NEW ORLEANS, July 23, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitney Holding Corporation (Nasdaq:WTNY) (the "Company") recorded a net loss of $21.3 million for the second quarter of 2009 compared to a net loss of $11.1 million for the first quarter of 2009. Including dividends on preferred stock, the loss to common shareholders was $25.4 million, or $.38 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2009 and $15.2 million, or $.22 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2009. The Company earned $12.9 million, or $.20 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2008.
"While we are disappointed to report a net loss for the quarter, the results were in line with our range of expectations," said John C. Hope, III, Chairman and CEO. "Core earnings drivers remained stable for the quarter. Our net interest margin compares favorably to industry peers, fee generating business lines grew and noncredit-related operating expenses remain under control. However, lower valuations on residential real estate-related credits in Florida and coastal Alabama continued to significantly impact our credit quality metrics and our bottom line. In addition, ongoing pressures associated with weaknesses in the overall economy continued to affect various types of credits serviced out of our Texas and Louisiana markets, adding to the provision for credit losses and our level of criticized credits. Our capital remained a healthy $1.5 billion with a tangible common equity ratio of 6.42% and a leverage ratio of 9.21%."
The impact of the acquisition of Parish National Corporation (Parish) is reflected in the Company's financial information from the November 7, 2008 acquisition date. "The Parish merger has been good for Whitney," said Hope. "It is our largest to date and the combination, thanks to a lot of hard work by bankers in both companies, continues to be everything we expected or better."
KEY COMPONENTS OF SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS
Loans and Earning Assets
Total loans at the end of the second quarter of 2009 were down $161 million from March 31, 2009, with reductions in most portfolio segments and geographic regions. Whitney continues to actively look for new and expanded relationships; however, in the current economic environment, loan demand remains weak and is not expected to improve over the near term.
Average loans for the second quarter of 2009 were down approximately 1% compared to the first quarter of 2009, while average earning assets remained stable.
Deposits and Funding
Average deposits in the second quarter of 2009 were up 1%, or $94 million, compared to the first quarter of 2009.
In the first quarter of 2009 Whitney launched a money market campaign designed to generate new or expanded customer relationships. As a result of the campaign, over 1,200 new retail and business customer relationships were established, and during the second quarter of 2009, money market accounts increased $266 million.
Demand deposits comprised 33% of total average deposits and funded approximately 28% of average earning assets for the second quarter of 2009 and the percentage of funding from all noninterest-bearing sources totaled 33%. Higher-cost interest-bearing funds, which include time deposits and borrowings, funded 33% of average earning assets in the second quarter of 2009, compared to 35% in the first quarter of 2009.
Net Interest Income
Net interest income (TE) for the second quarter of 2009 decreased 1%, or $1.1 million, compared to the first quarter of 2009. Average earning assets were stable between these periods, while the net interest margin (TE) compressed by 8 basis points to 4.05% from 4.13%. The margin compression reflected in part the reduced share of loans in the mix of earning assets. The lost interest on nonaccruing loans reduced the net interest margin by approximately 20 basis points in both the first and second quarters of 2009. The rates on approximately 29% and 27% of the loan portfolio at June 30, 2009 vary based on LIBOR and prime rate benchmarks, respectively. Rate floors on approximately 50% of our variable rate loans partially offset the impact of the overall lower rate environment.
Provision for Credit Losses and Credit Quality
"We continue to experience increases in our criticized and nonaccrual portfolios as a result of this recessionary environment and these issues are continuing to drive elevated provision levels," said Hope.
Whitney provided $74.0 million for credit losses in the second quarter of 2009, compared to $65.0 million in the first quarter of 2009. Net loan charge-offs in the second quarter of 2009 were $46.7 million or 2.09% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to $31.9 million or 1.41% of average loans in the first quarter of 2009. The provision exceeded net charge-offs by $25.3 million during the current quarter which further strengthened the allowance for loan losses to 2.50% of total loans at June 30, 2009, up from 2.17% at March 31, 2009 and 1.77% at year-end 2008.
Noninterest Income
Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2009 increased 11%, or $3.2 million, from the first quarter of 2009. Fee income from Whitney's secondary mortgage market operations grew 68%, or $1.3 million, on continued strong refinancing activity. Bankcard fees and trust service fees were both up for the quarter, as were most other recurring sources of fee income included in other noninterest income.
