Southside Bancshares, Inc. Announces Financial Results for the Second Quarter Ended June 30, 2023

• Second quarter net income of $24.9 million;
• Second quarter earnings per diluted common share of $0.81;
• Annualized return on second quarter average assets of 1.29%;
• Annualized return on second quarter average tangible common equity of 18.59%⁽¹⁾;
• Nonperforming assets remain low at 0.04% of total assets; and
• Authorized stock repurchase plan of up to 1.0 million shares.

TYLER, Texas, July 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Southside Bancshares, Inc. (“Southside” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: SBSI) today reported its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023. Southside reported net income of $24.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, a decrease of $0.5 million, or 2.0%, compared to $25.4 million for the same period in 2022. Earnings per diluted common share increased $0.02, or 2.5%, to $0.81 for the three months ended June 30, 2023, from $0.79 for the same period in 2022. The annualized return on average shareholders’ equity for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was 13.32%, compared to 13.33% for the same period in 2022.  The annualized return on average assets was 1.29% for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 1.42% for the same period in 2022.

“Southside reported excellent financial results for the second quarter, highlighted by earnings per share of $0.81, an 18.59% return on tangible common equity, a linked quarter increase in loans of 4.2%, and continued strong asset quality metrics,” stated Lee R. Gibson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Southside. “Approximately 80% of our loan growth occurred in June. Linked quarter, deposits net of brokered and public fund deposits increased $73.1 million, or 1.6%. Our tax-equivalent net interest margin linked quarter decreased four basis points primarily due to increased deposit pricing pressure, partially offset by a 22 basis point increase in the yield on average loans and a 21 basis point increase in the yield on average securities.”

Operating Results for the Three Months Ended June 30, 2023

Net income was $24.9 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $25.4 million for the same period in 2022, a decrease of $0.5 million, or 2.0%. Earnings per diluted common share were $0.81 and $0.79 for the three months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The decrease in net income was primarily a result of increases in noninterest expense and income tax expense, partially offset by increases in net interest income and noninterest income. Annualized returns on average assets and average shareholders’ equity for the three months ended June 30, 2023 were 1.29% and 13.32%, respectively, compared to 1.42% and 13.33%, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2022.  Our efficiency ratio and tax-equivalent efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾ were 53.54% and 51.06%, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 50.61% and 47.74%, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2022, and 53.57% and 50.99%, respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Net interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was $53.9 million, compared to $51.1 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of 5.6%. The increase in net interest income was due to the increase in interest income, a result of the increase in the average yield and the average balance of interest earning assets, partially offset by an increase in interest expense on our interest bearing liabilities due to higher interest rates and an increase in the average balance of our interest bearing liabilities. Linked quarter, net interest income increased $0.6 million, or 1.1%, compared to $53.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2023. The increase in net interest income was largely due to the increase in the average yield of interest earning assets, which more than offset the increase in the average balance and average rate paid on our interest bearing liabilities.

Our net interest margin and tax-equivalent net interest margin⁽¹⁾ decreased to 2.99% and 3.17%, respectively, for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 3.07% and 3.30%, respectively, for the same period in 2022. Linked quarter, net interest margin and tax-equivalent net interest margin⁽¹⁾ decreased from 3.02% and 3.21%, respectively for the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Noninterest income was $10.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, an increase of $1.4 million, or 15.0%, compared to $9.1 million for the same period in 2022. The increase was due to a net gain on sale of equity securities and an increase in other noninterest income, partially offset by an increase in net loss on sale of securities available for sale (“AFS”) and decreases in deposit services income and brokerage services income. On a linked quarter basis, noninterest income decreased $1.6 million, or 13.0%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease was due to an increase in net loss on sale of securities AFS and a decrease in bank owned life insurance (“BOLI”) income related to death benefits realized in the first quarter of 2023, partially offset by increases in other noninterest income, net gain on sale of equity securities and brokerage services income.

