SAN JOSE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 17, 2024 / Avidbank Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK:AVBH) announced net income for the first quarter of 2024 of $5.2 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, compared to $303,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2023 and $6.4 million, or $0.85 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2023.

First Quarter 2024 Highlights

Period end deposits increased $103.5 million, or 25% annualized, from December 31, 2023, and $139.8 million, or 9%, from March 31, 2023.

Taxable equivalent net interest margin⁽¹⁾ was 3.54% in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 3.49% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Loans increased $42.4 million, or 10% annualized, from December 31, 2023, and $218.5 million, or 14%, from March 31, 2023.

Annualized net charge-offs to average loans totaled 0.0% for the first quarter of 2024 and the fourth quarter of 2023. Nonperforming assets to total assets was 0.06% as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023.

Book value per share was $21.41, an increase of $0.14, or 1%, from December 31, 2023 and an increase of $1.84, or 9%, from March 31, 2023.

"We are pleased with our solid start to 2024, with the focus of strengthening our balance sheet and improving our performance metrics. Our first quarter results include deposit growth of $104 million and loan growth of $42 million. This strong growth, along with the steps we took in the fourth quarter made an impact in both areas. Our net interest margin was 3.54% in the first quarter and has now expanded 18 basis points from the third quarter of 2023. Credit quality continues to remain strong with no net charge-offs in the first quarter and nonperforming assets totaling only 6 basis points of total loans," said Mark Mordell, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

"Our bankers along with our enhanced treasury management team have been focused on increasing our revenue growth over the last several quarters. This has resulted in the 52% increase in service charge and foreign exchange fee income since the first quarter of 2023," added Mr. Mordell.

Income Statement

Taxable equivalent net interest income⁽¹⁾ totaled $18.9 million for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $465,000, or 3%, from the fourth quarter of 2023, and a decrease of $1.2 million, or 6%, from the first quarter of 2023. The taxable equivalent net interest margin was 3.54% in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 5 basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, and a decrease of 39 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2023. The increase in taxable equivalent net interest income and net interest margin compared to the prior quarter was primarily driven by an overall increase in loan balances and a decrease in investment securities. The decrease in taxable equivalent net interest margin compared to the same period one year ago was primarily driven by an increase in high-cost short-term borrowings replacing lower-cost deposits, interest bearing deposits replacing no-cost demand deposits, and an overall increase in deposit costs, partially offset by an increase in loan yields and average loan balances.

The yield on loans in the first quarter of 2024 was 7.28%, an increase of 3 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2023 and an increase of 61 basis points from the first quarter of 2023. The overall increase in loan yields compared to prior periods was primarily due to higher rates on new loans.

The cost of deposits in the first quarter of 2024 was 2.81%, an increase of 10 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2023 and an increase of 142 basis points from the first quarter of 2023. The cost of interest-bearing deposits in the first quarter of 2024 was 3.90% compared to 3.80% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 2.38% in the first quarter of 2023. The increase in the cost of deposits compared to prior periods was primarily due to higher costs on new deposit accounts.

The provision for credit losses was $319,000 in the first quarter of 2024, compared to $1.27 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $185,000 in the first quarter of 2023. The provision decreased in the current quarter primarily due to an improving economic forecast in the first quarter of 2024 and lower relative loan growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. The provision for credit losses in the first quarter of 2024 included a $211,000 provision for credit losses on loans and a $108,000 provision for unfunded commitments.

Noninterest income was $1.3 million in the first quarter of 2024 compared to $(4.6) million in the fourth quarter of 2023 and $5,000 in the first quarter of 2023. The fourth quarter of 2023 included a $5.40 million loss on sale of securities, a $165,000 loss on the sale of a foreclosed property, and a loss of $116,000 from changes in the fair value of fund investments. The first quarter of 2023 included an $815,000 loss on the sale of securities.

Noninterest expense totaled $12.4 million for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of $877,000 compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Much of the increase was due to seasonally higher FICA taxes and incentive expense. Salaries and benefits expense for the fourth quarter of 2023 included severance charges of $324,000. There were 141 full-time equivalent employees on March 31, 2024, compared to 143 on December 31, 2023.

Balance Sheet

Total assets were $2.26 billion as of March 31, 2024 compared to $2.23 billion at December 31, 2023, and $2.17 billion at March 31, 2023. Cash and cash equivalents were $90.2 million on March 31, 2024, compared to $81.4 million on December 31, 2023, and $134.1 million on March 31, 2023.

Period end loans on March 31, 2024, totaled $1.78 billion, an increase of $42.4 million, or 10% annualized, from December 31, 2023, and an increase of $218.5 million, or 14%, from March 31, 2023. The growth in loans during the first quarter of 2024 included an increase of $24.6 million in commercial loans and $22.4 million in construction loans. Quarterly average loans for the first quarter of 2024 increased $58.1million, or 3%, from the fourth quarter of 2023 and $201.6 million, or 13%, from the first quarter of 2023.