Other noninterest income in the second quarter of 2009 included a $1.8 million distribution from an investment in a local small business investment company, while revenue from the Company's grandfathered foreclosed assets was $.5 million lower in the current period than in the first quarter of 2009.
Noninterest Expense
Total noninterest expense for the second quarter of 2009 increased $15.0 million, or 15%, from the first quarter of 2009. The second quarter of 2009 included a $5.5 million special deposit insurance assessment that was imposed industry-wide by the FDIC, and a new assessment system implemented in 2009 also added $.5 million to recurring deposit insurance expense for the period. The second quarter also included a $4.4 million provision to increase the valuation allowance on foreclosed property and a $1.9 million increase in loan collection costs and foreclosed asset management expenses.
Total personnel expense for the second quarter of 2009 increased $1.4 million, or 3%, from the first quarter of 2009. Employee compensation was up $2.3 million, while employee benefits expense declined $.8 million. The increase in compensation reflected higher sales-based incentives in the current period and the effects of a $1.5 million reduction in share-based compensation in the first quarter of 2009 that resulted from updated performance estimates on outstanding awards. No management cash bonus was accrued in either the first or second quarters of 2009. The decline in benefits reflected the normal decrease in payroll taxes from their high point at the beginning of each year and a reduction in the cost of providing pension benefits based on final results of the annual actuarial valuation.
Capital
Regulatory capital ratios have been and remain well above those required for the Company and Whitney National Bank to be considered well-capitalized institutions. The Company's tangible common equity ratio was 6.42% at the end of the second quarter of 2009, compared to 6.49% at December 31, 2008. Whitney's regulatory leverage ratio was 9.21% at June 30, 2009 and 9.87% at December 31, 2008.
Conference Call and Additional Financial Information
Management will host a conference call today at 11:00 a.m. CT to review second quarter 2009 results. Analysts and investors may dial in and participate in the question/answer session. A live listen-only webcast of the call will be available under the "Investor Relations" section of our website at http://www.whitneybank.com. To participate in the Q&A portion of the call, dial (888) 596-2633 or (913) 312-6685. An audio archive of the conference call will be available under the Investor Relations section of our website. A replay of the call will also be available through July 28, 2009 by dialing (888) 203-1112 or (719) 457-0820, passcode 4143672.
This earnings release, including additional financial tables related to second quarter 2009 results, is posted in the Investor Relations section of the Company's web site at http://investor.whitneybank.com/releases.cfm?ReleasesType=Earnings&Year=2009.
Whitney Holding Corporation, through its banking subsidiary Whitney National Bank, serves the five-state Gulf Coast region stretching from Houston, Texas; across southern Louisiana and the coastal region of Mississippi; to central and south Alabama; the panhandle of Florida; and the Tampa Bay metropolitan area of Florida.
The Whitney Holding Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5777
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains "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, and we intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions therein and are including this statement for purposes of invoking these safe-harbor provisions. Forward-looking statements provide projections of results of operations or of financial condition or state other forward-looking information, such as expectations about future conditions and descriptions of plans and strategies for the future. The forward-looking statements made in this release include, but may not be limited to, expectations regarding future loan demand, capital strength and credit quality trends in the overall loan portfolio and specific industry segments within the portfolio.
Whitney's ability to accurately project results or predict the effects of future plans or strategies is inherently limited. Although Whitney believes that the expectations reflected in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results and performance could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in Whitney's forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those risk factors outlined in Whitney's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at the SEC's internet site (http://www.sec.gov).
You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Whitney does not intend, and undertakes no obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of differences in actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting such statements, except as required by law.
