Hanmi Reports 5.8% Loan Growth and $0.44 Earnings per Share for the Third Quarter

2015 Third Quarter Highlights:

• Net income of $14.0 million, or $0.44 per diluted share.
• Loans receivable up 5.8% or $168.2 million from the second quarter and 13.5% from a year ago.
• New loan production up 47.1% or $306.1 million from the second quarter and 80.3% from a year ago.
• Noninterest bearing deposits up 5.0% from the second quarter and represent 31.7% of deposits.
• Asset quality continues to be strong with non-performing assets at 0.88% of total assets and a negative provision for loan losses of $3.7 million for the 2015 third quarter.

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 27, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) (or "Hanmi"), the holding company for Hanmi Bank (the "Bank"), today reported third quarter net income of $14.0 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, unchanged from the second quarter of 2015. Compared with the third quarter of 2014, after adjusting for the after-tax bargain purchase gain and merger and integration costs, net income was up 52% from a year ago. Third quarter 2014 net income was $21.8 million, or $0.68 per diluted share, and included an after-tax bargain purchase gain of $14.6 million and pretax merger and integration costs of $3.4 million recorded in conjunction with the August 31, 2014 acquisition of Central Bancorp, Inc. ("CBI"), the parent company of United Central Bank.

For the first nine months of 2015, net income was $39.0 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, up 26% from a year ago after adjusting for the $14.6 million after-tax bargain purchase gain in 2014 and pre-tax merger and integration costs of $3.6 million in 2014 and $1.7 million in 2015. Net income for the first nine months of 2014 was $43.8 million, or $1.38 per diluted share.

Mr. C. G. Kum, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Hanmi's strong third quarter results were driven by the continued success of our strategic expansion initiatives, improving credit quality and the positive impact of repositioning our balance sheet since the CBI acquisition. Meaningful loan production from our operations in Texas and Illinois, along with the strong performance of our new Healthcare Banking Group, augmented solid growth in our core markets in California. Our focus on credit remains strong, both in our originations as well as in our follow-on administration. Moreover, our pursuit of meaningful banking relationships helped lead the increase in our demand deposits."

Mr. Kum continued, "Since the acquisition, we successfully repositioned our balance sheet to where loans now represent 72% of total assets and 87% of deposits. We also remain focused on improving our operating efficiencies and enhancing profitability across the enterprise. During the third quarter, we completed the closure and consolidation of four branches that resulted in one-time charges of $1.2 million. I believe our actions to streamline our cost structure over the course of the year, coupled with our successful expansion initiatives have positioned Hanmi to generate profitable growth in the years ahead."

Results of Operations

Third quarter net interest income declined $1.1 million or 3.0% to $36.0 million from $37.1 million in the second quarter primarily from the $1.5 million decline in acquisition accounting amortization and the $605,000 special FHLB dividend received in the preceding quarter, offset by the improved mix of earning assets and an additional day in the quarter. However, third quarter 2015 net interest income improved 15.8% compared with $31.1 million in the third quarter last year, while net interest income of $110.5 million for the first nine-months of 2015 increased 29.5% compared with $85.3 million in the first nine-months of 2014. The year-over-year and year-to-date improvements in net interest income were the result of the CBI acquisition and Hanmi successfully deploying lower yielding securities and cash arising from the CBI acquisition into higher yielding loans. 

Net interest margin for the third quarter of 2015 was 3.80% compared with 3.97% for the second quarter of 2015 and 3.72% for the year-ago period. The decline in net interest margin for the third quarter compared the preceding quarter was primarily due to a 17 basis point decline in the impact of acquisition accounting. Net interest margin, excluding acquisition accounting, remained unchanged at 3.48% even though the preceding quarter's net interest margin reflected the aforementioned $605,000 special FHLB dividend. For the first nine months of 2015, net interest margin was 3.89% compared with 3.80% for the first nine months of 2014.

