Equity Bancshares, Inc. Reports Third Quarter Results, Continued Organic Growth

WICHITA, Kan., Oct. 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Equity Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQBK), (“Equity”, “the Company”, “we,” “us,” “our”), the Wichita-based holding company of Equity Bank, reported net income of $15.2 million and $0.93 earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2022.

"In 2022, our Company has realized meaningful, organic growth while emphasizing return to our stockholders via earnings, share buybacks, and an increasing dividend. Annualized growth within our commercial and commercial real estate loan portfolios of 17.13% is a credit to our sales and operational teams,” said Brad S. Elliott, Chairman and CEO, Equity Bancshares, Inc. “We have been diligent in enhancing our sales process, expanding our marketing geography, and hiring exceptional operators which has and will continue to drive our Company’s success.”

“At the end of the quarter, our classified asset ratio is down more than 50% year-to-date and at an all-time low for our Company,” continued Mr. Elliott. “The committed efforts of our sales and credit teams to source and underwrite strong credits while meeting the financing needs of the communities we serve allows our Company to hold true to its mission as a community bank.”

Notable Items:

• During the third quarter, the Company realized continued loan growth excluding the impact of PPP assets and sold branches bringing annualized loan growth year-to-date to 7.01%.
• During the quarter, the Company realized linked period Net Interest Margin growth of 23 basis points, and Net Interest Income growth of $2.38 million.
• The Company continued to emphasize investor returns through repurchase of 126,900 shares during the quarter, at an average price of $32.51, as well as the expansion of our quarterly dividend program to $0.10 per share. Also during the quarter, the Company’s Board authorized the repurchase of up to 1 million shares and the Company received non-objection from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City related to the repurchase plan.

Financial Results for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2022

Net income allocable to common stockholders was $15.2 million, or $0.93 per diluted share, for the three months ended September 30, 2022, as compared to $15.3 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2022. The decrease for the second quarter of 2022 is primarily driven by income taxes as a true-up of rate was experienced in the second quarter that, as expected, did not repeat. Pre-tax income increased $1.9 million as the Company's net interest income benefitted from increasing interest rates.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income was $41.9 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022, as compared to $39.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, an increase of $2.4 million, or 6.1%. The yield on interest-earning assets increased 44 basis points to 4.18% during the quarter ended September 30, 2022, as compared to 3.74% for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. The cost of interest-bearing deposits increased by 29 basis points during the quarter, moving from 0.28% at June 30, 2022 to 0.57% at September 30, 2022.

Provision for Credit Losses

During the three months ended September 30, 2022, there was a net release of $136 thousand compared to a provision to the allowance for credit losses of $824 thousand in the previous quarter. The minimal release of provision for the quarter is the result of having a relatively similar sized loan portfolio and similar realized loss rates; however, the Company continues to estimate the allowance for credit loss with assumptions that anticipate slowing prepayments rates and continued market disruption caused by elevated inflation, supply chain issues and the impact of monetary policy on consumers and businesses. For the three months ended September 30, 2022, we had net charge-offs of $1.6 million as compared to $176 thousand for the three months ended June 30, 2022.

Non-Interest Income

Total non-interest income was $9.0 million for the three months ended September 30, 2022, as compared to $9.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2022, or a decrease of 6.9%, quarter over quarter. The $600 thousand decrease was primarily due to a decrease in net gain on acquisition and branch sales of $540 thousand.

Non-Interest Expense

Total non-interest expense for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, was $32.2 million as compared to $31.4 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. The $800 thousand change was primarily due to an increase in data processing of $496 thousand and an increase in the write-off of tax investments of $423 thousand for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2022.

Asset Quality

As of September 30, 2022, Equity’s allowance for credit losses to total loans decreased to 1.4% as compared to 1.5% at June 30, 2022. Nonperforming assets were $29.7 million as of September, 2022, or 0.6% of total assets, compared to $37.0 million at June 30, 2022, or 0.7% of total assets. Non-accrual loans were $23.1 million at September 30, 2022, as compared to $18.9 million at June 30, 2022. Total classified assets, including loans rated special mention or worse, other real estate owned and other repossessed assets were $63.1 million, or 11.0% of regulatory capital, down from $72.1 million, or 13.1% of regulatory capital as of June 30, 2022.

During the quarter ended September 30, 2022, non-performing assets decreased $7.3 million due to decreases in other repossessed assets of $8.7 million and other real estate owned of $2.5 million, partially offset by increases in non-accrual loans of $4.3 million.

Regulatory Capital

The Company’s ratio of common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets was 12.1%, the total capital to risk-weighted assets was 16.0% and the total leverage ratio was 9.7% at September 30, 2022. At June 30, 2022, the Company’s common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets ratio was 12.1%, the total capital to risk-weighted assets ratio was 16.0% and the total leverage ratio was 9.1%.

The Company’s subsidiary, Equity Bank, had a ratio of common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets of 14.1%, a ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets of 15.4% and a total leverage ratio of 10.5% at September 30, 2022. At June 30, 2022, Equity Bank’s ratio of common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets was 13.9%, the ratio of total capital to risk-weighted assets was 15.1% and the total leverage ratio was 9.9%.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to evaluating the Company’s results of operations in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), management periodically supplements this evaluation with an analysis of certain non-GAAP financial measures that are intended to provide the reader with additional perspectives on operating results, financial condition and performance trends, while facilitating comparisons with the performance of other financial institutions. Non-GAAP financial measures are not a substitute for GAAP measures, rather, they should be read and used in conjunction with the Company’s GAAP financial information.

