CNB Financial Corporation Reports 2010 Earnings of $11.3 Million, a 33% Increase Over 2009

CLEARFIELD, Pa., Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- CNB Financial Corporation ("CNB") (Nasdaq: CCNE), the parent company of CNB Bank, today announced its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2010 and for the year ended December 31, 2010.  Highlights include the following:

• Net income of $11.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, or $1.06 per share, a 32.9% increase in net income and an 8.2% increase in diluted earnings per share over the year ended December 31, 2009.
• Net income of $2.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2010, or $0.23 per share, an 88.9% increase in net income and a 35.3% increase in diluted earnings per share over the quarter ended December 31, 2009.
• Returns on average assets and equity of 0.87% and 11.62%, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2010.  Returns on average assets and equity of 0.84% and 10.23%, respectively, for the three months ended December 31, 2010.
• Total non-performing assets of $13.2 million, or 1.66% of loans + OREO as of December 31, 2010.
• Total loans of $794.6 million at December 31, 2010, an increase of $79.4 million, or 11.1% compared to December 31, 2009, and an increase of $41.6 million, or 5.5%, compared to September 30, 2010.
• Deposits of $1,162.9 million at December 31, 2010, an increase of $206.0 million, or 21.5%, compared to December 31, 2009, and an increase of $48.2 million, or 4.3%, compared to September 30, 2010.

Joseph B. Bower, Jr., President and CEO, commented, "2010 has been a very exciting year for CNB.  We successfully raised $34.5 million in new equity, grew earning assets 23%, and improved earnings 33%.  In addition, we believe overall asset quality has stabilized and is beginning to improve, and we have better positioned our interest rate risk going into 2011."

Net Interest Income and Margin

During the year ended December 31, 2010, net interest income increased $4.7 million, or 12.5%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2009.  Net interest margin on a fully tax equivalent basis was 3.65% for the year ended December 31, 2010, compared to 4.00% for the year ended December 31, 2009.  Although earning assets continue to grow, these increases have been offset by decreases in the yield on earning assets as a result of the current interest rate environment, and the composition of earning assets has shifted to a greater percentage of investment securities as deposit growth is outpacing loan growth.  In addition, CNB repaid a long-term borrowing having a fixed rate of 5.63% in the fourth quarter of 2010, resulting in a prepayment penalty of $707 thousand that is reported in interest expense during the quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.  The effect of this prepayment penalty was to reduce the net interest margin by 6 basis points for the year ended December 31, 2010 and 22 basis points for the three months ended December 31, 2010.

Due to significant growth in core deposits, interest-bearing liabilities have grown significantly during the last twelve months. Interest-bearing deposits as of December 31, 2010 grew $181.5 million, or 21.6%, as compared to December 31, 2009.  However, interest expense, excluding the prepayment penalty mentioned previously, for the year ended December 31, 2010 decreased by $119 thousand compared to the year ended December 31, 2010 as a result of CNB's focus on deposit mix and active management of deposit rates.  

Asset Quality

During the year and three months ended December 31, 2010, CNB increased its provision for loan losses as compared to the year and three months ended December 31, 2009.  For the three month periods ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, the provision for loan losses was $2.6 million and $1.5 million, respectively.  For the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, the provision for loan losses was $5.2 million and $4.5 million, respectively.  The increase was a result of increases in net charge-offs, primarily in the commercial mortgage portfolio, and the growth in the total loan portfolio.  One commercial mortgage loan became impaired in the fourth quarter of 2010 and was placed on nonaccrual status.  A balance of $1.8 million was charged off related to this loan in the fourth quarter of 2010, and the loan's carrying value at December 31, 2010 is $6.1 million.

Non-Interest Income

Net securities gains realized during the year ended December 31, 2010 were $1.7 million, compared to net realized securities gains of $395 thousand for the year ended December 31, 2009.  During the year ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, an other-than-temporary impairment charge of $2.2 million and $2.4 million, respectively, was recorded in earnings on structured pooled trust preferred securities.  CNB's remaining exposure in structured pooled trust preferred securities is $2.2 million at December 31, 2010.  Excluding the effects of these securities transactions, non-interest income was $10.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, compared to $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.  

