other intangibles, divided by the company’s total revenue

(tax equivalent net interest income plus noninterest income less gains on sales of securities available for sale, net).

Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains, and our other communications may contain, forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts—such as our statements about expected cost savings and other results of efficiency initiatives and our statements about the intent to make strategic investments. Forward-looking statements often use words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “project,” “outlook,” “forecast,” “target,” “trend,” “plan,” “goal,” or other words of comparable meaning or future-tense or conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” or “could.” Forward-looking statements convey our expectations, intentions, or forecasts about future events, circumstances, results, or aspirations. All forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, which may change over time and many of which are beyond our control. You should not rely on any forward-looking statement as a prediction or guarantee about the future. Our actual future objectives, strategies, plans, prospects, performance, condition, or results may differ materially from those set forth in any forward-looking statement. Some of the factors that may cause actual results or other future events, circumstances, or aspirations to differ from those in forward-looking statements are described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, or other applicable documents that are filed or furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Any forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf speaks only as of the date that it was made. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement to reflect the impact of events, circumstances, or results that arise after the date that the statement was made. You, however, should consult further disclosures (including disclosures of a forward-looking nature) that we may make in any subsequent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Current Report on Form 8-K, or other applicable document that is filed or furnished with the SEC.

About UMB:

UMB Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: UMBF) is a diversified financial holding company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., offering complete banking services, payment solutions, asset servicing and institutional investment management to customers. UMB operates banking and wealth management centers throughout Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arizona and Texas, as well as two national specialty-lending businesses. Subsidiaries of the holding company include companies that offer services to mutual funds and alternative-investment entities and registered investment advisors that offer equity and fixed income strategies to institutions and individual investors. For more information, visit umb.com, umbfinancial.com, blog.umb.com or follow us on Twitter at @UMBBank, Facebook at facebook.com/UMBBank and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/umb-bank.