FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Robert J. Brittain, President and CEO
Tel:(518) 842-7200
Fax:(518) 842-7500
Harold A. Baylor, Jr., Vice Pres., CFO, and Treas.
Tel:(518) 842-7200
Fax:(518) 842-1688
Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. Announces Earnings for the Quarter and the Nine-months
Ended September 30, 1997
Amsterdam, N.Y., October 24, 1997 - Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. (NASDAQ - AHCI)
today announced that net income increased 28.7% in this year's third quarter, to
$736,000, or $0.19 a share, from $572,000, or $0.12 a share, in the third
quarter of 1996. Robert J. Brittain, President and C.E.O., attributed the
improvement in third quarter 1997 earnings primarily to a decrease in the
provision for loan losses and to an increase in net gains on the sales of
securities.
For the nine-months ended September 30, 1997, net income was $2.0 million, or
$0.49 a share, compared to $768,000, or $0.16 a share, in 1996. Mr. Brittain
stated that the improvement in net income for the nine-months ended September
30, 1997, resulted primarily from a decrease of $1.7 million in the provision
for loan losses. In 1996, the Company incurred a charge to provision for loan
losses of $1.5 million related to a lending relationship with a lease finance
company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on March 29, 1996. Also
contributing to the earnings improvement were increases in gains on security
sales, net interest income, and non-interest income. Partially offsetting these
positive factors was an increase in non-interest expenses, mainly related to the
Company's ESOP and other employee stock compensation plans and the opening of
three new branch offices in May of this year.
Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. is a unitary savings and loan holding company. The
Company's primary subsidiary, Amsterdam Savings Bank, F.S.B., operates twelve
banking offices in Montgomery (4), Saratoga (4), Fulton (1), Schenectady (1),
and Albany (2) counties in the Capital Region of upstate New York.
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Ambanc Holding Co., Inc.
Selected Consolidated Financial Information
(unaudited)
September 30, December 31,
1997 1996
------------------- -------------------
(In Thousands)
Selected Consolidated Financial Condition Data:
Total assets $529,309 $472,421
Securities available for sale, at fair value 210,562 200,539
Loans receivable, net of unamortized fees 280,546 251,532
Allowance for loan losses 4,147 3,438
Deposits 330,658 298,082
Total borrowings 103,950 108,780
Total equity 60,204 61,518
For the Three Months For the Nine Months
Ended September 30, Ended September 30,
1997 1996 1997 1996
-------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ---------------
(In Thousands)
Selected Consolidated Operations Data:
Total interest income $8,827 $8,825 $26,275 $23,302
Total interest expense 4,946 4,594 14,366 11,537
-------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ---------------
Net interest income 3,881 4,231 11,909 11,765
Provision for loan losses 225 549 863 2,610
-------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ---------------
Net interest income after
provision for loan losses 3,656 3,682 11,046 9,155
Fees and service charges 204 200 580 549
Net gain (loss) on sales of
AFS securities 328 9 505 (89)
Other non-interest income 46 57 196 170
-------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ---------------
Total non-interest income 578 266 1,281 630
Total non-interest expense 3,046 3,051 9,174 8,621
-------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ---------------
Income before taxes 1,188 898 3,153 1,164
Income tax provision 452 325 1,193 396
-------------------- ------------------- ------------------- ---------------
Net income $736 $573 $1,961 $768
==================== =================== =================== ===============
Net income per common share outstanding $0.19 $0.12 $0.49 $0.16
==================== =================== =================== ===============
Weighted average number of shares
issued and outstanding 3,897,275 4,662,564 3,977,302 4,883,859
==================== =================== =================== ===============
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For the Three Months For the Nine Months
Ended September 30, Ended September 30,
1997 1996 1997 1996
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
(unaudited)
Performance Ratios:
Return on average assets 0.61 0.47 0.54 0.23
Return on average equity 4.84 3.20 4.27 1.38
Interest rate spread 2.51 2.67 2.62 2.81
Net interest margin 3.28 3.57 3.41 3.76
Efficiency ratio 72.57 54.10 70.03 61.80
Ratio of average interest-earning
assets to average interest-bearing
liabilities 118.33 123.08 119.26 125.74
September 30, December 31,
1997 1996
--------------- ---------------
Asset Quality Ratios:
Non-performing assets to total assets
at end of period 0.73 1.18
Non-performing loans to total loans 1.29 1.94
Allowance for loan losses to
non-performing loans 114.78 70.47
Allowance for loan losses to loans
receivable 1.49 1.37
Capital Ratios:
Equity to total assets at end of period 11.37 13.02
Average equity to average assets 12.63 15.95
Book value per share (1):
Equity net of after-tax effect from
unrealized (losses) on securities
available for sale $13.98 $14.01
Equity before after-tax effect from
unrealized (losses) on securities
available for sale $14.03 $14.02
Other Data:
Number of full-service offices 12 9
<FN>
(1) Calculation considers ESOP and MRP shares as outstanding
</FN>
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