Chemung Financial Corporation Reports 2017 Net Income of $10.4 million, or $2.16 per Share, and Fourth Quarter 2017 Net Income of $0.8 Million, or $0.16 per Share

ELMIRA, N.Y., Feb. 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chemung Financial Corporation (the “Corporation”) (Nasdaq:CHMG), the parent company of Chemung Canal Trust Company (the “Bank”), today reported net income of $10.4 million, or $2.16 per share, for the full year of 2017, compared to $10.0 million, or $2.11 per share, for the full year of 2016.  Net income for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $0.8 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to $3.0 million, or $0.62 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2016.

Earnings in the fourth quarter and full year 2017 included an estimated $2.6 million, or $0.54 per share, one-time net deferred tax revaluation to income tax expense, due to the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”).  The Tax Act was enacted on December 22, 2017, reducing the corporate Federal income tax rate from 35% to 21% and making other changes to the Federal corporate income tax laws.  The additional expense was attributable to the reduction in the carrying value of net deferred tax assets reflecting lower future tax benefits resulting from the lower enacted corporate tax rate.  Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”) require that the impact of the Tax Act must be accounted for in the period of enactment of the new law.  Non-GAAP net income for the full year of 2017 was $13.4 million, or $2.79 per share, compared to $10.2 million, or $2.13 per share, for the full year of 2016.  Non-GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $3.3 million, or $0.69 per share, compared to $3.0 million, or $0.62 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2016.

Anders M. Tomson, Chemung Financial Corporation CEO, stated:

“We are proud of the progress we made in 2017. We grew interest earning assets resulting in a substantial increase in revenue while maintaining our focus on operational efficiencies. We reinvested earnings in our digital delivery channels as part of our overall retail distribution transformation strategy. We remain focused on shareholder returns and believe that the recently passed tax reform bill will allow us to significantly reduce our income tax expense in the coming years and redeploy those earnings in initiatives and strategies that strengthen our capital, add value to shareholders, and position the Corporation for continued success.”

Fourth Quarter Highlights¹

• Loans, net of deferred fees, increased $111.5 million, or 9.3%
  
  
• Commercial loans increased $98.1 million, or 13.2%
  
  
• Deposits increased $11.1 million, or 0.8%
  
  
• Net interest income increased $1.5 million, or 11.2%
  
  
• Non-interest expense decreased $0.5 million, or 3.3%
  
  
• Dividends declared during the fourth quarter of 2017 were $0.26 per share

¹ Balance sheet comparisons are calculated for December 31, 2017 versus December 31, 2016.   Income statement comparisons are calculated for the fourth quarter of 2017 versus fourth quarter of 2016.

Karl F. Krebs, Chemung Financial Corporation CFO, stated:

“The Tax Act will provide the Corporation with welcomed tax relief. Our $2.6 million expense adjustment to revalue net deferred tax assets in the 4th quarter of 2017 will be recovered in less than two years as we realize the approximately 30% reduction in our combined effective tax rate beginning January 1, 2018.   The results for the 4th quarter, after adjusting for the effect of the $1.0 million specific reserve for one commercial credit, reflect the continued momentum that has been evident in our results this year, as we convert excess liquidity into interest earning assets. Loans grew $111.5 million this year driving an increase in interest income of $3.9 million, or 6.9%, as compared to last year.  Longer term, the additional net income translates to growth in equity which will support the Corporation’s ongoing mission of creating value for shareholders, customers, employees and the communities where the Bank does business.”

A more detailed summary of financial performance follows.

2017 vs 2016

Net Interest Income:

Net interest income for the year ended December 31, 2017 totaled $57.0 million compared with $52.3 million for the prior year, an increase of $4.7 million, or 8.9%.  The increase was due primarily to an increase in interest income from the loan portfolio, as the 2017 average loan balances increased $56.6 million when compared to the prior year.  Fully taxable equivalent net interest margin was 3.56% in 2017, compared with 3.37% for the prior year.  The increase in net interest margin was a result of the loan and securities portfolios repricing to current market rates.  Average interest-earning assets increased $52.4 million in 2017 compared to the prior year, primarily in commercial loans.  The average yield on interest-earning assets increased by 14 basis points, while the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased by seven basis points.  The increase in the average yield of interest-earning assets can be mostly attributed to increases of six and 20 basis points in the yields of commercial loans and consumer loans, respectively, 13 and 18 basis points in yields of taxable and tax-exempt securities, respectively, and 59 basis points in the yield of interest-earning deposits, offset by an 11 basis points decrease in mortgage loans.  The decline in the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities can be attributed to a 23 basis points decline in the average cost of borrowings due to the maturity of one $10.0 million FHLB term advance (4.60% rate) in December 2016 and one $10.0 million repurchase agreement (4.54% rate) in March 2017.

