Baton Rouge, La. (April 25, 2024) – Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, including net income available to common shareholders of $12.2 million or $0.48 per diluted common share, decreases of $2.3 million and $0.09, respectively, compared to the linked quarter ended December 31, 2023. On a non-GAAP basis, core net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, which excludes certain income and expenses, was $12.8 million or $0.50 per diluted common share, decreases of $4.0 million and $0.16, respectively, from the linked quarter.
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, Business First’s board of directors declared a quarterly preferred dividend in the amount of $18.75 per share, which is the full quarterly dividend of 1.875% based on the per annum rate of 7.50%. Additionally, the board of directors declared a quarterly common dividend based upon financial performance for the first quarter in the amount of $0.14 per share. The preferred and common dividends will be paid on May 31, 2024, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to the shareholders of record as of May 15, 2024.
Quarterly Highlights
- Deposit Growth. Deposits increased $324.0 million or 6.17%, 24.82% annualized, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to the linked quarter. During the quarter ended March 31, 2024, noninterest-bearing deposits remained stable with a decrease of $4.0 million or 0.31% and interest-bearing deposits increased $328.0 million or 8.30%, compared to the linked quarter. Highlighting quarterly deposit growth were the Capital and Dallas markets with $55.8 million and $45.5 million, respectively. The Capital and Dallas markets opened 758 and 296 new accounts during the quarter. All new deposit generations for Business First had a weighted average rate of 4.32% as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of 0.29% from the linked quarter.
- Loan Growth. Loans held for investment increased $96.1 million or 1.92%, 7.74% annualized, from the linked quarter. Loan growth was mostly attributable to the $68.1 million increase in the commercial and industrial (C&I) portfolio. Business First continued the trend of reducing construction and development (C&D) portfolio exposure, with a decrease of $7.8 million from the linked quarter. The loan to deposit ratio decreased from 95.12% to 91.32% from the linked quarter.
- Waterstone LSP Acquisition. On January 31, 2024, Business First acquired Waterstone LSP, a company which provides other financial institutions nationwide comprehensive support and lending solutions under the Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loan program.
Statement of Financial Condition
Loans
Loans held for investment increased $96.1 million or 1.92%, 7.74% annualized, from the linked quarter. Loan growth from the linked quarter was largely attributable to net growth in the C&I portfolio of $68.1 million and in the residential real estate portfolio of $34.6 million, offset by a $7.8 million reduction in the C&D portfolio.
Credit Quality
The ratios of nonperforming loans compared to loans held for investment and nonperforming assets compared to total assets increased from 0.34% and 0.28%, respectively, at December 31, 2023, to 0.43% and 0.34% at March 31, 2024. The increase was attributable to an additional $4.6 million in nonaccrual loans, largely comprised of two lending relationships.
Securities
The securities portfolio decreased $6.7 million or 0.76%, from the linked quarter. The increase was driven by negative fair value adjustments of $6.4 million. The securities portfolio, based on estimated fair value, represented 13.04% of total assets as of March 31, 2024.
Deposits
Deposits increased $324.0 million or 6.17%, 24.82% annualized, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to the linked quarter. During the quarter ended March 31, 2024, noninterest-bearing deposits remained stable with a decrease of $4.0 million or 0.31% compared to the linked quarter and interest-bearing deposits increased $328.0 million or 8.30%, with certificate of deposit (CD) accounts declining $31.4 million or 2.41%.
The Capital and Dallas markets led the franchise with $55.8 million and $45.5 million in deposit growth. The Capital and Dallas markets opened 758 and 296 new accounts, respectively, during the quarter. All new deposit generations for Business First had a weighted average rate of 4.32% as of March 31, 2024, a decrease of 0.29% from the linked quarter.
Money market accounts increased $448.8 million or 33.41% from the linked quarter with a total portfolio weighted average of 4.10%, up slightly from 4.07% at December 31, 2023. However, lower rate demand deposit accounts of $32.0 million were also opened in connection with these money market accounts during the quarter ended March 31, 2024. This represented an 18.43% increase from the linked quarter and an increase of 28.23% from the last twelve months beginning April 1, 2023.
New money market account openings in March 2024 totaled $94.0 million with a weighted average rate of 4.29% as of March 31, 2024, compared to $84.0 million in new account openings during February 2024 with a weighted average rate of 5.03% as of February 29, 2024. Money market account balances increased from $1.34 billion as of December 31, 2023, to $1.79 billion as of March 31, 2024.
Borrowings
Borrowings decreased $204.7 million or 32.24%, from the linked quarter due to a full repayment of the $300.0 million Federal Reserve’s Bank Term Funding Program (BFTP) in March 2024. The repayment was funded through additional advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of approximately $100.0 million, brokered CDs of $52.0 million and the remaining $148.0 million from cash.
Shareholders’ Equity
Accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) decreased $5.0 million during the first quarter due to negative after-tax fair value adjustments in the securities portfolio. Book value per common share increased to $22.64 at March 31, 2024, compared to $22.58 at December 31, 2023. On a non-GAAP basis, tangible book value per common share decreased slightly from $18.62 at December 31, 2023, to $18.61 at March 31, 2024.
