Exhibit 99
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Investor Contact: | | David Morimoto | | Media Contact: | | Wayne Kirihara |
| | SVP & Treasurer | | SVP & Director of Marketing & PR |
| | (808) 544-0627 | | (808) 544-0687 |
| | david.morimoto@centralpacificbank.com | | wayne.kirihara@centralpacificbank.com |
NEWS RELEASE
CENTRAL PACIFIC FINANCIAL CORP. REPORTS INCREASE IN SECOND QUARTER NET INCOME TO $21.0 MILLION
HONOLULU, July 26, 2007 – Central Pacific Financial Corp. (NYSE: CPF), parent company of Central Pacific Bank, today reported net income for the second quarter of 2007 of $21.0 million, or $0.68 per diluted share, compared to $20.4 million, or $0.66 per diluted share, reported in the second quarter of 2006 and $20.1 million, or $0.65 per diluted share, reported in the first quarter of 2007.
“We are pleased to report that we enjoyed another quarter of solid earnings growth,” said Clint Arnoldus, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our quarterly net income of $21.0 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.68 both represent increases from the previous quarter and the same period a year ago. Our strong quarter was the result of solid loan and deposit growth, strong asset quality, and our ability to control expenses compared to a year ago. We believe we are well positioned to achieve our strategic goals as we remain committed to providing our customers with innovative products and services.”
Second Quarter Highlights
· Quarterly net income of $21.0 million.
· Loans and leases increased by $247.7 million, or 6.7% from a year ago.
· Nonperforming assets to total assets improved to 0.02%, compared to 0.19% a year ago.
· Deposits increased by $250.7 million, or 6.8% from a year ago.
Earnings Highlights
Net interest income for the second quarter of 2007 was $52.9 million, an increase of 1.4% over the year-ago quarter and a decrease of 1.5% as compared to the first quarter of 2007. The year-over-year growth in net interest income was attributable to a 6.5% increase in average interest earning assets. The sequential-quarter decrease was primarily due to the recognition of $0.9 million in interest income on the payoff of a nonaccrual loan in the first quarter of 2007. The net interest margin for the current quarter was 4.36%, compared to 4.57% in the year-ago quarter and 4.52% in the first quarter of 2007. Excluding the aforementioned nonaccrual interest, the net interest margin was 4.46% in the first quarter of 2007. The compression in our net interest margin was primarily attributable to increased funding costs resulting from a shift in the composition of our deposit base from lower-rate demand, money market, and savings accounts into higher-rate time deposit accounts. Management believes that the net interest margin will remain near current levels through the second half of 2007 as we expect our funding costs to stabilize.
The provision for loan and lease losses in the second quarter of 2007 was $1.0 million, compared to $0.5 million in the year-ago quarter and $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2007. The sequential-quarter decrease was due to the recording of higher provision expense in the first quarter of 2007 related to commercial loan charge-offs from a single borrower totaling $2.9 million.
Other operating income totaled $11.5 million for the second quarter of 2007, compared to $11.0 million in the year-ago quarter and $11.2 million in the first quarter of 2007. The increase from the year-ago quarter was primarily due to increased income from bank-owned life insurance of $0.4 million, higher service charges and fees of $0.4 million, and higher gains on sales of loans of $0.3 million, offset by a decrease in miscellaneous income of $0.5 million and lower loan placement fees of $0.2 million. The increase over the previous quarter was primarily due to higher income from bank-owned life insurance of $0.2 million.
Other operating expense for the second quarter of 2007 was $31.3 million, compared to $31.5 million in the year-ago quarter and $30.5 million in the first quarter of 2007. The decrease from the year-ago quarter was primarily due to a decrease in our expenses related to salaries and employee benefits of $0.7 million, offset by an increase in amortization expense related to high-technology investments of $0.5 million. The sequential-quarter increase was primarily due to a $1.8 million reversal of incentive compensation accruals recorded in the first quarter of 2007. Excluding the effects of this reversal, current quarter operating expenses were down $1.0 million, or 3.1%, compared to the first quarter of 2007.
The Company’s efficiency ratio for the second quarter of 2007 was 47.03%, compared with 47.76% for the year-ago quarter and 45.43% for the first quarter of 2007. The decrease from the year-ago quarter was primarily attributable to increased net interest income and the lower expense items discussed above. The sequential-quarter increase in the efficiency ratio was primarily attributable to the aforementioned reversal of incentive compensation accruals recorded in the first quarter of 2007. “We are encouraged that we have been able to maintain our efficiency ratio at these levels while we continue to invest in our future,” commented Arnoldus.