Non-Interest Income:

Non-interest income for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $20.5 million compared with $21.1 million for the prior year, a decrease of $0.6 million, or 3.1%.  The decrease was primarily due to decreases of $0.1 million in service charges on deposit accounts, $0.3 million in interchange revenue from debit card transactions, and $0.9 million in net gains on securities transactions, offset by increases of $0.5 million in Wealth Management Group (“WMG”) fee income and $0.2 million in other non-interest income. The decrease in service charges on deposit accounts can be attributed to a decline in volume. The decrease in interchange revenue from debit card transactions can be mostly attributed to the recognition of an incremental volume bonus related to the rebranding of the Bank’s credit cards recognized in 2016. The decrease in net gains on securities transactions can be attributed to the sale of $14.5 million in U.S. Treasuries and $25.0 million in obligations of U.S. Government sponsored enterprises in 2016. The increase in WMG fee income can be attributed to an increase in assets under management or administration.  The increase in other non-interest income can be mostly attributed to an increase in CFS Group, Inc. financial services fee income.

Non-Interest Expense:

Non-interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2017 was $53.8 million compared with $56.6 million for the prior year, a decrease of $2.8 million, or 5.0%.  The decrease was due primarily to decreases of $1.9 million in pension and other employee benefits, $0.6 million in net occupancy, $0.1 million in furniture and equipment, $0.4 million in professional services, and $0.4 million in legal accruals and settlements, offset by increases of $0.5 million in salaries and wages and $0.2 million in other non-interest expenses.  The decrease in pension and other employee benefits can be mostly attributed to the freezing of accruals for the pension and post-retirement healthcare plans, offset by an increase in healthcare and employer 401(k) contributions.  The decrease in net occupancy and furniture and equipment expenses can be attributed to the branch closure at 202 East State Street in Ithaca, NY during the second quarter of 2016, offset by exit costs for the branch at 120 Genesee Street in Auburn, NY recognized during the second quarter of 2017.  The decrease in professional services can be attributed to professional fees incurred during the formation of Chemung Risk Management, Inc. (“CRM”) in 2016 and legal costs associated with the Fane v. Chemung Canal Trust Company case in 2016.  The decrease in legal accruals and settlements can be attributed to the creation of a $1.2 million legal accrual for the Fane v. Chemung Canal Trust Company case in 2016, compared to a $0.9 million legal accrual for the same case in 2017.  The increase in salaries and wages can be attributed to annual merit increases.

Income Tax Expense:

The effective tax rate increased to 44.4% for the year ended December 31, 2017 compared with 30.5% for the prior year.  The increase in the effective tax rate can be attributed to the estimated $2.6 million one-time net deferred tax revaluation due to the enactment of the Tax Act.  The effective tax rate for the year ended December 31, 2017, excluding the one-time net deferred tax revaluation, was 30.5%¹.

¹ ($8,267 income tax expense - $2,585 revaluation of net deferred tax expense) / $18,634 income before income tax expense.

4th Quarter 2017 vs 4th Quarter 2016

Net Interest Income:

Net interest income for the current quarter totaled $14.8 million compared with $13.3 million for the same period in the prior year, an increase of $1.5 million, or 11.2%.  Interest and fees from loans increased $1.2 million and interest from investments, including interest-earning deposits, increased $0.1 million while interest expense on borrowed funds and securities sold under agreements to repurchase decreased $0.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 when compared to the same period in the prior year.  Fully taxable equivalent net interest margin was 3.63% in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with 3.33% for the same period in the prior year.  Average interest-earning assets increased $32.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to the same period in the prior year.  The yield on average interest-earning assets increased 25 basis points, while the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased seven basis points in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to the same period in the prior year.  The increase in the average yield on interest-earning assets can be mostly attributed to a 40 basis point increase in the yield on investments due to the reinvestment of maturing securities into higher yielding mortgage-backed and municipal securities, along with a 10 basis points increase in the yield on loans due to an increase in PRIME and LIBOR.  The decline in the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities can be attributed to a 71 basis points decline in the cost of borrowings due to the maturity of one $10.0 million FHLB term advance (4.60% rate) in December 2016 and one $10.0 million repurchase agreement (4.54% rate) in March 2017.

