ASRV AmeriServ Financial Inc

JOHNSTOWN, Pa., July 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- AmeriServ Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: ASRV) continued its positive earnings momentum in the second quarter of 2011 by reporting net income of $1,938,000 or $0.08 per diluted common share.  This represents a significant improvement of $1.5 million from the second quarter 2010 net income of $477,000 or $0.01 per diluted common share.  For the six month period ended June 30, 2011, the Company reported net income of $3,201,000 or $0.12 per diluted share, a $3.6 million improvement over the net loss of $441,000 or $0.05 per diluted share reported for the same six month period in 2010.  The following table highlights the Company's financial performance for both the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2011 and 2010:    

Glenn L. Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented on the second quarter 2011 financial results: "Our strong increase in earnings reflects continued improvement in asset quality as a result of our diligent focus on promptly identifying and resolving problem credits.  Non-performing assets again declined in the second quarter of 2011 and now total $7.4 million or 1.13% of total loans. Our net income also benefitted from continued stable net interest margin performance and increasing non-interest revenue, particularly within our trust and wealth management business.  With excellent liquidity, strong capital and loan loss reserve coverage of non-performing loans of 235%, AmeriServ Financial has a high quality balance sheet that is well positioned for the second half of 2011."          

The Company's net interest income in the second quarter of 2011 decreased by $122,000 from the prior year's second quarter and for the first six months of 2011 decreased by $277,000 or 1.7% when compared to the first six months of 2010.  The Company's 2011 net interest margin of 3.71% was 10 basis points lower than the net interest margin for the first half of 2010 but the net interest margin has now operated near the 3.70% level for the past four consecutive quarters.  Reduced loan balances were the primary factor causing the drop in both net interest income and net interest margin in 2011. Specifically, total loans averaged $656 million in the first half of 2011, a decrease of $55 million or 7.8% from the first half of 2010.  The lower balances reflect the results of the Company's focus on reducing its commercial real estate exposure and problem loans during this period along with weak commercial loan demand.  However, the Company has recently seen some improvement in loan pipelines and did experience $12 million of net loan growth between the end of the first and second quarters of 2011.  The Company has strengthened its excellent liquidity position by electing to reinvest any net loan paydowns in high quality investment securities and fed funds sold whose balance has increased by $55 million on average in the first half of 2011.  Careful management of funding costs has allowed the Company to mitigate a significant portion of the drop in interest revenue during the past twelve months.  Specifically, interest expense in the second quarter of 2011 has declined by $798,000 from the same prior year quarter due to reduced deposit costs and a lower borrowed funds position.  This reduction in deposit costs has not negatively impacted deposit balances which have increased on average by $19 million or 2.4% since June 30, 2010.  The Company is pleased that $13 million of this deposit growth has occurred in non-interest bearing demand deposit accounts whose balances have grown by 10.7% during the same period.    

The improvements in asset quality evidenced by lower levels of non-performing assets and classified loans allowed the Company to reverse a portion of the allowance for loan losses into earnings in 2011 while still increasing coverage ratios.  During the first six months of 2011, total non-performing assets decreased by $6.9 million or 48.3% to $7.4 million or 1.13% of total loans as a result of successful resolution efforts.  Classified loans rated substandard or doubtful also dropped by $11.2 million or 28.3% during this same period.  As a result of this improvement, the Company recorded a negative provision for loan losses of $1,175,000 in the second quarter of 2011 compared to a $1.2 million provision in the second quarter of 2010.  For the six month period in 2011 the negative provision has amounted to $1,775,000 compared to a $4,250,000 provision in the first six months of 2010.  Actual credit losses realized through net charge-offs have also declined sharply in 2011 with the Company even experiencing net loan recoveries of $108,000 in the second quarter of 2011.  For the first six months of 2011, net charge-offs totaled $1.0 million or 0.32% of total loans which represents a decrease from the first six months of 2010 when net charge-offs totaled $3.2 million or 0.91% of total loans.  When determining the provision for loan losses, the Company considers a number of factors some of which include periodic credit reviews, non-performing assets, loan delinquency and charge-off trends, concentrations of credit, loan volume trends and broader local and national economic trends.  In summary, the allowance for loan losses provided 235% coverage of non-performing loans and was 2.58% of total loans at June 30, 2011, compared to 145% of non-performing loans and 2.91% of total loans at December 31, 2010.

The Company's non-interest income in the second quarter of 2011 increased by $66,000 from the prior year's second quarter and for the first six months of 2011 decreased by $129,000 when compared to the first six months of 2010.  The largest positive item in 2011 has been increased trust and investment advisory fees.  Specifically, trust and investment advisory fees increased by $275,000 for the second quarter and $388,000 or 12.2% for the six month period as these wealth management businesses benefited from the implementation of new fee schedules and higher equity values in 2011.  When compared to the prior year, gains realized on residential mortgage loan sales into the secondary market were relatively consistent for the second quarter but have increased by $127,000 for the six month period due to increased mortgage loan production in the first quarter of 2011.  The largest negative item in 2011 causing the decline for the six month period was a $358,000 loss realized on the sale of $17 million of investment securities in the first quarter of 2011.  The Company took advantage of a steeper yield curve to position the investment portfolio for better future earnings by selling some of the lower yielding, longer duration securities in the portfolio and replacing them with higher yielding securities with a shorter duration.  The other item contributing to lower non-interest income was a reduced level of deposit service charges which were down by $62,000 for the second quarter and $162,000 for the first six months of 2011.  Deposit service charges were negatively impacted by provisions of the Dodd-Frank legislation which took effect in mid-2010 and were designed to limit customer overdraft fees on debit card transactions.  Also, customers have maintained higher balances in their checking accounts which have contributed to fewer overdraft fees in 2011.      

Total non-interest expense in the second quarter of 2011 increased by $91,000 or less than 1% from the prior year's second quarter and for the first six months of 2011 increased by $246,000 or 1.3% when compared to the first six months of 2010.  Salaries and employee benefits increased by $338,000  for the second quarter and $639,000 for the six month period due to higher medical insurance costs, increased pension expense, and greater incentive compensation expense.  Professional fees dropped by $203,000 in the second quarter and $325,000 for the first six months of 2011 due to reduced legal fees and lower consulting expenses in the Trust Company.  Other expenses also declined by $250,000 for the second quarter and $437,000 for the six month period due to a reduction in costs associated with the reserve for unfunded loan commitments and lower telephone expense resulting from the implementation of technology enhancements.  Finally, the Company recorded an income tax expense of $1.4 million for the first six months of 2011 compared to an income tax benefit of $342,000 recorded in the first half of 2010 due to the pretax loss in the first six months of last year.

ASRV had total assets of $955 million and shareholders' equity of $111 million or a book value of $4.28 per common share at June 30, 2011.  The Company continued to maintain strong capital ratios that considerably exceed the regulatory defined well capitalized status with a risk based capital ratio of 17.04%, an asset leverage ratio of 11.60% and a tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio of 8.29% at June 30, 2011.    

This news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including the risks detailed in the Company's Annual Report and Form 10-K to the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Actual results may differ materially.  

SOURCE AmeriServ Financial, Inc.