EXHIBIT 99.1

 

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News Release

ChoiceOne Financial Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End 2021 Results

 

Sparta, Michigan – January 26, 2022 – ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. ("ChoiceOne", NASDAQ:COFS), the parent company for ChoiceOne Bank reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021.

 

Significant items impacting comparable fourth quarter and year end 2021 and 2020 results include the following:

 

 

On July 1, 2020, ChoiceOne completed the merger of Community Shores Bank Corporation, the former parent company of Community Shores Bank, with and into ChoiceOne with ChoiceOne surviving the merger (the "Community Shores Merger").  Community Shores Bank was consolidated with and into ChoiceOne Bank effective October 16, 2020. The total assets, loans and deposits acquired in the Community Shores Merger were $244.0 million, $174.0 million and $227.8 million, respectively.

 

ChoiceOne incurred tax-effected merger-related expenses of $547,000 and $2,714,000, respectively ($0.07 per diluted share and $0.36 per diluted share, respectively), for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2020.  No merger-related expenses were incurred in the year ended December 31, 2021.

 

Financial Highlights

 

 

Net income of $5,012,000 and $22,042,000 for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, compared to $4,100,000 and $15,613,000 during the same periods in 2020.
  Diluted earnings per share of $0.66 and $2.86 during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, compared to $0.52 and $2.07 per share in the same periods in 2020.
  Excluding Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loans forgiven during the quarter, held for sale loans, and loans held at other financial institutions, ChoiceOne grew loans organically by $56.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2021.
  During the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, $28.1 million and $192.5 million of  PPP loans were forgiven resulting in $1.2 million and $5.2 million of fee income, respectively.  $33.1 million in PPP loans and $1.2 million in deferred PPP fee income remains as of December 31, 2021.
  Total deposits grew by $40.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 and $377.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2021.
  ChoiceOne repurchased approximately 85,000 shares for $2.2 million, or a weighted average cost per share of $25.78, during the fourth quarter of 2021. ChoiceOne repurchased approximately 309,000 shares for $7.8 million, or a weighted average cost per share of $25.17 during the year ended December 31, 2021.  These repurchases were part of the common stock repurchase program announced in April 2021 which authorized repurchases of up to 390,114 shares, representing 5% of the total outstanding shares of common stock as of the date the program was adopted.  This program replaced and superseded all prior repurchase programs for ChoiceOne.  Approximately 81,000 shares remain authorized to be repurchased under the program.
  ChoiceOne Bank was named “Best Small Bank” in Michigan by Newsweek for 2022 – the second year in a row ChoiceOne has received this honor.
  ChoiceOne became a limited partner in BankTech Ventures, LP, a venture capital fund focused on emerging financial technology companies.  This investment will help connect us with innovative technology companies focused on community banks.

 

ChoiceOne reported net income of $5,012,000 and $22,042,000 during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, compared to $4,100,000 and $15,613,000 in the same periods in 2020.  Diluted earnings per share were $0.66 and $2.86 during the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, compared to $0.52 and $2.07 per share in the same periods in the prior year.  Excluding $547,000 in tax-effected merger related expenses, net income for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $4,647,000 and $0.59 per diluted share.  Net income for the year ended December 31, 2020, excluding $2.7 million of tax-effected merger expenses, was $18,327,000 or $2.43 per diluted share.

 

Total assets grew $89.5 million and total deposits grew $40.1 million from September 30, 2021 to December 31, 2021.  Total assets grew $447.3 million in the twelve months ended December 31, 2021, while deposit growth during the twelve months ended December 31, 2021 was $377.7 million.  Despite the large increase in deposits, ChoiceOne has been able to maintain low deposit costs; interest expense from deposits decreased $873,000 during the year ended 2021 compared to the same period in 2020.  Excluding PPP loans forgiven during the quarter, held for sale loans, and loans held at other financial institutions, ChoiceOne grew loans organically by $56.6 million during the fourth quarter of 2021.  During the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, $28.1 million and $192.5 million of  PPP loans were forgiven resulting in $1.2 million and $5.2 million of fee income, respectively.  $33.1 million in PPP loans and $1.2 million in deferred PPP fee income remains as of December 31, 2021.  Management expects the remaining PPP loans to be forgiven in the first half of 2022.  

 

During the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2021, ChoiceOne recorded accretion income related to acquired loans in the amount of $203,000 and $1.1 million, respectively.  The remaining credit mark on acquired loans from the mergers with County Bank Corp. and Community Shores Bank Corporation totaled $6.8 million as of December 31, 2021.  ChoiceOne had no provision expense for the three months ended December 31, 2021, as management has seen declining deferrals and very few past due loans as the economy gradually recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

 

In an effort to deploy deposit growth, ChoiceOne grew its securities portfolio $71.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021 and $530.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2021.  Management believes ChoiceOne’s investments are sufficiently short-term to allow for sufficient liquidity to fund continued organic loan growth.  

