Exhibit 99.1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information contact:
Donald A. Williams, President & CEO
Michael J. Janosco Jr., CFO
413-568-1911
Westfield Financial, Inc. Reports Results for the Quarter Ended
September 30, 2004
Westfield, Massachusetts, October 27, 2004: (AMEX:WFD) Westfield Financial,
Inc. (the "Company"), the holding company for Westfield Bank (the "Bank"),
reported net income of $1.6 million or $0.16 per basic and diluted share for
the quarter ended September 30, 2004, compared to net income of $1.1 million
or $0.11 per basic share and $0.10 per diluted share for the same period in
2003.
Net interest and dividend income for the three months ended September 30,
2004 was $5.9 million compared with $5.1 million for the three months ended
September 30, 2003. Net interest margin for the quarters ended September 30,
2004 and 2003 was 3.14% and 2.64%, respectively.
The provision for loan losses for the three months ended September 30, 2004
and 2003 was $200,000 and $150,000, respectively.
Noninterest income was $778,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2004
as compared to $710,000 the same period in 2003. Net checking account
processing fee income increased $162,000 to $437,000 for the three months
ended September 30, 2004 from $275,000 in the same period in 2003. The
increase is a result of new products and services provided to Westfield
Bank's checking account customers commencing in the second quarter of 2004.
Fees received from the third party mortgage company decreased $95,000 to
$16,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2004 from $111,000 for the
same period in 2003. Higher interest rates resulted in fewer referrals to
the third party mortgage company. Fee income from the third party mortgage
company in the future may be affected by borrower activity, which generally
decreases in a rising interest rate environment.
Noninterest expense was $4.3 million for the three months ended September 30,
2004 and also $4.3 million for the same period in 2003.
Total assets decreased $1.0 million to $794.2 million at September 30, 2004
from $795.2 million at December 31, 2003.
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Securities decreased $24.1 million, or 6.6%, to $339.5 million at September
30, 2004 from $363.6 million at December 31, 2003. The decrease in
securities was offset by loans increasing $28.8 million to $373.8 million at
September 30, 2004 from $345.0 million at December 31, 2003. Commercial real
estate and commercial and industrial loans increased $20.1 million or 9.3% to
$236.7 million at September 30, 2004 from $216.6 million at December 31,
2003. This is consistent with Westfield Bank's strategic plan, which
emphasizes commercial lending. Residential real estate loans increased $18.2
million to $128.7 million at September 30, 2004 from $110.5 million at
December 31, 2003. This was primarily the result of the purchase of $34.1
million in adjustable rate mortgages. Indirect auto loans decreased by $8.5
million, or 53.1%, from $16.0 million at December 31, 2003 to $7.5 million at
September 30, 2004. Management discontinued its indirect automobile lending
program in the fourth quarter of 2003.
Total deposits decreased by $21.8 million to $610.6 million at September 30,
2004. Time deposits decreased $26.7 million to $307.5 million at September
30, 2004. Core deposits which include checking, NOW, savings, and money
market accounts, increased by $4.9 million to $303.1 million at September 30,
2004. The Bank's strategic plan calls for a lesser reliance on time deposit
accounts in order to decrease the Bank's cost of funds.
The decrease in deposits was offset by a $25.0 million increase in Federal
Home Loan Bank borrowings, which totaled $45.0 million at September 30, 2004.
Borrowings increased in order to take advantage of the low interest rate
environment. Customer repurchase agreements increased $4.3 million, to $16.4
million at September 30, 2004 from December 31, 2003.
Stockholders' equity at September 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003 was $116.7
million and $124.8 million, respectively, which represented 14.7% of total
assets as of September 30, 2004 and 15.7% of total assets as of December 31,
2003. The change is primarily attributable to an increase in net income of
$4.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2004, offset by the
repurchase of 546,378 shares of common stock for $11.4 million, and the
declaration by the Board of Directors of dividends of $0.05 per share on
January 27, 2004 and April 26, 2004, and $0.10 per share on July 27, 2004
which aggregated $1.5 million.
Mr. Donald A. Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company
stated, "On October 26, 2004, the Board of Directors declared a $0.10 per
share cash dividend to all shareholders of record on November 10, 2004
payable on November 23, 2004".
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The Bank is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts and operates through 10
banking offices in Agawam, East Longmeadow, Holyoke, Southwick, Springfield,
West Springfield and Westfield, Massachusetts. The Bank's deposits are
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such
forward-looking statements contained in this news release, which speak only
as of the date made. The Company wishes to advise readers that the factors
listed above could affect the Company's financial performance and could cause
the Company's actual results for future periods to differ materially from any
opinions or statements expressed with respect to future period in any current
statements. The Company and the Bank do not undertake and specifically
decline any obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions that
may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence
of anticipated or unanticipated events.
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WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Consolidated Statement of Operations and Other Data
($ in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
2004 2003 2004 2003
---- ---- ---- ----
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Interest and dividend income $ 8,577 $ 8,393 $ 25,569 $ 27,058
Interest expense 2,688 3,320 8,123 10,853
---------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Net interest and dividend income 5,889 5,073 17,446 16,205
Provision for loan losses 200 150 475 500
---------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Net interest and dividend income
after provision for loan losses 5,689 4,923 16,971 15,705
Net gains on sales of securities
available for sale - 70 868 183
Other noninterest income 778 710 2,252 1,974
Other noninterest expense 4,286 4,315 13,249 13,422
---------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Income before income taxes 2,181 1,388 6,842 4,440
Income taxes 627 337 2,048 2,262
---------- ----------- ---------- -----------
Net income $ 1,554 $ 1,051 $ 4,794 $ 2,178
========== =========== ========== ===========
Basic earnings per share $ 0.16 $ 0.11 $ 0.49 $ 0.22
Average shares outstanding 9,526,346 10,008,874 9,777,166 10,050,423
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.16 $ 0.10 $ 0.48 $ 0.21
Diluted average shares outstanding 9,726,371 10,199,074 9,992,225 10,187,177
Other Data:
Return on Average Assets (1) 0.78% 0.51% 0.80% 0.36%
Return on Average Equity (1) 5.28% 3.35% 5.25% 2.35%
Net Interest Margin 3.14% 2.64% 3.11% 2.84%
<FN>
<F1> Three and nine month results have been annualized.
</FN>
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WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet and Other Data
($ in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
September 30, December 31,
2004 2003
---- ----
<s> <c> <c>
Total assets $794,188 $795,216
Securities held to maturity 249,955 261,610
Securities available for sale 89,571 101,983
Stock in Federal Home Loan Bank of
Boston and other stock 4,237 4,237
Loans 378,755 349,622
Allowance for loan losses 4,988 4,642
-------- --------
Net loans 373,767 344,980
Total deposits 610,648 632,431
Customer repurchase agreements 16,439 12,135
Federal Home Loan Bank Advances 45,000 20,000
Stockholders' equity 116,666 124,804
Book value per share 12.31 12.50
Other Data:
Nonperforming loans $ 2,451 $ 1,768
Nonperforming loans as a percentage
of total assets 0.31% 0.22%
Nonperforming loans as a percentage
of total loans 0.65% 0.51%
Allowance for loan losses as a percentage
of nonperforming loans 196% 263%
Allowance for loan losses as a percentage
of total loans 1.32% 1.33%
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