(WTNY-E)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
WHITNEY HOLDING CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(dollars in
thousands, Second First Second Six Months Ended
except per Quarter Quarter Quarter June 30
share data) 2009 2009 2008 2009 2008
---------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME DATA
Net
interest
income $110,572 $111,615 $111,125 $222,187 $224,670
Net
interest
income
(tax-
equivalent) 111,820 112,924 112,344 224,744 227,159
Provision
for credit
losses 74,000 65,000 35,000 139,000 49,000
Noninterest
income 32,431 29,266 26,174 61,697 54,650
Net
securities
gains in
non-
interest
income -- -- -- -- --
Noninterest
expense 111,807 96,848 85,590 208,655 169,519
Net income
(loss) (21,301) (11,139) 12,874 (32,440) 42,729
Net income
(loss) to
common
share-
holders (25,368) (15,164) 12,874 (40,532) 42,729
---------------------------------------------------------------------
QUARTER-END
BALANCE
SHEET DATA
Loans $8,791,840 $8,953,307 $7,962,543 $8,791,840 $7,962,543
Investment
securities 1,942,365 1,889,161 1,955,692 1,942,365 1,955,692
Earning
assets 10,861,061 10,908,643 9,955,091 10,861,061 9,955,091
Total
assets 11,975,082 12,020,481 11,016,323 11,975,082 11,016,323
Noninterest
-bearing
deposits 3,081,617 3,176,783 2,773,086 3,081,617 2,773,086
Total
deposits 9,144,041 9,212,361 8,266,880 9,144,041 8,266,880
Share-
holders'
equity 1,487,994 1,522,085 1,183,078 1,487,994 1,183,078
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AVERAGE
BALANCE
SHEET DATA
Loans $8,945,911 $9,068,755 $7,866,942 $9,006,994 $7,776,211
Investment
securities 1,906,932 1,885,158 2,025,397 1,896,105 2,070,915
Earning
assets 11,062,643 11,054,605 9,929,683 11,058,646 9,937,197
Total
assets 12,140,311 12,159,252 10,838,912 12,149,729 10,817,704
Noninterest
-bearing
deposits 3,082,248 3,150,615 2,747,125 3,116,242 2,697,560
Total
deposits 9,212,882 9,119,000 8,220,223 9,166,202 8,298,682
Share-
holders'
equity 1,520,609 1,533,293 1,213,461 1,526,916 1,221,691
---------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON SHARE
DATA
Earnings
(loss) per
share
Basic $(.38) $(.22) $.20 $(.60) $.66
Diluted (.38) (.22) .20 (.60) .65
Cash
dividends
per share $.01 $.01 $.31 $.02 $.62
Book value
per share,
end of
period $17.63 $18.22 $18.51 $17.63 $18.51
Tangible
book value
per share,
end of
period $10.93 $11.46 $13.12 $10.93 $13.12
Trading
data
High sales
price $15.33 $16.16 $26.32 $16.16 $27.49
Low sales
price 8.33 8.17 17.85 8.17 17.85
End-of-
period
closing
price 9.16 11.45 18.30 9.16 18.30
Trading
volume 62,308,611 48,896,275 53,522,061 111,204,886 99,005,552
---------------------------------------------------------------------
RATIOS
Return on
average
assets (.70)% (.37)% .48% (.54) .79%
Return on
average
common
equity (8.30) (4.96) 4.27 (6.63) 7.03
Net
interest
margin 4.05 4.13 4.54 4.09 4.59
Average
loans to
average
deposits 97.10 99.45 95.70 98.26 93.70
Efficiency
ratio 77.51 68.11 61.79 72.84 60.15
Annualized
expenses
to average
assets 3.68 3.19 3.16 3.43 3.13
Allowance
for loan
losses to
loans, end
of period 2.50 2.17 1.38 2.50 1.38
Annualized
net charge
-offs to
average
loans 2.09 1.41 .86 1.75 .70
Non-
performing
assets to
loans plus
foreclosed
assets and
surplus
property,
end of
period 5.17 4.50 2.03 5.17 2.03
Average
share-
holders'
equity to
average
total
assets 12.53 12.61 11.20 12.57 11.29
Tangible
common
equity to
tangible
assets,
end of
period 6.42 6.68 7.86 6.42 7.86
Leverage
ratio, end
of period 9.21 9.47 8.27 9.21 8.27
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax-equivalent (TE) amounts are calculated using a federal income
tax rate of 35%.
The efficiency ratio is noninterest expense to total net interest
(TE) and noninterest income (excluding securities gains and
losses).