 

In September 2021, ChoiceOne completed a private placement of $32.5 million in aggregate principal amount of 3.25% fixed-to-floating rate subordinated notes due 2031.  ChoiceOne used a portion of net proceeds of the private placement to redeem senior debt, fund common stock repurchases, and support bank-level capital ratios.

 

Total noninterest income declined $1.5 million and $3.5 million in the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, respectively, compared to the same periods in the prior year.  Total noninterest income in 2020 was bolstered by heightened levels of refinancing activity within ChoiceOne's mortgage portfolio, with gains on sales of loans $3.7 million larger than in 2021.  Customer service charges increased $373,000 and $1.4 million in the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2021, respectively, compared to the same periods in the prior year.  Prior year service charges were depressed by stay-at-home orders during the COVID 19 pandemic.  Current year service charges also included the effect from the merger with Community Shores, which closed on July 1, 2020.  

 

Total noninterest expense increased $2.0 million in the year ended December 31, 2021, compared to the same time period in 2020.  Much of the increase in 2021 was caused by the increase in scale related to the merger with Community Shores.  During 2021, ChoiceOne hired six experienced commercial lenders, opened a loan production office in Wyoming Michigan, and added four experienced members to our wealth management team focused on growing the wealth management and trust business.

 

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"I am very pleased to report our strong results for the fourth quarter and record results for the year ended December 31, 2021," said Kelly Potes, Chief Executive Officer of ChoiceOne.  "During 2021, we realized cost benefits of our new scale following our mergers in 2019 and 2020.  In addition, we added experienced lenders to our team which has helped us achieve loan growth and have momentum heading into 2022 to further deploy our outstanding local deposit base. We continue to invest in growing our fee income with recent experienced additions to our wealth management team and technology investments in our online mortgage application.  Our capital position is strong, bolstered by our subordinated debt offering completed in September 2021 and positions us well to continue to grow the franchise and deliver shareholder value.  I am thankful and blessed to be part of the talented team at ChoiceOne and particularly pleased that we were named 'Best Small Bank' in Michigan by Newsweek for a second year in a row.  This is a testament to our employees and the service they provide to our customers and communities.”

 

About ChoiceOne

ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc. is a financial holding company headquartered in Sparta, Michigan and the parent corporation of ChoiceOne Bank. Member FDIC. ChoiceOne Bank operates 35 offices in parts of Kent, Lapeer, Macomb, Muskegon, Newaygo, Ottawa, and St. Clair counties. ChoiceOne Bank offers insurance and investment products through its subsidiary, ChoiceOne Insurance Agencies, Inc. For more information, please visit Investor Relations at ChoiceOne’s website at choiceone.com.

 

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains references to certain financial measures that are not defined in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). Management believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide additional information that is useful to investors in helping to understand the underlying financial performance of ChoiceOne.

 

Non-GAAP financial measures have inherent limitations. Readers should be aware of these limitations and should be cautious with respect to the use of such measures. To compensate for these limitations, we use non-GAAP measures as comparative tools, together with GAAP measures, to assist in the evaluation of our operating performance or financial condition. Also, we ensure that these measures are calculated using the appropriate GAAP or regulatory components in their entirety and that they are computed in a manner intended to facilitate consistent period-to-period comparisons. ChoiceOne’s method of calculating these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from methods used by other companies. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for those financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP or in-effect regulatory requirements.

 

Where non-GAAP financial measures are used, the most directly comparable GAAP or regulatory financial measure, as well as the reconciliation to the most directly comparable GAAP or regulatory financial measure, can be found in this news release. See Non-GAAP Reconciliation.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "intends," "is likely," "plans," "predicts," "projects," "may," "could," "look forward," "continue", "future" and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward looking statements. These statements reflect current beliefs as to the expected outcomes of future events and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions ("risk factors") that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. Therefore, actual results and outcomes may materially differ from what may be expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements. Furthermore, ChoiceOne undertakes no obligation to update, amend, or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Risk factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors described in Item 1A in ChoiceOne Financial Services, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.