Non-Interest Expense

Total non-interest expense increased $1.9 million, or 6.3%, during the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to the year ended December 31, 2009.  Salaries and benefits expenses increased $1.0 million, or 7.0%, during the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to the year ended December 31, 2009, primarily as a result of an increase in full-time equivalent employees from 280 at December 31, 2009 to 290 at December 31, 2010.  

Insurance premiums due to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") decreased by $128 thousand, or 7.3%, for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to the year ended December 31, 2009 due to the special assessment in the amount of $475 thousand that was incurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2009.  Excluding this special assessment, FDIC insurance premiums increased $347 thousand during the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to the year ended December 31, 2009, as a result of increases in the deposits on which the premium assessment is based as well as higher assessment rates in 2010.

Other non-interest expenses increased from $9.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2009 to $10.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2010, primarily as a result of increases in occupancy expenses and information technology expenses that are attributable to CNB's continued growth.

Balance Sheet

Shareholders' equity decreased $8.1 million, or 6.9%, from September 30, 2010 to December 31, 2010.  This change was a result of a decrease in the mark to market adjustment in CNB's available for sale securities portfolio of $14.2 million during the quarter ended December 31, 2010.  Excluding the change in accumulated other comprehensive income, shareholders' equity increased $1.3 million during the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The non-GAAP measures in this press release are not measures that are defined in generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP").  Tangible book value per share, tangible common equity and tangible assets are non-GAAP financial measures calculated using GAAP amounts.  Tangible book value per share is calculated by dividing tangible common equity by the number of shares outstanding.  Tangible common equity is calculated by excluding the balance of goodwill and other intangible assets from the calculation of stockholders' equity.  Tangible assets is calculated by excluding the balance of goodwill and other intangible assets from the calculation of total assets.  CNB believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide information to investors that is useful in understanding its financial condition.  Because not all companies use the same calculation of tangible common equity and tangible assets, this presentation may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures calculated by other companies.  A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures is provided below.

About CNB Financial Corporation

CNB Financial Corporation is a financial holding company with consolidated assets of approximately $1.4 billion that conducts business primarily through CNB Bank, the CNB's principal subsidiary.  CNB Bank is a full-service bank engaging in a full range of banking activities and services, including trust and wealth management services, for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers.  CNB Bank operations include a loan production office, a private banking division, and 26 full-service offices in Pennsylvania, including ERIEBANK, a division of CNB Bank.  More information about CNB and CNB Bank may be found on the internet at www.bankcnb.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to CNB's financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, future performance and business.  These forward-looking statements are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Forward-looking statements are those that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors (some of which are beyond CNB's control).  Forward-looking statements often include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "forecasts," "intends," "plans," "targets," "potentially," "probably," "projects," "outlook" or similar expressions or future conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "should," "would" and "could."  Such known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the statements include, but are not limited to: changes in general business, industry or economic conditions or competition; changes in any applicable law, rule, regulation, policy, guideline or practice governing or affecting financial holding companies and their subsidiaries or with respect to tax or accounting principals or otherwise; adverse changes or conditions in capital and financial markets; changes in interest rates; higher than expected costs or other difficulties related to integration of combined or merged businesses; the inability to realize expected cost savings or achieve other anticipated benefits in connection with business combinations and other acquisitions; changes in the quality or composition of CNB's loan and investment portfolios; adequacy of loan loss reserves; increased competition; loss of certain key officers; continued relationships with major customers; deposit attrition; rapidly changing technology; unanticipated regulatory or judicial proceedings and liabilities and other costs; changes in the cost of funds, demand for loan products or demand for financial services; and other economic, competitive, governmental or technological factors affecting CNB's operations, markets, products, services and prices.  Some of these and other factors are discussed in CNB's annual and quarterly reports previously filed with the SEC.  Such developments could have an adverse impact on CNB's financial position and CNB's results of operations.

The forward-looking statements are based upon management's beliefs and assumptions and are made as of the date of this press release.  CNB undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this press release or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those contained in such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except to the extent required by federal securities laws.  In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release might not occur and you should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements.

Financial Tables

The following tables supplement the financial highlights described previously for CNB Financial Corporation as of and for the three and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2010 and 2009.

SOURCE CNB Financial Corporation