Noninterest expense increased $2.9 million, or 9.0%, to $35.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $32.1 million for the same period in 2022. The primary increase was in salaries and employee benefits. Several additional expense categories increased during the three months ended June 30, 2023, including FDIC insurance, other noninterest expense and software and data processing expense. On a linked quarter basis, noninterest expense increased by $0.1 million, or 0.4%, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2023.

Income tax expense increased $1.3 million, or 38.6%, for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. On a linked quarter basis, income tax expense increased $25,000, or 0.6%. Our effective tax rate (“ETR”) increased to 15.5% for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 11.5% for the three months ended June 30, 2022, and increased from 14.9% for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The higher ETR for the three months ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to a decrease in tax-exempt income as a percentage of pre-tax income as compared to the same period in 2022.

Operating Results for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2023

Net income was $50.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $50.4 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of $0.5 million, or 1.0%. Earnings per diluted common share were $1.64 for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $1.56 for the same period in 2022, an increase of 5.1%. The increase in net income was primarily a result of increases in net interest income and noninterest income, partially offset by increases in noninterest expense and income tax expense. Returns on average assets and average shareholders’ equity for the six months ended June 30, 2023 were 1.34% and 13.62%, respectively, compared to 1.41% and 12.31%, respectively, for the six months ended June 30, 2022.  Our efficiency ratio and tax-equivalent efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾ were 53.55% and 51.02%, respectively, for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 50.66% and 47.94%, respectively, for the six months ended June 30, 2022.

Net interest income was $107.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $100.0 million for the same period in 2022, due to the increase in interest income, a result of the increase in the average yield and balance of our interest earning assets, partially offset by the increase in average rate paid and average balance of our interest bearing liabilities.

Our net interest margin and tax-equivalent net interest margin⁽¹⁾ were 3.01% and 3.19%, respectively, for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to 3.05% and 3.26%, respectively, for the same period in 2022. The decrease in net interest margin was due to larger average rate and balance increases on our interest-bearing liabilities when compared to the interest earning assets during the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Noninterest income was $22.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, an increase of $2.7 million, or 13.5%, compared to $19.8 million for the same period in 2022. The increase was due to a net gain on sale of equity securities and an increase in BOLI income related to death benefits realized in the first quarter of 2023, partially offset by an increase in net loss on sale of securities AFS and decreases in other noninterest income, deposit services income and brokerage services income.

Noninterest expense was $69.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to $63.3 million for the same period in 2022, an increase of $6.5 million, or 10.3%. The primary increase was in salaries and employee benefits. Several additional expense categories increased, including other noninterest expense, software and data processing expense and FDIC insurance.

Income tax expense increased $2.7 million, or 41.4%, for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. Our ETR was approximately 15.2% and 11.3% for the six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively. The higher ETR for the six months ended June 30, 2023, as compared to the same period in 2022, was primarily due to a decrease in tax-exempt income as a percentage of pre-tax income.

Balance Sheet Data

At June 30, 2023, Southside had $7.81 billion in total assets, compared to $7.56 billion at December 31, 2022 and $7.61 billion at June 30, 2022.

Loans at June 30, 2023 were $4.33 billion, an increase of $366.0 million, or 9.2%, compared to $3.96 billion at June 30, 2022. Linked quarter, loans increased $176.4 million, or 4.2%, due to increases of $109.5 million in commercial real estate loans, $65.5 million in construction loans and $12.3 million in 1-4 family residential loans. These increases were partially offset by decreases of $4.5 million in commercial loans, $3.4 million in municipal loans and $3.0 million in loans to individuals.

Securities at June 30, 2023 were $2.65 billion, a decrease of $168.7 million, or 6.0%, compared to $2.82 billion at June 30, 2022. Linked quarter, securities decreased $97.4 million, or 3.5%, from $2.75 billion at March 31, 2023. The linked quarter net decrease was due to the sale of municipal bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

Deposits at June 30, 2023 were $6.12 billion, a decrease of $130.7 million, or 2.1%, compared to $6.25 billion at June 30, 2022. Linked quarter, deposits increased $279.5 million, or 4.8%, from $5.84 billion at March 31, 2023. During the three months ended June 30, 2023, brokered deposits increased $302.7 million, or 64.7%, compared to March 31, 2023, as the funding of our cash flow hedge swaps partially transitioned from other borrowings to brokered deposits to obtain lower cost funding.