 

For Further Information:

Adom Greenland

Senior Vice President & CFO

(616) 887 - 2334

IR@ChoiceOne.com

 

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Condensed Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)

 

 

(In thousands)

 

12/31/2021

 

12/31/2020

Cash and cash equivalents

  $ 31,887   $ 79,519

Securities

  1,116,264   585,687

Loans held for sale

  9,351   12,921

Loans to other financial institutions

  42,632   35,209

Loans, net of allowance for loan losses

  1,009,161   1,062,075

Premises and equipment

  29,880   29,489

Cash surrender value of life insurance policies

  43,356   32,751

Goodwill

  59,946   60,506

Core deposit intangible

  3,962   5,269

Other assets

  20,243   15,916
                 

Total Assets

  $ 2,366,682   $ 1,919,342
                 

Noninterest-bearing deposits

  $ 560,931   $ 477,654

Interest-bearing deposits

  1,491,363   1,196,924

Borrowings

  50,000   9,327

Subordinated debentures

  35,017   3,089

Other liabilities

  7,702   5,080
                 

Total Liabilities

  2,145,013   1,692,074
                 

Shareholders' Equity

  221,669   227,268
                 

Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity

  $ 2,366,682   $ 1,919,342

 

 

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Condensed Statements of Income
(Unaudited)

 

   

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

12/31/2021

 

12/31/2020

 

12/31/2021

 

12/31/2020

Interest income

                               

Loans, including fees

  $ 12,002   $ 12,764   $ 48,657   $ 46,874

Securities and other

  4,816   2,276   15,961   8,841

Total Interest Income

  16,818   15,040   64,618   55,715
                                 

Interest expense

                               

Deposits

  749   949   3,305   4,178

Borrowings

  324   99   672   466

Total Interest Expense

  1,073   1,048   3,977   4,644
                                 

Net interest income

  15,745   13,992   60,641   51,071

Provision for loan losses

  -   1,000   416   4,000
                                 

Net Interest Income After Provision for Loan Losses

  15,745   12,992   60,225   47,071
                                 

Noninterest income

                               

Customer service charges

  2,319   1,946   8,628   7,252

Insurance and investment commissions

  141   125   765   541

Gains on sales of loans

  554   1,673   4,441   8,133

Gains (loss) on sales of securities

  (43 )   -   (40 )   1,308

Trust income

  178   169   790   739

Earnings on life insurance policies

  239   195   809   772

Change in market value of equity securities

  18   29   479   (155 )

Other income

  738   1,551   3,322   4,108

Total Noninterest Income

  4,144   5,688   19,194   22,698
                                 

Noninterest expense

                               

Salaries and benefits

  7,581   6,994   29,300   26,539

Occupancy and equipment

  1,577   1,598   6,168   5,783

Data processing

  1,616   2,128   6,189   6,765

Professional fees

  583   819   3,009   3,716

Core deposit intangible amortization

  302   396   1,307   1,498

Other expenses

  2,099   1,833   6,948   6,583

Total Noninterest Expense

  13,758   13,768   52,921   50,884
                                 

Income Before Income Tax

  6,131   4,912   26,498   18,885

Income Tax Expense

  1,119   812   4,456   3,272
                                 

Net Income

  $ 5,012   $ 4,100   $ 22,042   $ 15,613
                                 

Basic Earnings Per Share

  $ 0.67   $ 0.53   $ 2.87   $ 2.08

Diluted Earnings Per Share

  $ 0.66   $ 0.52   $ 2.86   $ 2.07

 

 

 

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Non-GAAP Reconciliation

(Unaudited)

 

In addition to analyzing ChoiceOne's results on a reported basis, management reviews ChoiceOne's results and the results on an adjusted basis. The non-GAAP measures presented in the table below reflect the adjustments of the reported U.S. GAAP results for significant items that management does not believe are reflective of ChoiceOne's current and ongoing operations.

 

   

Three Months Ended

 

Twelve Months Ended

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

12/31/2021

 

12/31/2020

 

12/31/2021

 

12/31/2020

Income before income tax

  $ 6,131   $ 4,912   $ 26,498   $ 18,885

Adjustment for merger-related expenses

  -   692   -   3,219

Adjusted income before income tax

  $ 6,131   $ 5,604   $ 26,498   $ 22,104
                                 

Income tax expense

  $ 1,119   $ 812   $ 4,456   $ 3,272

Tax impact on adjustment for merger-related expenses

  -   145   -   505

Adjusted income tax expense

  $ 1,119   $ 957   $ 4,456   $ 3,777
                                 

Net income

  $ 5,012   $ 4,100   $ 22,042   $ 15,613

Adjusted net income

  $ 5,012   $ 4,647   $ 22,042   $ 18,327
                                 

Basic earnings per share

  $ 0.67   $ 0.53   $ 2.87   $ 2.08

Diluted earnings per share

  $ 0.66   $ 0.52   $ 2.86   $ 2.07

Adjusted basic earnings per share

  $ 0.67   $ 0.60   $ 2.87   $ 2.44

Adjusted diluted earnings per share

  $ 0.66   $ 0.59   $ 2.86   $ 2.43

 

 

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Other Selected Financial Highlights

(Unaudited)

 

   

Quarterly

 

Earnings

 

2021 4th Qtr.

