First US Bancshares, Inc. Reports Second Quarter and Year-to-Date Earnings: Six-month Diluted EPS Growth of $0.04 Over 2023

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Second Quarter Highlights:

First US Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq: FUSB) (the "Company"), the parent company of First US Bank (the "Bank"), today reported net income of $2.1 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2024 ("2Q2024"), compared to $2.1 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024 ("1Q2024") and $2.0 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2023 ("2Q2023"). For the six months ended June 30, 2024, net income totaled $4.2 million, or $0.68 per diluted share, compared to $4.1 million, or $0.64 per diluted share.

The table below summarizes selected financial data for each of the periods presented.

CEO Commentary

"We are pleased to report another quarter of consistent earnings, as well as improved year-to-date earnings amid a volatile economic environment," stated James F. House, President and CEO of the Company. "Our team remains focused on managing the fundamentals of our business, and while we have not seen loan growth this year, we are well positioned to benefit from future asset growth opportunities as they arise. Early in 2Q2024, we increased our investment portfolio to further enhance the Company's strong liquidity position and to take advantage of the higher interest rate environment. These purchases accelerated the repricing of earning assets during the quarter and, combined with continued pricing discipline on deposits and borrowings, led to quarter-over-quarter expansion of net interest margin for the first time since the fourth quarter of 2022. As we move into the second half of the year, we remain cautiously optimistic about economic circumstances. Inflation has slowed considerably from the peaks of 2022; however, certain fundamentals continue to point to the possibility that inflation and interest rates may remain at levels higher than market expectations would indicate. Accordingly, we will remain vigilant in the management of the Company's balance sheet with an eye toward multiple possibilities," continued Mr. House.           

Financial Results

Loans and Leases – The table below summarizes loan balances by portfolio category as of the end of each of the most recent five quarters.

Total loan volume decreased by $3.8 million, or 0.5%, in 2Q2024, driven primarily by reductions in commercial and industrial loans and 1-4 family residential loans. These reductions were partially offset by growth in commercial real estate (non-farm, non-residential), multi-family residential, and indirect consumer loans. In addition, approximately $30.7 million in multi-family construction loans went into service and were transferred from the construction category to the multi-family category during 2Q2024. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, total loans decreased by $2.7 million, or 0.3%. Average total loan balances decreased by $2.4 million, or 0.3%, during 2Q2024, compared to 1Q2024.  While the Company experienced modest loan decreases during 2Q2024, average loans remained higher during both the three- and six-month periods ended June 30, 2024 than the corresponding periods of 2023. Comparing 2Q2024 to 2Q2023, average loan balances increased by $27.2 million, or 3.4%. For the six months ended June 30, 2024, average loan balances increased by $39.1 million, or 5.0%, compared to the six months ended June 30, 2023. 

Net Interest Income and Margin – Net interest income for 2Q2024 totaled $9.2 million, an increase from $9.0 million in 1Q2024, and a decrease from $9.3 million in 2Q2023. The increase compared to 1Q2024 resulted primarily from an increase in net interest margin of 4 basis points comparing the two quarters, due primarily to the aforementioned purchases of investment securities. Compared to 2Q2023, the reduction resulted from net interest margin compression that totaled 19 basis points as interest-bearing liabilities repriced at a faster pace than interest-bearing assets, particularly during 2023. Net interest margin was 3.69% in 2Q2024, compared to 3.65% in 1Q2024, and 3.88% in 2Q2023. For the six months ended June 30, 2024, net interest margin totaled 3.67%, compared to 4.00% for the six months ended June 30, 2023. In the wake of the rising interest rate environment that began in 2022, the Company's net interest margin compressed for five consecutive quarters through 1Q2024, before expanding by 4 basis points in 2Q2024. The expansion of margin in 2Q2024 compared to 1Q2024 was attributable to increases in both average investment securities and yields on investment securities that enabled interest-earning assets to reprice at a faster pace than interest-bearing liabilities during the quarter.

