CNB Financial Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2022 Earnings Per Share Of $0.85 Compared To $0.76 For Second Quarter 2021

CLEARFIELD, Pa., July 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CNB Financial Corporation (“CNB” or the “Corporation”) (NASDAQ: CCNE), the parent company of CNB Bank, today announced its earnings for the quarter and six months ended June 30, 2022.

Joseph B. Bower, Jr., President and CEO, stated, "Loan growth continues to exceed our already robust projections for 2022, resulting in higher earnings and profitability. Through our multi-bank branding approach, shareholders and communities continue to benefit. Our Region Presidents’ autonomy and local decision making is truly community based banking."

Executive Summary

• Net income available to common shareholders was $14.4 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, for the three months June 30, 2022, compared to $12.9 million, or $0.76 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2021, reflecting increases of $1.4 million, or 11.2%, and $0.09 per diluted share, or 11.8%. Earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2022 benefited primarily from growth in commercial loans and investment securities, stable credit quality, and an asset sensitive balance sheet supporting increased net interest income in the current rising rate environment.
  
  
  • Processing fees on Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans (“PPP-related fees”) totaled approximately $559 thousand for the three months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021. At June 30, 2022, remaining deferred PPP-related fees totaled approximately $96 thousand.
    
• Net income available to common was $28.5 million, or $1.69 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $26.0 million, or $1.54 per diluted share, for the six months ended June 30, 2021, reflecting increases of $2.5 million, or 9.7%, and $0.15 per diluted share, or 9.7%.
  
  
  • PPP-related fees totaled approximately $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $4.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021.
    
• At June 30, 2022, loans, excluding the impact of (i) syndicated loans, and (ii) PPP loans, net of PPP-related fees (such loans being referred to as the "PPP-related loans"), totaled $3.8 billion, representing an increase of $290.5 million, or 8.4% (16.9% annualized), from December 31, 2021. The growth was primarily driven by the Corporation's ongoing expansion in the Cleveland and Southwest Virginia regions, combined with continued loan growth in its Private Banking division, and increased lending opportunities in all other regions in which the Corporation operates.
  
  
  • As part a continued targeted liquidity management strategy to invest excess funds in credit-quality assets, for the six months ended June 30, 2022, the Corporation's balance sheet reflected an increase in syndicated lending balances of $27.4 million compared to December 31, 2021. The syndicated loan portfolio totaled $153.2 million, or 3.9% of total loans, excluding PPP-related loans, at June 30, 2022. The Corporation expects the level of this syndicated loan portfolio to remain stable or decrease going forward.
    
• At June 30, 2022, total deposits were $4.7 billion, reflecting a decrease of $13.8 million, or 0.3%, from December 31, 2021. While noninterest-bearing deposits increased approximately $59.1 million, or 7.5%, total interest-bearing deposits, decreased approximately $72.9 million, or 1.9%, from December 31, 2021.
  
• Total nonperforming assets totaled approximately $20.7 million, or 0.39% of total assets, as of June 30, 2022, compared to $20.3 million, or 0.38% of total assets, as of December 31, 2021, and decreased from $33.2 million, or 0.64% of total assets, as of June 30, 2021. In addition, for the three months ended June 30, 2022, net loan charge-offs were $479 thousand, or 0.05% of average total loans and loans held for sale, compared to $614 thousand, or 0.07% of average total loans and loans held for sale, during the three months ended June 30, 2021.
  
• Pre-provision net revenue ("PPNR"), a non-GAAP measure, was $21.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $19.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021, reflecting an increase of $2.6 million, or 13.8%.1
  
• PPNR, a non-GAAP measure, was $42.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $38.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021, reflecting an increase of $3.5 million, or 8.9%.1

1 This release contains references to certain financial measures that are not defined under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP"). Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations, enhance comparability of results of operations with prior periods and show the effects of significant gains and charges in the periods presented. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures is provided in the "Non-GAAP Reconciliations" section.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity Highlights

• At June 30, 2022, the Corporation’s cash and equivalents position was approximately $284.2 million, including excess liquidity of $217.8 million held at the Federal Reserve, reflecting, in management's view, a strong liquidity level.
  