At June 30, 2023, we had 180,865 total deposit accounts with an average balance of $30,000. At June 30, 2023, our deposit accounts consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

At June 30, 2023, our estimated uninsured deposits, excluding affiliate deposits (Southside-owned deposits) and public funds (all collateralized), was 21.4%. At June 30, 2023, estimated uninsured deposits consisted of the following (dollars in thousands):

We continued to increase interest rates paid on deposits during the quarter in order to retain deposits. Our noninterest bearing deposits represent 24.0% of total deposits. Linked quarter, our cost of interest bearing deposits increased 21 basis points from 1.82% in the prior quarter to 2.03%. Linked quarter, our cost of total deposits increased 16 basis points from 1.34% in the prior quarter to 1.50%.

Our cost of interest bearing deposits increased 157 basis points, from 0.35% for the six months ended June 30, 2022, to 1.92% for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Our cost of total deposits increased 117 basis points, from 0.25% for the six months ended June 30, 2022 to 1.42% for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Capital Resources and Liquidity

Our capital ratios and contingent liquidity sources remain solid. During the second quarter ended June 30, 2023, we purchased the remaining 618,831 shares of the Company’s common stock at an average price of $30.27 authorized pursuant to the Stock Repurchase Plan with no authorized shares remaining to be purchased as of June 30, 2023. On July 20, 2023, our board of directors approved a Stock Repurchase Plan authorizing the repurchase of up to 1.0 million shares of the Company’s outstanding common stock. Repurchases may be carried out in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or pursuant to any trading plan that might be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act, as amended. The Company has no obligation to repurchase any shares under the Stock Repurchase Plan and may modify, suspend or discontinue the plan at any time. As of July 25, 2023, no shares have been purchased under this recent Stock Repurchase Plan.

We utilized the Federal Reserve’s Bank Term Funding Program (“BTFP”) to reduce our overall funding costs and to enhance our interest rate risk position. As of June 30, 2023, our BTFP borrowings of $296.2 million were at a cost of 4.46%.

The table below shows our total lines of credit, current borrowings as of June 30, 2023, total amounts available for future borrowings, and swapped value (in thousands):

Asset Quality

Nonperforming assets at June 30, 2023 were $3.1 million, or 0.04% of total assets, a decrease of $8.8 million, or 74.1%, compared to $11.8 million, or 0.16% of total assets, at June 30, 2022. The decrease in nonperforming assets was primarily due to the adoption of ASU 2022-02 on January 1, 2023, which allowed for the prospective exclusion of loan modifications that are performing but would have previously required disclosure as troubled debt restructures in nonperforming assets. Linked quarter, nonperforming assets decreased slightly from $3.2 million at March 31, 2023.

The allowance for loan losses totaled $36.3 million, or 0.84% of total loans, at June 30, 2023, compared to $35.4 million, or 0.89% of total loans, at June 30, 2022. The decrease in the allowance as a percentage of total loans was primarily due to improved asset quality and the increase in the total loan portfolio when compared to June 30, 2022. The allowance for loan losses was $36.3 million, or 0.87% of total loans, at March 31, 2023.

For the three month period ended June 30, 2023, we recorded a provision for credit losses for loans of $0.3 million, compared to a reversal of provision for credit losses for loans of $0.1 million and a provision for credit losses of $0.1 million for the three month periods ended June 30, 2022 and March 31, 2023, respectively. Net charge-offs were $0.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2023, compared to net recoveries of $37,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2022 and net charge-offs of $0.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. Net charge-offs were $0.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to net recoveries of $22,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2022.

We recorded a reversal of provision for credit losses for off-balance-sheet credit exposures of $0.4 million and $0.5 million for the three month periods ended June 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively and $0.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. We recorded a reversal of provision for credit losses for off-balance-sheet credit exposures of $0.5 million for both of the six-month periods ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. The balance of the allowance for off-balance-sheet credit exposures at June 30, 2023 and 2022, was $3.2 million and $1.9 million, respectively, and is included in other liabilities.