Deposit Growth – Total deposits increased by $11.2 million, or 1.2%, during 2Q2024, due primarily to growth in non-interest bearing demand and interest-bearing time deposits, partially offset by decreases in interest-bearing demand deposits. The shift to interest-bearing time deposits is consistent with deposit holders seeking to maximize interest earnings over time. The majority of growth in time deposits during the first six months of 2024 was in instruments with maturities of less than 12 months, and was partially offset by a reduction in wholesale brokered time deposits of $4.8 million during 2Q2024. Core deposits, which exclude time deposits of $250 thousand or more and all wholesale brokered deposits, totaled $813.4 million, or 85.2% of total deposits as of June 30, 2024, compared to $819.5 million, or 86.2% of total deposits, as of December 31, 2023.                          

Deployment of Funds – As of June 30, 2024, the Company held cash and federal funds sold balances totaling $63.7 million, or 5.9% of total assets, compared to $59.8 million, or 5.6% of total assets, as of December 31, 2023. Investment securities, including both the available-for-sale and held-to-maturity portfolios, totaled $144.9 million as of June 30, 2024, compared to $136.7 million as of December 31, 2023. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, $27.5 million was invested in taxable U.S. agency-sponsored bonds, resulting in improved yields in the investment portfolio. Accordingly, the weighted average yield of the taxable investment portfolio increased to 3.13% during 2Q2024, compared to 2.59% during 1Q2024, and 2.14% during 2Q2023. As of June 30, 2024, the expected average life of securities in the investment portfolio was 4.3 years, compared to 3.9 years as of December 31, 2023. In the current higher interest rate environment, management continues to seek opportunities to reconfigure the investment portfolio with higher yielding assets as cash flows become available.   

Provision for Credit Losses – No provision for credit losses was recorded by the Company during the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to a provision of $0.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The Company's determination that no provisioning was required during the first six months of 2024 was due to loan portfolio balance reductions (in particular, consumer balances which generally contain higher loss ratios) combined with a decrease in unfunded lending commitments. As of June 30, 2024, the Company's allowance for credit losses on loans and leases as a percentage of total loans was 1.25%, compared to 1.28% as of December 31, 2023.      

Asset Quality – Nonperforming assets, including loans in non-accrual status and OREO, totaled $2.9 million as of June 30, 2024, compared to $3.0 million as of December 31, 2023. As a percentage of total assets, nonperforming assets totaled 0.27% as of June 30, 2024, compared to 0.28% as of December 31, 2023. Annualized net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans during 2Q2024 totaled 0.10%, compared to 0.09% during 1Q2024 and 0.14% during 2Q2023.

Non-interest Income – Non-interest income totaled $0.8 million in 2Q2024, compared to $0.9 million in 1Q2024 and $0.8 million in 2Q2023. For the six months ended June 30, 2024, non-interest income totaled $1.7 million, compared to $1.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Non-interest Expense – Non-interest expense totaled $7.3 million in 2Q2024, compared to $7.1 million in 1Q2024, and $7.2 million in 2Q2023. For both the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, non-interest expense totaled $14.4 million. While non-interest expense remained consistent comparing the two six month periods, in 2024 the Company experienced increases in expenses associated with occupancy and equipment and professional services that were offset by decreases in salaries and employee benefits and other expense. The increases associated with occupancy and professional services in 2024 resulted from a variety of activities, including increases in costs associated with growth in banking centers, as well as increases in legal, accounting and auditing fees. The reduction in salaries and benefits during the first six months of 2024, compared to the first six months of 2023 resulted from the ongoing effects of reductions in staff levels attained through strategic initiatives implemented by the Company in prior years.

Shareholders' Equity – As of June 30, 2024, shareholders' equity totaled $93.8 million, or 8.66% of total assets, compared to $90.6 million, or 8.44% of total assets, as of December 31, 2023. The increase in shareholders' equity during the six months ended June 30, 2024  resulted primarily from earnings, net of dividends paid and repurchases of shares of the Company's common stock. The Company's ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets was 8.02% as of June 30, 2024, compared to 7.79% as of December 31, 2023.  