• During January 2022, investments with an amortized cost of approximately $100.6 million and a fair value of $101.1 million were transferred from available-for-sale to held-to-maturity as a result of the Corporation's asset/liability management strategies. The transfer included $95.7 million of U.S. Government agency securities and $4.9 million of U.S. Treasury notes. During April 2022, mortgage backed securities with an amortized cost of approximately $120.2 million and a fair value of $112.6 million were transferred from available-for-sale to held-to-maturity as a result of the Corporation's asset/liability management strategies. These bonds continue to provide liquidity through pledging and can be utilized as collateral against borrowings. In addition to these internal portfolio transfers, some of the investment purchases made by the Corporation during the first half of 2022 were also classified as held-to-maturity securities. As of June 30, 2022, the total balance of investments classified as held-to-maturity was $413.3 million. There were no securities classified as held-to-maturity at either December 31, 2021 or June 30, 2021.
  
• Book value per common share was $21.70 at June 30, 2022, representing a decrease of 1.5% from $22.04 at June 30, 2021. Tangible book value per common share, a non-GAAP measure, was $19.08 as of June 30, 2022, reflecting a decrease of 1.8% from a tangible book value per common share of $19.42 as of June 30, 2021.1 The decreases in book value per common share and tangible book value per common share were mostly due to a $49.3 million decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income primarily from the temporary unrealized valuation changes in the available-for-sale investment portfolio, which was substantially, but not completely, offset by a $44.2 million increase in retained earnings.

Performance Ratios

• Annualized return on average equity was 14.55% and 14.26% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively, compared to 13.22% and 13.45% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively.
  
• Annualized return on average tangible common equity, a non-GAAP measure, was 17.81% and 17.34% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively, compared to 16.06% and 16.38% for the comparable periods in 2021, respectively.1
  
• Efficiency ratio, a non-GAAP ratio, was 59.47% and 59.99% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively, compared to 57.91% and 58.04% for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. The increases for the 2022 periods were primarily a result of expected increasing costs associated with the Corporation’s expanding franchise investments into the Cleveland and Southwest Virginia markets, coupled with its continued strategic investments in technologies focused on customer sales management, while expanding and improving customer connectivity capabilities.1

Revenue

• Total revenue (comprised of net interest income plus non-interest income) was $54.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, an increase of $8.3 million, or 17.9%, compared to the three months ended June 30, 2021, primarily due to the following:
  
  
  • Net interest income of $46.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022 increased $8.0 million, or 20.9%, from the three months ended June 30, 2021, primarily as a result of loan growth and the net benefit of higher interest rates. Included in net interest income were PPP-related fees, which totaled approximately $559 thousand for the three months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2021.
    
  • Net interest margin on a fully tax-equivalent basis, a non-GAAP measure, was 3.73% and 3.28% for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.1
    
    
    • The yield on earning assets of 4.01% for the three months ended June 30, 2022 increased 29 basis points from 3.72% for the three months ended June 30, 2021, primarily as a result of the Corporation redeploying excess cash at the Federal Reserve to investment securities and loan growth. Net interest income also reflected the net benefit of higher interest rates, partially offset by lower PPP-related fees in 2022 compared to 2021. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased 20 basis points from 0.55% for the three months ended June 30, 2021 to 0.35% for the three months ended June 30, 2022, primarily as a result of the Corporation’s targeted deposit rate reductions.
      
• Total revenue (comprised of net interest income plus non-interest income) was $106.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, an increase of $13.2 million, or 14.1%, from the six months ended June 30, 2021, primarily due to the following:
  
  
  • Net interest income of $88.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022 increased $11.5 million, or 14.8%, from the six months ended June 30, 2021, primarily as a result of loan growth and the benefits of higher interest rates in 2022 from variable-rate loans and new investments. Included in net interest income were PPP-related fees, which totaled approximately $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, compared to $4.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021.
    