For the third quarter of 2015, Hanmi recorded a negative provision for loan losses of $3.7 million, which included a $1.8 million provision for losses on PCI loans. For the prior quarter, the negative provision for loan losses was $2.4 million, which included an $84,000 reversal of impairment reserves on PCI loans. For the year ago period, Hanmi recorded a provision for loan losses of $48,000, which included no provision for losses or reversal of impairment reserves on PCI loans.

Hanmi recorded a negative loan loss provision of $7.8 million for the first nine months of 2015, compared with a negative provision for loan losses of $7.5 million for the first nine months of 2014.

The impact of the CBI acquisition accounting adjustments on core loan yield, core deposit cost, net interest income and net interest margin are summarized in the following tables. 

Noninterest income increased $2.4 million or 21.8% to $13.6 million from $11.1 million for the second quarter of 2015 primarily due to a $1.9 million increase in disposition gains on PCI loans. Noninterest income decreased $8.1 million or 37.2% from $21.6 million for the year ago period primarily because of the $14.6 million after-tax bargain purchase gain recognized in the 2014 third quarter offset by a $4.3 million increase in disposition gains on PCI loans and $2.0 million increase in gains on sales of securities. Service charges on deposit accounts were $3.4 million for the third quarter of 2015, up from $3.2 million in the second quarter of 2015 and up from $2.9 million for the third quarter last year. Gains on sales of SBA loans were $1.6 million for the third quarter 2015, unchanged from the second quarter of 2015 and up from $1.2 million for the year-ago period. Net gain on sales of securities were $2.0 million for the third quarter of 2015 compared with $1.9 million for the second quarter of 2015 and $67,000 for the third quarter last year. Disposition gains on PCI loans were $4.3 million for the third quarter of 2015, compared with $2.5 million for the prior quarter. There were no disposition gains for the same period a year-ago. Noninterest income in the third quarter of 2014 included an after-tax bargain purchase gain of $14.6 million recorded in conjunction with the acquisition of CBI. There was no bargain purchase gain recorded in either the third quarter or second quarter of 2015. 

Noninterest expense increased $1.5 million or 5.6% to $28.7 million from $27.2 million for the preceding quarter primarily due to $1.2 million of one-time expenses related to the 2015 third quarter branch closures and consolidations. Noninterest expense increased $3.2 million or 12.7% from $25.5 million for the third quarter last year primarily because of the August 2014 acquisition of CBI. Salary and employee benefits costs in the third quarter of 2015 increased 3.6% to $16.1 million compared with $15.5 million for the second quarter of 2015, primarily as a result of employee severance charges associated with the branch closures, and increased 25.3% from $12.8 million for the third quarter of 2014 due to the CBI acquisition. Occupancy and equipment costs increased 15.9% to $4.9 million compared with $4.2 million for the second quarter of 2015, primarily related to expenses associated with the branch closures. Professional fees increased to $1.9 million for the third quarter from $1.7 million for the preceding quarter. Advertising and promotion expense increased to $1.3 million compared with $1.0 million for the second quarter and $809,000 for the prior year third quarter. These increases were due to the Hanmi's re-branding initiative.

Hanmi recorded a provision for income taxes of $10.6 million for the third quarter of 2015, representing an effective tax rate of 43.1%, compared with $9.6 million, representing an effective tax rate of 40.8%, for the preceding quarter and $5.4 million, representing an effective rate of 19.8% for the third quarter of 2014. The increase in the effective tax rate for the current quarter compared to the preceding quarter was due to adjustments resulting from the filing of the final CBI tax returns. The increase in the effective tax rate for the current quarter compared to the year ago quarter was primarily due to the $14.6 million after-tax bargain purchase gain recognized in third quarter of 2014. For the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2014, Hanmi recorded provision for income taxes of $27.7 million and $20.1 million, respectively, representing effective tax rates of 41.6% and 31.2%, respectively. The year over year increase was due to the aforementioned after-tax bargain purchase gain.