   

2021 3rd Qtr.

   

2021 2nd Qtr.

   

2021 1st Qtr.

   

2020 4th Qtr.

 

(in thousands except per share data)

                                       

Net interest income

  $ 15,745     $ 15,700     $ 14,508     $ 14,688     $ 13,992  

Provision for loan losses

    -       -       166       250       1,000  

Noninterest income

    4,144       4,718       4,732       5,600       5,689  

Noninterest expense

    13,758       13,506       13,129       12,528       13,769  

Net income before federal income tax expense

    6,131       6,912       5,945       7,510       4,912  

Income tax expense

    1,119       1,163       902       1,272       812  

Net income

    5,012       5,749       5,043       6,238       4,100  

Basic earnings per share

    0.67       0.75       0.65       0.80       0.53  

Diluted earnings per share

    0.66       0.75       0.65       0.80       0.52  

 

 

End of period balances

 

2021 4th Qtr.

 

2021 3rd Qtr.

 

2021 2nd Qtr.

 

2021 1st Qtr.

 

2020 4th Qtr.

(in thousands)

                                       

Gross loans

  $ 1,068,832   $ 1,034,590   $ 1,017,472   $ 1,061,131   $ 1,117,798

Loans held for sale (1)

  9,351   7,505   12,884   18,736   12,921

Loans to other financial institutions (2)

  42,632   38,728   -   7,312   35,209

PPP loans (3)

  33,129   61,192   109,898   137,458   138,028

Core loans (gross loans excluding 1, 2, and 3 above)

  983,720   927,165   894,690   897,625   931,640

Allowance for loan losses

  7,688   7,755   7,950   7,740   7,593

Securities

  1,116,264   1,044,538   871,964   734,435   585,687

Other interest-earning assets

  9,751   30,383   64,407   106,279   40,614

Total earning assets (before allowance)

  2,194,847   2,109,511   1,953,843   1,901,845   1,744,099

Total assets

  2,366,682   2,277,180   2,120,931   2,070,103   1,919,342

Noninterest-bearing deposits

  560,931   543,165   527,964   515,552   477,654

Interest-bearing deposits

  1,491,363   1,468,985   1,352,771   1,324,412   1,196,924

Total deposits

  2,052,294   2,012,150   1,880,735   1,839,964   1,674,578

Total subordinated debt

  35,017   34,956   3,140   3,115   3,089

Total borrowed funds

  50,000   -   2,642   3,484   9,327

Total interest-bearing liabilities

  1,576,380   1,503,941   1,358,553   1,331,011   1,209,340

Shareholders' equity

  221,669   225,055   228,521   218,639   227,268

 

 

Average Balances

 

2021 4th Qtr.

 

2021 3rd Qtr.

 

2021 2nd Qtr.

 

2021 1st Qtr.

 

2020 4th Qtr.

(in thousands)

                                       

Loans

  $ 1,019,966   $ 1,021,326   $ 1,041,118   $ 1,080,181   $ 1,132,711

Securities

  1,079,616   922,653   824,753   639,803   458,350

Other interest-earning assets

  29,999   106,831   57,782   84,822   67,241

Total earning assets (before allowance)

  2,129,581   2,050,810   1,923,653   1,804,806   1,658,302

Total assets

  2,298,579   2,234,228   2,091,900   1,989,760   1,870,136

Noninterest-bearing deposits

  556,214   545,251   533,877   479,649   482,271

Interest-bearing deposits

  1,472,022   1,441,831   1,327,836   1,266,356   1,153,337

Total deposits

  2,028,236   1,987,082   1,861,713   1,746,005   1,635,608

Total subordinated debt

  35,674   9,154   3,123   3,099   3,077

Total borrowed funds

  8,010   2,667   2,758   8,462   3,484

Total interest-bearing liabilities

  1,515,706   1,453,652   1,333,717   1,277,917   1,159,898

Shareholders' equity

  221,076   229,369   224,993   224,257   224,340

 

 

Performance Ratios

 

2021 4th Qtr.

 

2021 3rd Qtr.

 

2021 2nd Qtr.

 

2021 1st Qtr.

 

2020 4th Qtr.

                                         

Return on average assets

  0.87 %   1.03 %   0.96 %   1.25 %   0.88 %

Return on average equity

  9.07 %   10.03 %   8.97 %   11.13 %   7.31 %

Return on average tangible common equity

  12.16 %   13.28 %   11.89 %   16.31 %   11.15 %

Net interest margin (fully tax-equivalent)

  3.04 %   3.06 %   3.02 %   3.23 %   3.44 %

Efficiency ratio

  66.15 %   63.16 %   64.70 %   61.20 %   67.17 %

Full-time equivalent employees

  374   358   362   355   369

 

 

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