---------------------------------------------------------------------
WHITNEY HOLDING CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
---------------------------------------------------------------------
QUARTERLY TRENDS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(dollars in
thousands, Second First Fourth Third Second
except per Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter Quarter
share data) 2009 2009 2008 2008 2008
---------------------------------------------------------------------
INCOME DATA
Net
interest
income $110,572 $111,615 $119,540 $111,435 $111,125
Net
interest
income
(tax-
equivalent) 111,820 112,924 120,902 112,600 112,344
Provision
for credit
losses 74,000 65,000 45,000 40,000 35,000
Noninterest
income 32,431 29,266 27,050 25,472 26,174
Net
securities
gains in
non-
interest
income -- -- -- 67 --
Noninterest
expense 111,807 96,848 92,026 89,549 85,590
Net income
(loss) (21,301) (11,139) 8,808 7,048 12,874
Net income
(loss) to
common
share-
holders (25,368) (15,164) 8,220 7,048 12,874
---------------------------------------------------------------------
QUARTER-END
BALANCE
SHEET DATA
Loans $8,791,840 $8,953,307 $9,081,850 $8,077,775 $7,962,543
Investment
securities 1,942,365 1,889,161 1,939,355 1,812,025 1,955,692
Earning
assets 10,861,061 10,908,643 11,209,246 9,943,868 9,955,091
Total
assets 11,975,082 12,020,481 12,380,501 10,987,447 11,016,323
Noninterest
-bearing
deposits 3,081,617 3,176,783 3,233,550 2,809,923 2,773,086
Total
deposits 9,144,041 9,212,361 9,261,594 8,054,431 8,266,880
Share-
holders'
equity 1,487,994 1,522,085 1,525,478 1,183,001 1,183,078
---------------------------------------------------------------------
AVERAGE
BALANCE
SHEET DATA
Loans $8,945,911 $9,068,755 $8,700,317 $8,007,507 $7,866,942
Investment
securities 1,906,932 1,885,158 1,876,338 1,853,581 2,025,397
Earning
assets 11,062,643 11,054,605 10,719,892 9,892,165 9,929,683
Total
assets 12,140,311 12,159,252 11,777,922 10,902,329 10,838,912
Noninterest
-bearing
deposits 3,082,248 3,150,615 2,975,869 2,771,101 2,747,125
Total
deposits 9,212,882 9,119,000 8,646,612 8,230,249 8,220,223
Share-
holders'
equity 1,520,609 1,533,293 1,264,714 1,192,535 1,213,461
---------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMON SHARE
DATA
Earnings
(loss) per
share
Basic $(.38) $(.22) $.12 $.11 $.20
Diluted (.38) (.22) .12 .11 .20
Cash
dividends
per share $.01 $.01 $.20 $.31 $.31
Book value
per share,
end of
period $17.63 $18.22 $18.29 $18.49 $18.51
Tangible
book value
per share,
end of
period $10.93 $11.46 $11.48 $13.13 $13.12
Trading
data
High sales
price $15.33 $16.16 $26.37 $33.02 $26.32
Low sales
price 8.33 8.17 14.14 13.96 17.85
End-of-
period
closing
price 9.16 11.45 15.99 24.25 18.30
Trading
volume 62,308,611 48,896,275 42,771,277 72,540,716 53,522,061
---------------------------------------------------------------------
RATIOS
Return on
average
assets (.70)% (.37)% .30% .26% .48%
Return on
average
common
equity (8.30) (4.96) 2.67 2.35 4.27
Net
interest
margin 4.05 4.13 4.49 4.53 4.54
Average
loans to
average
deposits 97.10 99.45 100.62 97.29 95.70
Efficiency
ratio 77.51 68.11 62.20 64.89 61.79
Annualized
expenses
to average
assets 3.68 3.19 3.13 3.29 3.16
Allowance
for loan
losses to
loans, end
of period 2.50 2.17 1.77 1.55 1.38
Annualized
net charge-
offs to
average
loans 2.09 1.41 .91 1.22 .86
Non-
performing
assets to
loans plus
foreclosed
assets and
surplus
property,
end of
period 5.17 4.50 3.61 3.15 2.03
Average
share-
holders'
equity to
average
total
assets 12.53 12.61 10.74 10.94 11.20
Tangible
common
equity to
tangible
assets,
end of
period 6.42 6.68 6.49 7.89 7.86
Leverage
ratio, end
of period 9.21 9.47 9.87 8.17 8.27
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax-equivalent (TE) amounts are calculated using a federal income
tax rate of 35%.
The efficiency ratio is noninterest expense to total net interest
(TE) and noninterest income (excluding securities gains and
losses).
CONTACT: Whitney Holding Corporation
Thomas L. Callicutt, Jr.
Trisha Voltz Carlson
tcarlson@whitneybank.com
504/299-5208