The effective tax rate was 34.51% for the second quarter of 2007, compared to 34.38% in the year-ago quarter and 36.61% in the first quarter of 2007. The sequential-quarter decrease in the effective tax rate was primarily due to the utilization of federal and state tax credits related to high-technology and low-income housing investments made in the second quarter of 2007.
Balance Sheet Highlights
Total assets of $5.6 billion at June 30, 2007 increased by $272.8 million, or 5.2%, from a year ago and by $54.8 million, or 1.0%, from March 31, 2007.
Total loans and leases of $3.9 billion at June 30, 2007 increased by $247.7 million, or 6.7%, from a year ago and by $32.5 million, or 0.8%, from March 31, 2007. Our Hawaii lending operations accounted for approximately 70% of the current quarter’s loan growth, while our mainland loan production offices contributed the remaining 30%.
Total deposits of $3.9 billion at June 30, 2007 increased by $250.7 million, or 6.8%, from a year ago and by $69.2 million, or 1.8%, from March 31, 2007. Current quarter increases in time deposits of $61.6 million, noninterest-bearing demand deposits of $7.6 million, and interest-bearing demand deposits of $4.9 million were offset by a decrease in savings and money market deposits of $4.8 million.
Shareholders’ equity of $753.5 million at June 30, 2007, increased from $54.7 million a year ago and was virtually unchanged from March 31, 2007.
Stock Repurchase Plan
In April 2007, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 600,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Through the second quarter of 2007, the Company repurchased 299,800 shares.
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Asset Quality
Net loan charge-offs in the second quarter of 2007 totaled $0.2 million, compared to net loan charge-offs of $0.7 million in the year-ago quarter and $4.3 million in the first quarter of 2007. Loan charge-offs in the first quarter of 2007 included the aforementioned commercial loan charge-offs from a single borrower totaling $2.9 million.
At June 30, 2007, nonperforming assets totaled $1.4 million, or 0.02%, of total assets, compared to $10.0 million, or 0.19%, of total assets at June 30, 2006 and $1.6 million, or 0.03%, of total assets at March 31, 2007. Loans delinquent for 90 days or more of $0.3 million declined by 78.7% from a year ago and by 44.4% from March 31, 2007.
The allowance for loan and lease losses as a percentage of total loans and leases was 1.31% at June 30, 2007, compared to 1.43% a year ago and 1.30% at March 31, 2007.
“We recognize the recent concerns surrounding the subprime residential mortgage market and we want to assure you that we do not have any credit exposure to this market,” stated Arnoldus.
Business and Earnings Outlook
Based on current and anticipated economic and business conditions, management reaffirms its forecast of diluted earnings per share for 2007 in the range of $2.75 to $2.85.
Conference Call Information
Central Pacific Financial Corp. will conduct a conference call today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time (10:00 a.m. Hawaii Time) to discuss the quarterly results. To participate in the conference call, please dial 1-800-289-0726 or visit the investor relations page of the Company’s website at http://investor.centralpacificbank.com. A playback of the call will be available through August 2, 2007 by dialing 1-888-203-1112 (passcode: 2612794) and on the Company’s website.
About Central Pacific Financial Corp.
Central Pacific Financial Corp. is the fourth largest financial institution in Hawaii with more than $5.6 billion in assets. Central Pacific Bank, its primary subsidiary, operates 38 branches and more than 90 ATMs throughout Hawaii. For additional information, please visit our website at http://www.centralpacificbank.com.
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Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements concerning projections of revenues, income, earnings per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure, or other financial items, concerning plans and objectives of management for future operations, concerning future economic performance, or concerning any of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, and may include the words “believes”, “plans”, “intends”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “forecasts” or words of similar meaning. While we believe that our forward-looking statements and the assumptions underlying them are reasonably based, such statements and assumptions are by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties, and thus could later prove to be inaccurate or incorrect. Accordingly, actual results could
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materially differ from projections for a variety of reasons, to include, but not limited to: the impact of local, national, and international economies and events, including natural disasters, on the Company’s business and operations and on tourism, the military, and other major industries operating within the Hawaii market and any other markets in which the Company does business; the impact of legislation affecting the banking industry; the impact of competitive products, services, pricing, and other competitive forces; movements in interest rates; loan delinquency rates and changes in asset quality generally; and the price of the Company’s stock. For further information on factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from projections, please see the Company’s publicly available Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Company’s Form 10-K for the last fiscal year. The Company does not update any of its forward-looking statements.
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