Non-Interest Income:

Non-interest income for the current quarter was $5.5 million compared with $4.9 million for the same period in the prior year, an increase of $0.6 million, or 11.4%.  The increase was due primarily to increases of $0.2 million in wealth management group fee income and $0.3 million in other non-interest income.  The increase in WMG fee income can be attributed to an increase in assets under management or administration.  The increase in other non-interest income can be mostly attributed to an increase in CFS Group, Inc. financial services fee income and interest rate swap and risk participation fees.

Non-Interest Expense:

Non-interest expense for the current quarter was $13.1 million compared with $13.6 million for the same period in the prior year, a decrease of $0.5 million, or 3.3%.  The decrease was due primarily to decreases of $0.4 million in pension and other employee benefits and $0.2 million in professional services.  The decrease in pension and other employee benefits can be mostly attributed to the freezing of accruals for the pension and post-retirement healthcare plans during the fourth quarter of 2016.  The decrease in professional services can be mostly attributed to legal costs associated with the appeal of the Fane v. Chemung Canal Trust Company case in the fourth quarter of 2016. 

4th Quarter 2017 vs 3rd Quarter 2017

Net Interest Income:

Net interest income for fourth quarter of 2017 totaled $14.8 million, consistent with the prior quarter.  Fully taxable equivalent net interest margin was 3.63% for the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with 3.68% for the prior quarter.  Average interest-earning assets increased $23.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared to the prior quarter.  The average yield on interest-earning assets decreased four basis points, while the average cost of interest-bearing liabilities increased one basis point for the current quarter, compared to the prior quarter.  The decrease in the average yield on interest-earning assets can be mostly attributed to an eight basis points decrease in the average yield on loans, due to payoffs of nonaccrual loans during the third quarter of 2017, offset by an increase in PRIME and LIBOR.

Non-Interest Income:

Non-interest income for the current quarter was $5.5 million compared with $5.2 million for the prior quarter, an increase of $0.3 million, or 5.6%.  The increase can be mostly attributed to increases of $0.1 million in wealth management group fee income and $0.1 million in net gains on securities transactions. 

Non-Interest Expense:

Non-interest expense for the current quarter was $13.1 million compared with $13.3 million for the prior quarter, a decrease of $0.2 million, or 1.2%.  The decrease was due primarily to decreases of $0.2 million in salaries and wages, $0.1 million in pension and other employee benefits, and $0.2 million in other non-interest expense, offset by an increase of $0.2 million in professional services.  The decrease in salaries and wages can be mostly attributed to a true-up of annual awards during the fourth quarter.  The decrease in pension and other employee benefits can be mostly attributed to lower healthcare costs during the fourth quarter.  The decrease in other non-interest expense can be attributed to decreases in non-loan charge-offs and check card rewards.  The increase in professional services was due to the timing of services performed.

Asset Quality

Non-performing loans totaled $13.6 million at December 31, 2017, or 1.04% of total loans, compared with $12.0 million at December 31, 2016, or 1.00% of total loans.  The increase in non-performing loans at December 31, 2017 was primarily in the commercial and industrial and commercial mortgage segments, offset by decreases in the residential mortgage and consumer segments.  Non-performing assets, which are comprised of non-performing loans and other real estate owned, were $15.6 million, or 0.91% of total assets, at December 31, 2017, compared with $12.4 million, or 0.75% of total assets, at December 31, 2016.  As noted above, the increase in non-performing assets was primarily due to the commercial and industrial and commercial mortgage segments of the loan portfolio.

Management performs an ongoing assessment of the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses based upon a number of factors including an analysis of historical loss factors, collateral evaluations, recent charge-off experience, credit quality of the loan portfolio, current economic conditions and loan growth.  Based on this analysis, the provision for loan losses for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $2.3 million, an increase of $1.9 million compared with the same period in the prior year, due primarily to a $1.0 million specific reserve for one commercial credit.  Net charge-offs for the fourth quarter of 2017 were $0.8 million, compared with $1.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2016. 