  • Net interest margin on a fully tax-equivalent basis, a non-GAAP measure, was 3.61% and 3.42% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.1
    
    
    • The yield on earning assets of 3.90% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 increased 3 basis points from 3.87% for the six months ended June 30, 2021, primarily as a result of the Corporation redeploying excess cash at the Federal Reserve to investment securities and loan growth. Net interest income also reflected the net benefit of higher interest rates, partially offset by lower PPP-related fees in 2022 compared to 2021. The cost of interest-bearing liabilities decreased 20 basis points from 0.56% for the six months ended June 30, 2021 to 0.36% for the six months ended June 30, 2022, primarily as a result of the Corporation’s targeted deposit rate reductions.
      
• Total non-interest income was $8.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, representing an increase of $289 thousand, or 3.7%, from the same period in 2021. The increase was primarily comprised of a $508 thousand increase in income from charges on deposits and an $886 thousand increase in bank owned life insurance mostly due to an $830 gain resulting from death benefit proceeds. These increases were partially offset by a $991 increase in unrealized losses on equity securities and a $244 decrease in mortgage banking activity.
  
• Total non-interest income was $17.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2022, representing an increase of $1.7 million, or 10.6%, from the same period in 2021. Included in non-interest income for the six months ended June 30, 2022 was $651 thousand in net realized gains on available-for-sale securities. Excluding the impact of the realized gains on available-for-sale securities, a non-GAAP measure, for the six months ended June 30, 2022, total non-interest income increased $1.1 million or 6.5%, from the same period in 2021.1 During the six months ended June 30, 2022, Wealth and Asset Management fees increased $299 thousand, or 9.1%, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2021. Other notable increases during the six months ended June 30, 2022 included increased income from charges on deposits and pass through income from small business investment companies ("SBIC"). These were partially offset by unrealized losses on equity securities and decreased mortgage banking activity.

Non-Interest Expense

• For the three months ended June 30, 2022, total non-interest expense was $32.6 million, reflecting an increase of $5.6 million, or 20.9%, from the three months ended June 30, 2021. The second quarter of 2022 included the expenses related to expanding the Corporation's remote workforce and additional personnel in the Corporation's growth regions of Cleveland and Southwest Virginia, as well as increased investments in technology aimed at enhancing both customer experience and the Corporation’s sales management. Also, included in the second quarter of 2022 is approximately $1.3 million in accelerated retirement benefit expenses related to a pending executive retirement, coupled with additional personnel costs primarily from increased incentive compensation accruals related to a higher financial performance level.
  
• For the six months ended June 30, 2022, total non-interest expense was $64.5 million, reflecting an increase of $9.7 million, or 17.8%, from the six months ended June 30, 2021, primarily as a result of the same drivers discussed above.

Income Taxes

• Income tax expense was $7.0 million, representing a 18.5% effective tax rate, and $6.5 million, representing a 18.7% effective tax rate, for the six months ended June 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Asset Quality

• Total nonperforming assets were $20.7 million, or 0.39% of total assets, as of June 30, 2022, compared to $20.3 million, or 0.38% of total assets, as of December 31, 2021, and $33.2 million, or 0.64% of total assets as of June 30, 2021. The reduction in non-performing assets compared to June 30, 2021 resulted primarily from the resolution of an $8.7 million commercial real estate loan relationship and a $1.4 million non-performing commercial real estate loan relationship with no additional loss to the Corporation in the fourth quarter of 2021.
  
• The allowance for credit losses measured as a percentage of total loans was 1.04% as of June 30, 2022, compared to 1.03% as of December 31, 2021 and 1.06% as of June 30, 2021. In addition, the allowance for credit losses as a percentage of nonaccrual loans was 213.9% as of June 30, 2022, compared to 193.6% at December 31, 2021 and 114.3% as of June 30, 2021.
  
• Provision for credit losses was $2.9 million and $4.5 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2022, respectively, compared to $2.0 million and $4.1 million for June 30, 2021, respectively. The increase in provision for the three months ended June 30, 2022 was primarily due to the growth in commercial loans. Included in the provision for credit losses for the six months ended June 30, 2022 was $586 thousand related to the allowance for unfunded commitments compared to no accrual towards the allowance for unfunded commitments for the six months ended June 30, 2021.
  