The efficiency ratio is a common comparable metric used by banks to understand the expense structure relative to total revenue. In other words, for every dollar of total revenue recognized, how much of that dollar is expended. To improve the comparability of the ratio to our peers, non-core items are excluded. To improve transparency and acknowledging that banks are not consistent in their definition of the efficiency ratio, we include our calculation of this non-GAAP measure.

Return on average assets before income tax provision and provision for loan losses is a measure that the Company uses to understand fundamental operating performance before these expenses. Used as a ratio relative to average assets, we believe it demonstrates “core” performance and can be viewed as an alternative measure of how efficiently the Company services its asset base. Used as a ratio relative to average equity, it can function as an alternative measure of the Company’s earnings performance in relationship to its equity.

Tangible common equity and related measures are non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of intangible assets, net of deferred taxes, and their related amortization. These financial measures are useful for evaluating the performance of a business consistently, whether acquired or developed internally. Return on average tangible common equity is used by management and readers of our financial statements to understand how efficiently the Company is deploying its common equity. Companies that are able to demonstrate more efficient use of common equity are more likely to be viewed favorably by current and prospective investors.

The Company believes that disclosing these non-GAAP financial measures is both useful internally and is expected by our investors and analysts in order to understand the overall performance of the Company. Other companies may calculate and define their non-GAAP financial measures and supplemental data differently. A reconciliation of GAAP financial measures to non-GAAP measures and other performance ratios, as adjusted, are included in Table 6 in the following press release tables.

Conference Call and Webcast

Equity’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Brad Elliott, and Chief Financial Officer, Eric Newell, will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss third quarter results on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 10 a.m. eastern time or 9 a.m. central time.

A live webcast of the call will be available on the Company’s website at investor.equitybank.com. To access the call by phone, please go to this registration link, and you will be provided with dial in details. Investors, news media, and other participants are encouraged to dial into the conference call ten minutes ahead of the scheduled start time.

A replay of the call and webcast will be available two hours following the close of the call until October 26, 2022, accessible at investor.equitybank.com.

About Equity Bancshares, Inc.
Equity Bancshares, Inc. is the holding company for Equity Bank, offering a full range of financial solutions, including commercial loans, consumer banking, mortgage loans, trust and wealth management services and treasury management services, while delivering the high-quality, relationship-based customer service of a community bank. Equity’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “EQBK.” Learn more at www.equitybank.com.

Special Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press 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. These forward-looking statements reflect the current views of Equity’s management with respect to, among other things, future events and Equity’s financial performance. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “predict,” “potential,” “believe,” “will likely result,” “expect,” “continue,” “will,” “anticipate,” “seek,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “goal,” “target,” “would” and “outlook,” or the negative variations of those words or other comparable words of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about Equity’s industry, management’s beliefs and certain assumptions made by management, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and beyond Equity’s control. Accordingly, Equity cautions you that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Although Equity believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date made, actual results may prove to be materially different from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Equity’s expectations include COVID-19 related impacts; competition from other financial institutions and bank holding companies; the effects of and changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board; changes in the demand for loans; fluctuations in value of collateral and loan reserves; inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; and acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses; and similar variables. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

For discussion of these and other risks that may cause actual results to differ from expectations, please refer to “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in Equity’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 9, 2022, and any updates to those risk factors set forth in Equity’s subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. If one or more events related to these or other risks or uncertainties materialize, or if Equity’s underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, actual results may differ materially from what Equity anticipates. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Equity does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as required by law. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, such as COVID-19, and it is not possible for us to predict those events or how they may affect us. In addition, Equity cannot assess the impact of each factor on Equity’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements, expressed or implied, included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This cautionary statement should also be considered in connection with any subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements that Equity or persons acting on Equity’s behalf may issue.

Investor Contact:

Chris Navratil
SVP, Finance
Equity Bancshares, Inc.
(316) 612-6014
cnavratil@equitybank.com

Media Contact:

John J. Hanley
SVP, Senior Director of Marketing
Equity Bancshares, Inc.
(913) 583-8004
jhanley@equitybank.com

Unaudited Financial Tables

• Table 1. Consolidated Statements of Income
• Table 2. Quarterly Consolidated Statements of Income
• Table 3. Consolidated Balance Sheets
• Table 4. Selected Financial Highlights
• Table 5. Year-To-Date Net Interest Income Analysis
• Table 6. Quarter-To-Date Net Interest Income Analysis
• Table 7. Quarter-Over-Quarter Net Interest Income Analysis
• Table 8. Non-GAAP Financial Measures

TABLE 1. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

TABLE 2. QUARTERLY CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

TABLE 3. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)

TABLE 4. SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

TABLE 5. YEAR-TO-DATE NET INTEREST INCOME ANALYSIS (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)

TABLE 6. QUARTER-TO-DATE NET INTEREST INCOME ANALYSIS (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)

TABLE 7. QUARTER-OVER-QUARTER NET INTEREST INCOME ANALYSIS (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands)

TABLE 8. NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES (Unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)