The allowance for loan losses was $17.2 million as of December 31, 2017 and $14.3 million as of December 31, 2016.  The allowance for loan losses was 126.18% of non-performing loans at December 31, 2017 compared with 118.35% at December 31, 2016.  The ratio of the allowance for loan losses to total loans was 1.31% at December 31, 2017 compared with 1.19% at December 31, 2016.  The increase in the allowance for loan losses can be mostly attributed to an increase in the commercial and consumer loans portfolios, an increase in impaired loans and an increase in loss factors relating to the indirect and consumer loan portfolios.

Balance Sheet Activity

Assets totaled $1.711 billion at December 31, 2017 compared with $1.657 billion at December 31, 2016, an increase of $53.4 million, or 3.2%.  The growth was due primarily to increases of $1.7 million in FHLB and FRB stocks and $111.5 million in the loan portfolio, offset by decreases of $43.4 million in cash and cash equivalents, $9.8 million in securities available for sale, $0.9 million in securities held to maturity, $2.3 million in premises and equipment, and $0.9 million in other intangible assets, along with a $3.0 million increase in the allowance for loan losses.  

The increase in FHLB and FRB stocks can be attributed to an increase in FHLB overnight advances in 2017 compared to the prior year.  The increase in total loans can be mostly attributed to increases of $98.1 million in commercial loans and $17.5 million in consumer loans, offset by a $4.1 million decrease in residential mortgages.  The decrease in cash and cash equivalents can be mostly attributed to an increase in total loans, offset by an increase in deposits and FHLBNY advances.  The decrease in securities available for sale and held to maturity can be mostly attributed to maturities and calls.  The decrease in premises and equipment can be attributed to the depreciation of assets, along with the closure of the branch at 120 Genesee Street in Auburn, NY.

Deposits totaled $1.467 billion at December 31, 2017 compared with $1.456 billion at December 31, 2016, an increase of $11.1 million, or 0.8%.  The growth was attributable to increases of $49.8 million in non-interest bearing demand deposits, $12.2 million in interest-bearing demand deposits, and $10.0 million in savings deposits.  Partially offsetting the increases noted above were decreases of $35.2 million in money market accounts and $25.7 million in time deposits.  FHLB advances and other debt totaled $64.2 million at December 31, 2017 compared with $13.8 million at December 31, 2016, an increase of $50.4 million, or 364.8%.  FHLBNY overnight advances increased due to loan growth increasing faster than deposit growth during the year.

Total shareholders’ equity was $152.7 million at December 31, 2017 compared with $143.7 million at December 31, 2016, an increase of $9.0 million, or 6.3%.  The increase in retained earnings of $7.3 million was due primarily to earnings of $10.4 million and a $1.8 million re-class of the stranded accumulated other comprehensive loss associated with the revaluation of the net deferred tax asset from accumulated other comprehensive loss to retained earnings, offset by $4.9 million in dividends declared during the year.  The decrease in accumulated other comprehensive loss of $0.4 million can be attributed to the increase in the fair market value of the securities portfolio, offset by the $1.8 million re-class of the stranded accumulated other comprehensive loss associated with the revaluation of the net deferred tax asset to retained earnings.   Also, additional-paid-in capital increased $0.4 million and treasury stock decreased $0.9 million, due to the issuance of shares to the Corporation’s employee benefit stock plans.

The total equity to total assets ratio was 8.93% at December 31, 2017 compared with 8.67% at December 31, 2016.  The tangible equity to tangible assets ratio was 7.64% at December 31, 2017 compared with 7.29% at December 31, 2016.  Book value per share increased to $31.71 at December 31, 2017 from $30.07 at December 31, 2016.  As of December 31, 2017, the Bank’s capital ratios were in excess of those required to be considered well-capitalized under regulatory capital guidelines and the Corporation was also well-capitalized under regulatory guidelines.

Other Items

The market value of total assets under management or administration in our Wealth Management Group was $1.952 billion at December 31, 2017, including $346.8 million of assets under management or administration for the Corporation, compared to $1.721 billion at December 31, 2016, including $294.9 million of assets under management or administration for the Corporation, an increase of $230.4 million, or 13.4%.

The Corporation elected to adopt ASU 2018-02, Income Statement – Reporting Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income as of December 31, 2017.  The objective of the ASU is to allow a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Act passed in December 2017.  Adoption of the ASU eliminates the stranded tax effects within accumulated other comprehensive income resulting from the revaluation of the net deferred tax asset.  As of December 31, 2017, the Corporation reclassified $1.8 million from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings relating to the adoption of ASU 2018-02.