Balance Sheet

Total assets were $4.21 billion at September 30, 2015, a 6.1% increase from $3.97 billion at June 30, 2015 and a 0.6% decrease from $4.24 billion a year ago.  The sequential quarter increase in total assets was primarily due to an increase in loans receivable.

Loans receivable, before the allowance for loan losses, were $3.05 billion at September 30, 2015, up 5.8% from $2.88 billion at June 30, 2015 and up 13.5% from $2.68 billion at September 30, 2014. The increase in loans from the end of the 2014 third quarter reflects Hanmi's strong loan production. Loans held for sale, representing the guaranteed portion of SBA loans, were $4.9 million at September 30, 2015 compared with $4.2 million at the end of the 2015 second quarter and $7.8 million at the end of the 2014 third quarter. 

New loan production for the 2015 third quarter reached $306.1 million, 47.1% higher than the second quarter and outpaced $105.7 million of loan payoffs. 2015 third quarter new loan production was comprised of $231.3 million of commercial real estate loans, $30.6 million of commercial and industrial loans, $40.2 million of SBA loans, and $4.0 million of consumer loans. For the 2015 second quarter, new loan production was $208.1 million while loan payoffs were $108.9 million. Loan purchases for the 2015 third quarter were $36.2 million, compared with $20.6 million in the second quarter of 2015. SBA loan sales for the 2015 third quarter were $20.6 million, compared with $19.3 million for the second quarter of 2015.

Deposits were $3.52 billion at the end of the 2015 third quarter, compared with $3.44 billion at the end of the preceding quarter and $3.60 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2014. The cost of deposits was 0.44% for the third quarter of 2015 compared with 0.44% for the second quarter of 2015 and 0.45% for the third quarter a year ago.

At September 30, 2015, stockholders' equity was $485.4 million, compared with $472.7 million and $443.7 million at June 30, 2015 and September 30, 2014, respectively. Tangible common stockholders' equity was $483.7 million, or 11.48% of tangible assets, compared with $470.9 million, or 11.86% of tangible assets, and $441.5 million, or 10.42%, of tangible assets, at June 30, 2015 and September 30, 2014, respectively. Tangible book value per share was $15.12, up 9.3% from a year ago and 2.7% from the preceding quarter. On October 15, 2015, Hanmi paid a cash dividend of $0.11 per share, representing an aggregate dividend of $3.5 million.

Asset Quality

Nonperforming loans, excluding PCI loans, were $23.9 million at the end of the third quarter of 2015, or 0.79% of Non-PCI loans, compared with $28.0 million at the end of the second quarter of 2015, or 0.99% of Non-PCI loans and $24.0 million, or 0.92% of Non-PCI loans at the end of the third quarter last year. Troubled debt restructurings were $18.2 million at September 30, 2015, compared with $21.9 million at June 30, 2015 and $26.4 million at September 30, 2014. Restructured loans included in nonperforming loans were $10.4 million at September 30, 2015, compared with $11.2 million at the end of the same quarter last year.

OREO was $13.2 million at the end of the third quarter of 2015, up from $11.9 million at the end of the prior quarter. OREO primarily resulted from the 2014 third quarter CBI acquisition. Classified loans were $40.1 million, or 1.32% of loans, at September 30, 2015, compared with $44.8 million, or 1.56% of loans, at June 30, 2015 and $45.0 million, or 1.68% of loans, a year ago. Nonperforming assets were $37.2 million at the end of the third quarter of 2015, or 0.88% of assets, compared with 1.00% of assets at the end of the prior quarter and 1.10% of assets at the end of the same quarter last year.

Gross charge-offs for the third quarter of 2015 were $1.8 million, compared with $1.2 million for the preceding quarter and $1.4 million for the same period a year ago. Recoveries of previously charged-off loans for the third quarter of 2015 were $994,000, compared with $1.4 million for the preceding quarter and $663,000 for the third quarter of 2014. As a result, there were net charge-offs of $754,000 for the third quarter of 2015, compared with net recoveries of $272,000 for the preceding quarter and net charge-offs of $755,000 for the year ago period. 