The allowance for credit losses on loans was $19.3 million on March 31, 2024, representing an increase of $211,000 from December 31, 2023. The allowance for credit losses on loans to total loans was 1.08% on March 31, 2024, compared to 1.10% on December 31, 2023. Nonperforming loans to total loans was 0.08% on March 31, 2024, unchanged from December 31, 2023.

Investment securities were $314.8 million as of March 31, 2024, compared to $325.3 million on December 31, 2023, and $386.9 million at March 31, 2023. In the fourth quarter of 2023, we sold $35.8 million of securities for a loss of $5.4 million. During the first quarter of 2023, we sold $25 million in available for sale mortgage-backed securities and all $32 million in held to maturity municipal securities.

Period end deposits were $1.76 billion on March 31, 2024, an increase of $103.5 million, or 6%, from December 31, 2023. The change in deposits during the first quarter of 2024 included a $23.9 million and a $21.6 million increase in interest-bearing checking and money market/savings deposits, respectively, as well as a $43.4 million increase in brokered deposits. Quarterly average deposits for the first quarter of 2024 were $1.72 billion, an increase of $16.1 million from the fourth quarter of 2023 and a decrease of $28.5 million from the first quarter of 2023.

Short-term borrowings on March 31, 2024, totaled $290.0 million, a decrease of $70.0 million, or 19%, compared to December 31, 2023. The short-term borrowings on March 31, 2024 included $244.0 million in borrowings from the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP).

Book value per share was $21.41 on March 31, 2024, an increase of $0.14 compared to $21.27 on December 31, 2023. Total shareholders' equity totaled $167.1 million on March 31, 2024, an increase of $1.8 million compared to December 31, 2023. This included an increase in accumulated other comprehensive loss of $3.7 million.

⁽¹⁾ A Non-GAAP performance measure. We provide detailed reconciliations in the "Non-GAAP Performance and Financial Measures Reconciliation" table.

About Avidbank

Avidbank Holdings, Inc. (OTC Pink: AVBH), headquartered in San Jose, California, offers innovative financial solutions and services. We specialize in commercial & industrial lending, venture lending, structured finance, asset-based lending, sponsor finance, fund finance, and real estate construction and commercial real estate lending. Avidbank provides a different approach to banking. We do what we say.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release contains certain non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) financial measures in addition to results presented in accordance with GAAP. Management has presented these non-GAAP financial measures in this earnings release because it believes that they provide useful and comparative information to assess trends in the Company's current quarter and year-to-date results and facilitate comparison of our performance with the performance of our peers. Where applicable, the Company has also presented comparable earnings information using GAAP financial measures. These non-GAAP measures have inherent limitations, are not required to be uniformly applied and are not audited. They should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts, and generally include the words "believes," "plans," "intends," "expects," "opportunity," "anticipates," "targeted," "continue," "remain," "will," "should," "may," or words of similar meaning. While we believe that our forward-looking statements and the assumptions underlying them are reasonably based, such statements and assumptions, are, by their nature subject to risks and uncertainties, and thus could later prove to be inaccurate or incorrect. Accordingly, actual results could materially differ from forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to local, regional, national and international economic conditions and events and the impact they may have on us and our customers, and in particular in our market areas; ability to attract deposits and other sources of liquidity; oversupply of property inventory and deterioration in values of California real estate, both residential and commercial; a prolonged slowdown or decline in construction activity; changes in the financial performance and/or condition of our borrowers; changes in the level of nonperforming assets and charge-offs; the cost or effect of acquisitions we may make; the effect of changes in laws and regulations (including laws, regulations and judicial decisions concerning financial reform, capital requirements, taxes, banking, securities, employment, executive compensation, insurance, and information security) with which we and our subsidiaries must comply; changes in estimates of future reserve requirements and minimum capital requirements based upon the periodic review thereof under relevant regulatory and accounting requirements; ability to adequately underwrite for our asset based and corporate finance lending business lines; our ability to raise capital; inflation, interest rate, securities market and monetary fluctuations; cyber-security threats including loss of system functionality or theft or loss of data; political instability; acts of war or terrorism, or natural disasters, such as earthquakes, or the effects of a pandemic; destabilization in international economies resulting from the European sovereign debt crisis; the timely development and acceptance of new banking products and services and perceived overall value of these products and services by users; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; technological changes; the ability to increase market share, retain customers and control expenses; ability to retain and attract key management and personnel; changes in the competitive environment among financial and bank holding companies and other financial service providers; continued volatility in the credit and equity markets and its effect on the general economy; the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies, as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and other accounting standard setters; changes in our organization, management, compensation and benefit plans, and our ability to retain or expand our management team; the costs and effects of legal and regulatory developments including the resolution of legal proceedings or regulatory or other governmental inquiries and the results of regulatory examinations or reviews; our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing items. We do not undertake, and specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements except as required by law.

Contact: Patrick Oakes
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
408-200-7390
IR@avidbank.com