About Chemung Financial Corporation

Chemung Financial Corporation is a $1.7 billion financial services holding company headquartered in Elmira, New York and operates 34 retail offices through its principal subsidiary, Chemung Canal Trust Company, a full service community bank with trust powers.  Established in 1833, Chemung Canal Trust Company is the oldest locally-owned and managed community bank in New York State.  Chemung Financial Corporation is also the parent of CFS Group, Inc., a financial services subsidiary offering non-traditional services including mutual funds, annuities, brokerage services, tax preparation services and insurance, and Chemung Risk Management, Inc., a captive insurance company based in the State of Nevada.

This press release may be found at: www.chemungcanal.com under Investor Relations.

Chemung Financial Corporation

GAAP to Non-GAAP Reconciliations (Unaudited)

The Corporation prepares its Consolidated Financial Statements in accordance with GAAP.  See the Corporation’s unaudited consolidated balance sheets and statements of income contained within this press release. That presentation provides the reader with an understanding of the Corporation’s results that can be tracked consistently from period-to-period and enables a comparison of the Corporation’s performance with other companies’ GAAP financial statements.

In addition to analyzing the Corporation’s results on a reported basis, management uses certain non-GAAP financial measures, because it believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide information to investors about the underlying operational performance and trends of the Corporation and, therefore, facilitate a comparison of the Corporation with the performance of its competitors. Non-GAAP financial measures used by the Corporation may not be comparable to similarly named non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

The SEC has adopted Regulation G, which applies to all public disclosures, including earnings releases, made by registered companies that contain “non-GAAP financial measures.”  Under Regulation G, companies making public disclosures containing non-GAAP financial measures must also disclose, along with each non-GAAP financial measure, certain additional information, including a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measure to the closest comparable GAAP financial measure and a statement of the Corporation’s reasons for utilizing the non-GAAP financial measure as part of its financial disclosures.  The SEC has exempted from the definition of “non-GAAP financial measures” certain commonly used financial measures that are not based on GAAP.  When these exempted measures are included in public disclosures, supplemental information is not required.  The following measures used in this Report, which are commonly utilized by financial institutions, have not been specifically exempted by the SEC and may constitute "non-GAAP financial measures" within the meaning of the SEC's rules, although we are unable to state with certainty that the SEC would so regard them.

Fully Taxable Equivalent Net Interest Income, Net Interest Margin, and Efficiency Ratio

Net interest income is commonly presented on a tax-equivalent basis.  That is, to the extent that some component of the institution's net interest income, which is presented on a before-tax basis, is exempt from taxation (e.g., is received by the institution as a result of its holdings of state or municipal obligations), an amount equal to the tax benefit derived from that component is added to the actual before-tax net interest income total.  This adjustment is considered helpful in comparing one financial institution's net interest income to that of other institutions or in analyzing any institution’s net interest income trend line over time, to correct any analytical distortion that might otherwise arise from the fact that financial institutions vary widely in the proportions of their portfolios that are invested in tax-exempt securities, and that even a single institution may significantly alter over time the proportion of its own portfolio that is invested in tax-exempt obligations.  Moreover, net interest income is itself a component of a second financial measure commonly used by financial institutions, net interest margin, which is the ratio of net interest income to average interest-earning assets.  For purposes of this measure as well, fully taxable equivalent net interest income is generally used by financial institutions, as opposed to actual net interest income, again to provide a better basis of comparison from institution to institution and to better demonstrate a single institution’s performance over time.  The Corporation follows these practices.

The efficiency ratio is a non-GAAP financial measure which represents the Corporation’s ability to turn resources into revenue and is calculated as non-interest expense divided by total revenue (fully taxable equivalent net interest income and non-interest income), adjusted for one-time occurrences and amortization.  This measure is meaningful to the Corporation, as well as investors and analysts, in assessing the Corporation’s productivity measured by the amount of revenue generated for each dollar spent.

Tangible Equity and Tangible Assets (Period-End)

Tangible equity, tangible assets, and tangible book value per share are each non-GAAP financial measures. Tangible equity represents the Corporation’s stockholders’ equity, less goodwill and intangible assets.  Tangible assets represents the Corporation’s total assets, less goodwill and other intangible assets.  Tangible book value per share represents the Corporation’s equity divided by common shares at period-end.  These measures are meaningful to the Corporation, as well as investors and analysts, in assessing the Corporation’s use of equity.