FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
CONTACT:
Robert J. Brittain, President & Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: (518)842-7200
Fax: (518)842-7500
Harold A. Baylor, Jr., Vice President, CFO & Treasurer
Telephone: (518)842-7200
Fax: (518)842-1688
Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. Reports Operating Results for the Three and Twelve
Months Ended December 31, 1997
Amsterdam, N.Y., January 20, 1997...Robert J. Brittain, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: AHCI), today announced
that the Company recorded net income of $800,000, or basic earnings per share of
$0.21 , and $2.8 million, or basic earnings per share of $0.70, for the quarter
and year ended December 31, 1997, respectively. Diluted earnings per share for
the 1997 reporting periods were $0.20 and $0.69, respectively. In the
corresponding periods of 1996, the Company reported net losses of $4.6 million,
or basic and diluted earnings per share of $(1.01) and $3.8 million or basic and
diluted earnings per share of $(0.81).
Mr. Brittain attributed the significant improvement in earnings primarily to
reductions in the provision for loan losses and expenses related to real estate
owned and repossessed assets. Also contributing to the earnings improvement were
increases in gains on the sales of securities of $283,000 and $877,000 for the
three and twelve months ended December 31, 1997, as compared, respectively, to
the 1996 periods.
The provision for loan losses for the quarter ended December 31, 1997, compared
to the fourth quarter in 1996, decreased by $6.6 million to $225,000. For the
year 1997, the Company's total provision for loan losses declined by $8.4
million to $1.1 million compared to $9.5 million in 1996. Additionally, expenses
related to real estate owned and repossessed assets were reduced by $1.6 million
to $64,000 for the quarter and by $2.2 million to $355,000 for all of 1997 when
compared to the comparable 1996 periods.
During the fourth quarter of 1996, the Company completed the bulk sales of
certain loans and foreclosed real estate. The proceeds received from the bulk
sales approximated 74 % of the book value of the assets sold. In addition, the
Company increased its provision for loan losses related to the Company's lending
relationship with the Bennett Funding Group by $1.3 million in the fourth
quarter of 1996, bringing the total Bennett provision for loan losses for all of
1996 to $2.8 million on a total loan exposure of $3.6 million.
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), Albany (2), Schenectady (1),
and Fulton (1) counties in the Capital Region of upstate New York.
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Ambanc Holding Co., Inc. & Subsidiaries
Selected Consolidated Financial Information
(unaudited)
December 31, December 31,
1997 1996
-------------------
(In Thousands)
Selected Consolidated Financial Condition Data:
Total assets $510,444 $472,421
Securities available for sale, at fair value 205,842 200,539
Loans receivable, net of unamortized fees 284,930 251,532
Allowance for loan losses 3,807 3,438
Deposits 333,265 298,082
Total borrowings 111,550 108,780
Total equity 61,202 61,518
For the Year For the Three Months
Ended December 31, Ended December 31,
1997 1996 1997 1996
-----------------------------------------
(In Thousands)
Selected Consolidated Operations Data:
Total interest income $35,566 $32,347 $9,291 $9,045
Total interest expense 19,654 16,434 5,288 4,897
------ ------ ----- -----
Net interest income 15,912 15,913 4,003 4,148
Provision for loan losses 1,088 9,450 225 6,840
----- ----- --- -----
Net interest income after
provision for loan losses 14,824 6,463 3,778 (2,692)
Fees and service charges 786 764 206 215
Net gain (loss) on sales of
AFS securities 775 (102) 270 (13)
Other non-interest income 265 258 69 88
--- --- -- --
Total non-interest income 1,826 920 545 290
Total non-interest expense 12,196 13,147 3,023 4,527
------ ------ ----- -----
Income before taxes 4,454 (5,764) 1,300 6,929)
Income tax provision 1,693 (1,929) 500 (2,325)
----- ------ --- ------
Net income $2,762 $3,834) $800 $4,604)
====== ====== ==== ======
Net income per common share
outstanding (basic) $0.70 ($0.81) $0.21 ($1.01)
===== ====== ===== ======
Net income per common share
outstanding (diluted) $0.69 ($0.81) $0.20 ($1.01)
===== ====== ===== ======
Weighted average number of shares
issued and outstanding (basic) 3,940,778 4,765,274 3,832,395 4,537,325
========= ========= ========= =========
Weighted average number of shares
issued and outstanding (diluted) 3,992,674 4,765,274 3,948,395 4,537,325
========= ========= ========= =========
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For the Year For the Three Months
Ended December 31, Ended December 31,
1997 1996 1997 1996
---- ---- ---- ----
(unaudited)
Performance Ratios:
Return on average assets 0.56 (0.84) 0.63 (3.70)
Return on average equity 4.52 (5.24) 5.29 (26.07)
Interest rate spread 2.58 2.74 2.46 2.54
Net interest margin 3.36 3.66 3.23 3.38
Efficiency ratio 69.81 62.50 69.17 64.48
Ratio of average interest-earning
assets to average interest-bearing
liabilities 118.93 124.26 117.99 120.60
December 31, December 31,
1997 1996
---- ----
(unaudited)
Asset Quality Ratios:
Non-performing assets to total assets
at end of period 0.66 1.18
Non-performing loans to total loans 1.14 1.94
Allowance for loan losses to
non-performing loans 117.10 70.47
Allowance for loan losses to loans
receivable 1.34 1.37
Capital Ratios:
Equity to total assets at end of period 11.99 13.02
Average equity to average assets 12.42 15.95
Book value per share (1):
Equity net of after-tax effect from
unrealized (losses) on securities
available for sale $14.21 $14.01
Equity before after-tax effect from
unrealized (losses) on securities
available for sale $14.28 $14.02
Other Data:
Number of full-service offices 12 9
(1) Calculation considers ESOP and RRP shares as outstanding
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