Results of Operations
Net Interest Income
For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, net interest income totaled $51.5 million, compared to $53.8 million from the linked quarter. Loan and interest-earning asset yields of 6.88% and 6.18%, respectively, increased one basis point each compared to 6.87% and 6.17% from the linked quarter. Both ratios were negatively impacted by $1.1 million less in loan discount accretion. Net interest margin and net interest spread were 3.32% and 2.36% compared to 3.50% and 2.53%, respectively, for the linked quarter. The overall cost of funds, which include noninterest-bearing deposits, increased from 2.79% to 3.00% or 21 basis points, from the linked quarter due to higher cost deposits and less average noninterest bearing deposits; however, ending noninterest bearing deposits only decreased $4.0 million from the linked quarter.
Non-GAAP net interest income (excluding loan discount accretion of $0.8 million) totaled $50.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to $51.8 million (excluding loan discount accretion of $1.9 million) from the linked quarter. Non-GAAP net interest margin and net interest spread (excluding loan discount accretion of $0.8 million) were 3.27% and 2.31%, respectively, for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to 3.38% and 2.40% (excluding loan discount accretion of $1.9 million) for the linked quarter. Excluding loan discount accretion, loan yields increased nine basis points to 6.81% from 6.72%, and interest earnings asset yields increased eight basis points to 6.13% from 6.05%, compared to the linked quarter.
Provision for Credit Losses
During the quarter ended March 31, 2024, Business First recorded a provision for credit losses of $1.2 million, compared to $119,000 from the linked quarter. The current quarter’s reserve increased largely due to loan growth.
Other Income
For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, other income increased $2.9 million or 46.36%, compared to the linked quarter. The net increase was largely attributable to a $2.5 million loss on sale of securities due to Business First’s security repositioning initiative and a $1.0 million loss in equity investment income which both occurred during the linked quarter, partially offset by a $735,000 reduction in back-to-back customer swap fee income compared to the linked quarter.
Other Expenses
For the quarter ended March 31, 2024, other expenses increased by $2.8 million or 7.07%, compared to the linked quarter. The net increase was attributable to a $2.8 million increase in salaries and employee benefits compared to the linked quarter. The increase was largely associated with the Waterstone LSP acquisition, bonus-related expenses and cost of living adjustments.
Return on Assets and Common Equity
Return to common shareholders on average assets and common equity, each on an annualized basis, were 0.74% and 8.51% for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to 0.88% and 10.54%, respectively, for the linked quarter. Non-GAAP return to common shareholders on average assets and common equity, each on an annualized basis, were 0.77% and 8.92% for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, compared to 1.03% and 12.27%, respectively, for the linked quarter.
Conference Call and Webcast
Executive management will host a conference call and webcast to discuss results on
Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 4:00 p.m. Central Time. Interested parties may attend the call by dialing toll-free 1-800-715-9871 (North America only), conference ID 5574541, or asking for the Business First Bancshares conference call. The live webcast can be found at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/kqiwvpsh. On the day of the presentation, the corresponding slide presentation will be available to view on the b1BANK website at https://www.b1bank.com/shareholder-info.
About Business First Bancshares, Inc.
Business First Bancshares, Inc., (Nasdaq: BFST) through its banking subsidiary b1BANK, has $6.7 billion in assets, $6.1 billion in assets under management through b1BANK’s affiliate Smith Shellnut Wilson, LLC (SSW) (excludes $0.9 billion of b1BANK assets managed by SSW) and operates Banking Centers and Loan Production Offices in markets across Louisiana and the Dallas and Houston, Texas areas, providing commercial and personal banking products and services. Commercial banking services include commercial loans and letters of credit, working capital lines and equipment financing, and treasury management services. b1BANK was awarded #1 Best-In-State Bank, Louisiana, by Forbes and Statista, and is a multiyear winner of American Banker’s “Best Banks to Work For.” Visit b1BANK.com for more information.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release includes certain non-GAAP financial measures (e.g., referenced as “core” or “tangible”) intended to supplement, not substitute for, comparable GAAP measures. “Core” measures typically adjust income available to common shareholders for certain significant activities or transactions that, in management’s opinion, can distort period-to-period comparisons of Business First’s performance. Transactions that are typically excluded from non-GAAP “core” measures include realized and unrealized gains/losses on former bank premises and equipment, investment sales, acquisition-related expenses (including, but not limited to, legal costs, system conversion costs, severance and retention payments, etc.). “Tangible” measures adjust common equity by subtracting goodwill, core deposit intangibles, and customer intangibles, net of accumulated amortization. Management believes presentations of these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information that is essential to a proper understanding of the operating results of Business First’s core business. These non-GAAP disclosures are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP measures that may be presented by other companies. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures are provided at the end of the tables below.
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release may not be based on historical facts and are “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 may be identified by their reference to a future period or periods or by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “could,” or “intend.” We caution you not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release, in that actual results could differ materially from those indicated in such forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those factors specified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and other public filings. We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date of this news release.
Additional Information
For additional information about Business First, you may obtain Business First’s reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) free of charge by using the SEC’s EDGAR service on the SEC’s website at www.SEC.gov or by contacting the SEC for further information at 1-800-SEC-0330. Alternatively, these documents can be obtained free of charge from Business First by directing a request to: Business First Bancshares, Inc., 500 Laurel Street, Suite 101, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70801, Attention: Corporate Secretary.
No Offer or Solicitation
This release does not constitute or form part of any offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of Business First. There will be no sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