Dividend

Southside Bancshares, Inc. declared a second quarter cash dividend of $0.35 per share on May 4, 2023, which was paid on June 6, 2023, to all shareholders of record as of May 23, 2023.

⁽¹⁾ Refer to “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below and to “Non-GAAP Reconciliation” at the end of the financial statement tables in this Earnings Release for more information and for a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to the nearest GAAP financial measure.

Conference Call

Southside's management team will host a conference call to discuss its second quarter ended June 30, 2023 financial results on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. CDT. The conference call can be accessed by webcast, for listen-only mode, on the company website, https://investors.southside.com, under Events.

Those interested in participating in the question and answer session, or others who prefer to call-in, can register at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI8f91599282bd40e58e2908cc56c04bda to receive the dial-in number and unique code to access the conference call seamlessly. While not required, it is recommended that those wishing to participate register 10 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure a more efficient registration process.

For those unable to attend the live event, a webcast recording will be available on the company website, https://investors.southside.com, for at least 30 days, beginning approximately two hours following the conference call.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Our accounting and reporting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States and prevailing practices in the banking industry. However, certain non-GAAP measures are used by management to supplement the evaluation of our performance. These include the following fully taxable-equivalent measures (“FTE”): (i) Net interest income (FTE), (ii) net interest margin (FTE), (iii) net interest spread (FTE), and (iv) efficiency ratio (FTE), which include the effects of taxable-equivalent adjustments using a federal income tax rate of 21% to increase tax-exempt interest income to a tax-equivalent basis. Interest income earned on certain assets is completely or partially exempt from federal income tax. As such, these tax-exempt instruments typically yield lower returns than taxable investments.

Net interest income (FTE), net interest margin (FTE) and net interest spread (FTE). Net interest income (FTE) is a non-GAAP measure that adjusts for the tax-favored status of net interest income from certain loans and investments and is not permitted under GAAP in the consolidated statements of income. We believe this measure to be the preferred industry measurement of net interest income and that it enhances comparability of net interest income arising from taxable and tax-exempt sources. The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is our net interest income. Net interest margin (FTE) is the ratio of net interest income (FTE) to average earning assets. The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is our net interest margin. Net interest spread (FTE) is the difference in the average yield on average earning assets on a tax-equivalent basis and the average rate paid on average interest bearing liabilities. The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is our net interest spread.

Efficiency ratio (FTE).  The efficiency ratio (FTE) is a non-GAAP measure that provides a measure of productivity in the banking industry. This ratio is calculated to measure the cost of generating one dollar of revenue. The ratio is designed to reflect the percentage of one dollar which must be expended to generate that dollar of revenue. We calculate this ratio by dividing noninterest expense, excluding amortization expense on intangibles and certain nonrecurring expense by the sum of net interest income (FTE) and noninterest income, excluding net gain (loss) on sale of securities available for sale and certain nonrecurring impairments. The most directly comparable financial measure calculated in accordance with GAAP is our efficiency ratio.

These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered alternatives to GAAP-basis financial statements and other bank holding companies may define or calculate these non-GAAP measures or similar measures differently. Whenever we present a non-GAAP financial measure in an SEC filing, we are also required to present the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP and reconcile the differences between the non-GAAP financial measure and such comparable GAAP measure.

Management believes adjusting net interest income, net interest margin and net interest spread to a fully taxable-equivalent basis is a standard practice in the banking industry as these measures provide useful information to make peer comparisons. Tax-equivalent adjustments are reflected in the respective earning asset categories as listed in the “Average Balances with Average Yields and Rates” tables.

A reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures is included at the end of the financial statement tables.

About Southside Bancshares, Inc.

Southside Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company with approximately $7.81 billion in assets as of June 30, 2023, that owns 100% of Southside Bank.  Southside Bank currently has 55 branches in Texas and operates a network of 73 ATMs/ITMs.