Cash Dividend – The Company declared a cash dividend of $0.05 per share on its common stock in 2Q2024, consistent with 1Q2024 and all four quarters of 2023.

Share Repurchases – During 2Q2024, the Company completed the repurchase of 77,000 shares of its common stock at a weighted average price of $10.60 per share. The repurchases were completed under the Company's previously announced share repurchase program. As of June 30, 2024, 382,313 shares remained available for repurchase under the program.

Regulatory Capital – During 2Q2024, the Bank continued to maintain capital ratios at higher levels than required to be considered a "well-capitalized" institution under applicable banking regulations. As of June 30, 2024, the Bank's common equity Tier 1 capital and Tier 1 risk-based capital ratios were each 11.28%, its total capital ratio was 12.47%, and its Tier 1 leverage ratio was 9.46%.

Liquidity – As of June 30, 2024, the Company continued to maintain funding capacity sufficient to provide adequate liquidity for loan growth, capital expenditures and ongoing operations. The Company benefits from a strong core deposit base, a liquid investment securities portfolio and access to funding from a variety of sources, including federal funds lines with other banking institutions, Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances, the discount window of the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB), and brokered deposits.

Banking Center Growth – As part of the Company's overall growth strategy, during 2Q2024, the Company opened a new banking center in the Bearden area of Knoxville, Tennessee that replaced the Bank's previously existing Knoxville-Bearden location. It is anticipated that the new location will provide more favorable exposure to potential customers, while at the same time improving access to most of the Bank's existing customers in the area. In addition, during 2Q2024, the Company commenced renovation of a banking center office in Daphne, Alabama that was purchased from another financial institution during 1Q2024. This location is expected to serve as the Bank's initial deposit gathering facility in the Daphne/Mobile area, and it is anticipated that the location will open to the public in early 2025.

About First US Bancshares, Inc.

First US Bancshares, Inc. (the "Company") is a bank holding company that operates banking offices in Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia through First US Bank (the "Bank"). The Company files periodic reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Copies of its filings may be obtained through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or at www.firstusbank.com. More information about the Company and the Bank may be obtained at www.firstusbank.com. The Company's stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "FUSB."

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, as defined by federal securities laws. Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. These statements may address issues that involve significant risks, uncertainties, estimates and assumptions made by management. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements following the date of this press release, except as required by law. In addition, the Company, through its senior management, may make from time to time forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of the Company's senior management based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. 

Certain factors that could affect the accuracy of such forward-looking statements and cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements are identified in the public filings made by the Company with the SEC, and forward-looking statements contained in this press release or in other public statements of the Company or its senior management should be considered in light of those factors. Such factors may include risk related to the Company's credit, including that if loan losses are greater than anticipated; the increased lending risks associated with commercial real estate lending; liquidity risks; the impact of national and local market conditions on the Company's business and operations; the rate of growth (or lack thereof) in the economy generally and in the Company's service areas; strong competition in the banking industry; the impact of changes in interest rates and monetary policy on the Company's performance and financial condition; the impact of technological changes in the banking and financial service industries and potential information system failures; cybersecurity and data privacy threats; the costs of complying with extensive governmental regulation; the impact of changing accounting standards and tax laws on the Company's allowance for credit losses and financial results; the possibility that acquisitions may not produce anticipated results and result in unforeseen integration difficulties; and other risk factors described from time to time in the Company's public filings, including, but not limited to, the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Relative to the Company's dividend policy, the payment of cash dividends is subject to the discretion of the Board of Directors and will be determined in light of then-current conditions, including the Company's earnings,  leverage, operations, financial conditions, capital requirements and other factors deemed relevant by the Board of Directors. In the future, the Board of Directors may change the Company's dividend policy, including the frequency or amount of any dividend, in light of then-existing conditions.