• For the three months ended June 30, 2022, net loan charge-offs were $479 thousand, or 0.05% (annualized) of average total loans including loans held for sale, compared to $614 thousand, or 0.07% (annualized), during the three months ended June 30, 2021.
  
• For the six months ended June 30, 2022, net loan charge-offs were $1.0 million, or 0.05% (annualized) of average total loans including loans held for sale, compared to $1.5 million, or 0.09% (annualized), during the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Capital

• As of June 30, 2022, the Corporation’s total shareholders’ equity was $423.6 million, representing a decrease of $19.3 million, or 4.3%, from December 31, 2021, mostly due to a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income, resulting primarily from the temporary unrealized reduction in the value of the available-for-sale investment portfolio exceeding the amount added to retained earnings during the six months ended June 30, 2022.
  
• Regulatory capital ratios for the Corporation continue to exceed regulatory “well-capitalized” levels as of June 30, 2022.
  
• As of June 30, 2022, the Corporation’s ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets, a non-GAAP measure, was 6.12%, and reflected the above-noted impact of the Corporation's decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income.1

About CNB Financial Corporation

CNB Financial Corporation is a financial holding company with consolidated assets of approximately $5.3 billion. CNB Financial Corporation conducts business primarily through its principal subsidiary, CNB Bank. CNB Bank is a full-service bank engaging in a full range of banking activities and services, including trust and wealth management services, for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. CNB Bank operations include a private banking division, two loan production offices, one drive-up office and 45 full-service offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and Virginia. CNB Bank’s divisions include ERIEBANK, based in Erie, Pennsylvania, with offices in Northwest Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio; FCBank, based in Worthington, Ohio, with offices in Central Ohio; BankOnBuffalo, based in Buffalo, New York, with offices in Western New York; and Ridge View Bank, with loan production offices in the Southwest Virginia region. CNB Bank is headquartered in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, with offices in Central and North Central Pennsylvania. Additional information about CNB Financial Corporation may be found at www.CNBBank.bank.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to CNB’s financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, future performance and business. These forward-looking statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for “forward-looking statements” provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are those that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors (some of which are beyond CNB’s control). Forward-looking statements often include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “forecasts,” “intends,” “plans,” “targets,” “potentially,” “probably,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions or future conditional verbs such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would” and “could.” CNB’s actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements, which are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Such known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the statements, include, but are not limited to, (i) adverse changes or conditions in capital and financial markets; (ii) changes in interest rates; (iii) the duration and scope of the COVID-19 pandemic and the local, national and global impact of COVID-19; (iv) actions governments, businesses and individuals take in response to the pandemic; (v) the speed and effectiveness of vaccine and treatment developments and deployment; (vi) variations of COVID-19, such as the Delta and Omicron variants, and the response thereto, (vii) the pace of recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic subsides; (vii) changes in general business, industry or economic conditions or competition; (ix) changes in any applicable law, rule, regulation, policy, guideline or practice governing or affecting financial holding companies and their subsidiaries or with respect to tax or accounting principles or otherwise; (x) higher than expected costs or other difficulties related to integration of combined or merged businesses; (xi) the effects of business combinations and other acquisition transactions, including the inability to realize our loan and investment portfolios; (xii) changes in the quality or composition of our loan and investment portfolios; (xiii) adequacy of loan loss reserves; (xiv) increased competition; (xv) loss of certain key officers; (xvi) deposit attrition; (xvii) rapidly changing technology; (xviii) unanticipated regulatory or judicial proceedings and liabilities and other costs; (xix) changes in the cost of funds, demand for loan products or demand for financial services; and (xx) other economic, competitive, governmental or technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices. Such developments could have an adverse impact on CNB's financial position and results of operations. For more information about factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” sections of and the forward-looking statement disclaimers in CNB’s annual and quarterly reports.

The forward-looking statements are based upon management’s beliefs and assumptions and are made as of the date of this press release. CNB undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this press release or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur and you should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

Financial Tables

The following tables supplement the financial highlights described previously for CNB. All dollars are stated in thousands, except share and per share data.

Contact: Tito L. Lima Treasurer (814) 765-9621