To learn more about Southside Bancshares, Inc., please visit our investor relations website at https://investors.southside.com. Our investor relations site provides a detailed overview of our activities, financial information and historical stock price data.  To receive email notification of company news, events and stock activity, please register on the website under Resources and Investor Email Alerts. Questions or comments may be directed to Lindsey Bailes at (903) 630-7965, or [email protected].

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements of other than historical fact that are contained in this press release and in other written materials, documents and oral statements issued by or on behalf of the Company may be considered to be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of and subject to the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, nor should they be relied upon as representing management’s views as of any subsequent date.  These statements may include words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “anticipate,” “appear,” “believe,” “could,” “should,” “may,” “might,” “will,” “would,” “seek,” “intend,” “probability,” “risk,” “goal,” “target,” “objective,” “plans,” “potential,” and similar expressions.  Forward-looking statements are statements with respect to the Company’s beliefs, plans, expectations, objectives, goals, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions and future performance and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements.  For example, discussions of the effect of our expansion, benefits of the Share Repurchase Plan, trends in asset quality, capital, liquidity, the Company's ability to sell nonperforming assets, expense reductions, planned operational efficiencies and earnings from growth and certain market risk disclosures, including the impact of interest rates, tax reform, inflation, the impacts related to or resulting from other economic factors are based upon information presently available to management and are dependent on choices about key model characteristics and assumptions and are subject to various limitations.  By their nature, certain of the market risk disclosures are only estimates and could be materially different from what actually occurs in the future.  Accordingly, our results could materially differ from those that have been estimated. The most significant factor that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated by our forward-looking statements include the ongoing impact of higher inflation levels, higher interest rates and general economic and recessionary concerns, all of which could impact economic growth and could cause a reduction in financial transactions and business activities, including decreased deposits and reduced loan originations, our ability to manage liquidity in a rapidly changing and unpredictable market, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and additional interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve.

Additional information concerning the Company and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect the Company’s financial results, is included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, under “Part I - Item 1. Forward Looking Information” and “Part I - Item 1A. Risk Factors,” “the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, under Part II - Item 1A. Risk Factors” and in the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The Company disclaims any obligation to update any factors or to announce publicly the result of revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments.

The tables that follow show average earning assets and interest bearing liabilities together with the average yield on the earning assets and the average rate of the interest bearing liabilities for the periods presented. The interest and related yields presented are on a fully taxable-equivalent basis and are therefore non-GAAP measures. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” and “Non-GAAP Reconciliation” for more information.

Note: As of June 30, 2023 and March 31, 2023, loans totaling $3.0 million and $3.2 million, respectively, were on nonaccrual status. Our policy is to reverse previously accrued but unpaid interest on nonaccrual loans; thereafter, interest income is recorded to the extent received when appropriate.

Note: As of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, loans totaling $2.8 million and $3.0 million, respectively, were on nonaccrual status. Our policy is to reverse previously accrued but unpaid interest on nonaccrual loans; thereafter, interest income is recorded to the extent received when appropriate.

Note: As of June 30, 2022, loans totaling $3.1 million were on nonaccrual status. Our policy is to reverse previously accrued but unpaid interest on nonaccrual loans; thereafter, interest income is recorded to the extent received when appropriate.

Note: As of June 30, 2023 and 2022, loans totaling $3.0 million and $3.1 million, respectively, were on nonaccrual status. Our policy is to reverse previously accrued but unpaid interest on nonaccrual loans; thereafter, interest income is recorded to the extent received when appropriate.

The following tables set forth the reconciliation of return on average common equity to return on average tangible common equity, book value per share to tangible book value per share, net interest income to net interest income adjusted to a fully taxable-equivalent basis assuming a 21% marginal tax rate for interest earned on tax-exempt assets such as municipal loans and investment securities, along with the calculation of total revenue, adjusted noninterest expense, efficiency ratio (FTE), net interest margin (FTE) and net interest spread (FTE) for the applicable periods presented.