FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information contact:
Donald A. Williams, Chairman & CEO
Michael J. Janosco Jr., CFO
413-568-1911
Westfield Financial, Inc. Reports Results for the Quarter Ended
June 30, 2005 and Announces Quarterly Dividend
Westfield, Massachusetts, July 27, 2005: (AMEX:WFD) Westfield Financial,
Inc. (the "Company"), the holding company for Westfield Bank (the "Bank"),
reported net income of $1.4 million or $0.15 per diluted share for the
quarter ended June 30, 2005, compared to net income of $1.6 million or
$0.16 per diluted share for the same period in 2004.
The 2004 results included net gains from the sale of securities of $389,000
for the three months ended June 30, 2004. This was primarily the result of
the Company selling its common stock portfolio in 2004. Net gains from
sales of securities for the three months ended June 30, 2005 were $18,000.
Commercial real estate loans and commercial and industrial loans increased
$30.3 million, or 12.7%, to $269.4 million at June 30, 2005 from $239.1
million at December 31, 2004. James C. Hagan, newly appointed President &
Chief Operating Officer, stated, "We will continue to seek out quality
local commercial banking clients as part of our overall strategic plan."
Donald A. Williams, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer said,
"Our focus has been on maintaining and expanding our commercial business
relationships. Our performance this quarter underscores that commitment."
Mr. Williams also stated, "On July 26, 2005 the Board of Directors declared
a regular cash dividend of $0.10 per share to all shareholders of record on
August 11, 2005, payable on August 25, 2005."
Net interest and dividend income for the three months ended June 30, 2005
was $5.9 million compared with $5.7 million for the quarter ended June 30,
2004. Net interest margin for the quarters ended June 30, 2005 and 2004
was 3.13% and 3.04%, respectively.
The provision for loan losses was $125,000 for both the three months ended
June 30, 2005 and 2004.
Noninterest income was $793,000 million for the three months ended June 30,
2005 as compared to $888,000 in the same period in 2004. Net checking
account processing fee income decreased $93,000 to $430,000 for the three
months ended June 30, 2005 from $523,000 in the same period in 2004.
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Noninterest expense was $4.8 million for the three months ended June 30,
2005 and $4.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2004. Salaries
and benefits increased $170,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2005 as
compared to the same period in 2004. This was primarily the result of
normal increases in salaries and health care costs along with an increase
in stock based benefit plan expenses.
For the three months ended June 30, 2005, the Company had a tax provision
of $373,000 as compared to $727,000 million for the same period in 2004.
This was the result of a decrease in net income before taxes and an
increase in income from tax-exempt assets.
Total assets increased $5.4 million to $802.3 million at June 30, 2005 from
$796.9 million at December 31, 2004.
Securities held to maturity and securities available for sale in the
aggregate decreased $2.3 million, to $332.6 million at June 30, 2005 from
$334.9 million at December 31, 2004. Net loans during the period increased
by $19.9 million to $388.5 million at June 30, 2005 from $368.6 million at
December 31, 2004. Commercial real estate and commercial and industrial
loans increased $30.3 million to $269.4 million at June 30, 2005 from
$239.1 million at December 31, 2004. This is consistent with Westfield
Bank's strategic plan, which emphasizes commercial lending. Residential
real estate loans decreased $7.7 million to $115.5 million at June 30, 2005
from $123.2 million at December 31. 2004. The decrease in residential real
estate loans is primarily the result of a loan program whereby
substantially all of the Bank's residential real estate loans are
underwritten and originated by a third party mortgage company. The Bank
believes that this program diversifies its loan portfolio and reduces
interest rate risk.
Total deposits showed an increase of $5.1 million to $617.7 million at June
30, 2005.
Federal Home Loan Bank borrowings totaled $45.0 million at both June 30,
2005 and December 31, 2004. Customer repurchase agreements decreased $0.9
million, to $13.7 million at June 30, 2005 from $14.6 million December 31,
2004.
Stockholders' equity at June 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004 was $119.6
million and $118.1 million, respectively, which represented 14.9% of total
assets as of June 30, 2005 and 14.8% of total assets as of December 31,
2004. The change is primarily comprised of net income of $2.9 million for
the six months ended June 30, 2005 and the declaration by the Board of
Directors of dividends of $0.10 per share on January 27, 2005 and April 26,
2005, as well as the declaration of a special dividend of $0.20 per share
on April 26, 2005, all of which aggregated $1.6 million.
The Bank is headquartered in Westfield, Massachusetts and operates through
10 banking offices in Agawam, East Longmeadow, Holyoke, Southwick,
Springfield, West Springfield and Westfield, Massachusetts. The Bank's
deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
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The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any
such forward-looking statements contained in this news release, which speak
only as of the date made. The Company wishes to advise readers that the
factors listed above could affect the Company's financial performance and
could cause the Company's actual results for future periods to differ
materially from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future
period in any current statements. The Company and the Bank do not
undertake and specifically decline any obligation to publicly release the
result of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements
to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to
reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events
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WESTFIELD FINANCIAL, INC. and SUBSIDIARIES
Selected Consolidated Statement of Operations and Other Data
($ in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
2005 2004 2005 2004
---- ---- ---- ----
<s> <c> <c> <c> <c>
Interest and dividend income $ 9,176 $ 8,372 $ 18,053 $ 16,991
Interest expense 3,279 2,684 6,241 5,434
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
Net interest and dividend income 5,897 5,688 11,812 11,557
Provision for loan losses 125 125 265 275
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
Net interest and dividend income
after provision for loan losses 5,772 5,563 11,547 11,282
Net gains on sales of securities
available for sale 18 389 19 868
Other noninterest income 793 888 1,540 1,475
Other noninterest expense 4,798 4,480 9,381 8,963
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
Income before income taxes 1,785 2,360 3,725 4,662
Income taxes 373 727 802 1,422
---------- --------- ---------- ----------
Net income $ 1,412 $ 1,633 $ 2,923 $ 3,240
========== ========== ========== ==========
Basic earnings per share $ 0.15 $ 0.17 $ 0.31 $ 0.33
Average shares outstanding 9,503,801 9,826,377 9,501,441 9,903,953
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.15 $ 0.16 $ 0.30 $ 0.32
Diluted average shares outstanding 9,720,266 10,016,749 9,719,148 10,119,972
Other Data:
Return on Average Assets (1) 0.71% 0.82% 0.74% 0.82%
Return on Average Equity (1) 4.77% 5.36% 4.97% 5.28%
Net Interest Margin 3.13% 3.04% 3.17% 3.11%
<FN>
<F1> Three and six 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)
June 30, December 31,
2005 2004
<s> <c> <c>
Total assets $802,283 $796,903
Securities held to maturity 242,544 246,600
Securities available for sale 90,022 88,284
Stock in Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston 4,237 4,237
Loans 393,830 373,878
Allowance for loan losses 5,341 5,277
-------- --------
Net loans 388,489 368,601
Total deposits 617,682 612,621
Federal Home Loan Bank advances 45,000 45,000
Stockholder's equity 119,620 118,051
Book value per share 12.58 12.43
Other Data:
Nonperforming loans $ 2,115 $ 2,171
Nonperforming loans a percentage of total assets 0.26% 0.27%
Nonperforming loans as a percentage of total loans 0.54% 0.58%
Allowance for loan losses as a percentage of
nonperforming loans 253% 243%
Allowance for loan losses as a percentage
of total loans 1.36% 1.41%