The allowance for loan losses was $46.4 million as of September 30, 2015, generating an allowance of loan losses to loans receivable ratio of 1.52% compared with 1.77% as of June 30, 2015 and 1.91% as of September 30, 2014.

Conference Call                            

Management will host a conference call today, October 27, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. PT (4:00 p.m. ET) to discuss these results.  This call will also be broadcast live via the internet. Investment professionals and all current and prospective stockholders are invited to access the live call by dialing 1-877-407-9039 before 1:00 p.m. PT, using access code HANMI. To listen to the call online, either live or archived, visit the Investor Relations page of Hanmi's website at www.hanmi.com.

About Hanmi Financial Corporation

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Hanmi Financial Corporation owns Hanmi Bank, which serves multi-ethnic communities through its network of 42 full-service branches and 6 loan production offices in California, Texas, Illinois, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Colorado, Washington and Georgia. Hanmi Bank specializes in real estate, commercial, SBA and trade finance lending to small and middle market businesses. Additional information is available at www.hanmi.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are "forward–looking statements" for purposes of federal and state securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements about anticipated future operating and financial performance, financial position and liquidity, business strategies, regulatory and competitive outlook, investment and expenditure plans, capital and financing needs and availability, plans and objectives of management for future operations, developments regarding our capital plans, strategic alternatives for a possible business combination, merger or sale transaction, and other similar forecasts and statements of expectation and statements of assumption underlying any of the foregoing. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statement. These factors include the following: failure to maintain adequate levels of capital and liquidity to support our operations; the effect of potential future supervisory action against us or Hanmi Bank; general economic and business conditions internationally, nationally and in those areas in which we operate; volatility and deterioration in the credit and equity markets; changes in consumer spending, borrowing and savings habits; availability of capital from private and government sources; demographic changes; competition for loans and deposits and failure to attract or retain loans and deposits; fluctuations in interest rates and a decline in the level of our interest rate spread; risks of natural disasters related to our real estate portfolio; risks associated with Small Business Administration loans; failure to attract or retain key employees; changes in governmental regulation, including, but not limited to, any increase in FDIC insurance premiums; ability of Hanmi Bank to make distributions to Hanmi Financial, which is restricted by certain factors, including Hanmi Bank's retained earnings, net income, prior distributions made, and certain other financial tests; ability to identify a suitable strategic partner or to consummate a strategic transaction; adequacy of our allowance for loan losses; credit quality and the effect of credit quality on our provision for loan losses and allowance for loan losses; changes in the financial performance and/or condition of our borrowers and the ability of our borrowers to perform under the terms of their loans and other terms of credit agreements; our ability to control expenses; and changes in securities markets. In addition, we set forth certain risks in our reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and Current Reports on Form 8-K that we will file hereafter, which could cause actual results to differ from those projected. We undertake no obligation to update such forward-looking statements except as required by law.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets Ratio

Tangible common equity to tangible assets ratio is supplemental financial information determined by a method other than in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"). This non-GAAP measure is used by management in the analysis of Hanmi's capital strength. Tangible equity is calculated by subtracting goodwill and other intangible assets from stockholders' equity. Banking and financial institution regulators also exclude goodwill and other intangible assets from stockholders' equity when assessing the capital adequacy of a financial institution. Management believes the presentation of this financial measure excluding the impact of these items provides useful supplemental information that is essential to a proper understanding of the capital strength of Hanmi. This disclosure should not be viewed as a substitution for results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor is it necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

The following table reconciles this non-GAAP performance measure to the GAAP performance measure for the periods indicated:

CONTACT: Investor Contacts:
         Romolo (Ron) Santarosa
         Senior Executive Vice President,
         Corporate Finance and Strategy
         213-427-5636

         Michael McCall
         Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
         213-427-5701

         Lasse Glassen
         Investor Relations
         Addo Communications
         310-829-5400

Released October 27, 2015