South State Corporation reports 33.8% increase in net income
January 22, 2016
South State Corporation (NASDAQ: SSB) released its unaudited results of operations and other financial information for the three-month and twelve-month period ended December 31, 2015. Annual (2015) highlights include the following:
- Net income available to the common shareholder improved by 33.8% to $99.5 million in 2015 from $74.4 million in 2014
- Earnings per share (EPS) – diluted was $4.11 compared to $3.08 in 2014, an increase of 33.4%;
- Operating earnings available to the common shareholders improved by 15.3% to $104.4 million;
- Operating EPS – diluted was $4.31 compared to $3.75 in 2014, an increase of 14.9%; and
- Increased dividend paid to common shareholders by $0.16 per share, or 19.5%, over 2014
- Net loan growth (non-acquired loans exceeded acquired loan runoff) during 2015 totaled $288.9 million, or 5.0%
- Non-acquired loan growth totaled $752.9 million or 21.7% growth; which
- Outpaced acquired loan runoff of $464.0 million
- Performance ratios during 2015 from 2014
- Return on average assets was 1.21%, an increase from 0.95%
- Operating return on average assets improved to 1.27% from 1.15%
- Return on average tangible equity improved to 15.97% from 13.77%
- Operating return on average tangible common equity improved to 16.72% from 16.56%
- Efficiency ratio improved to 64.19% from 71.41%
- Balance sheet and tangible book value during 2015
- Investment securities increased by $200.8 million or 24.3% during 2015, and now comprise 12% of total assets, up from 10.6% of total assets at December 31, 2014
- Goodwill increased by $20.7 million from the Bank of America branch acquisition
- OREO decreased $12.2 million during 2015 to $30.6 million at December 31, 2015
- Noninterest bearing deposits increased by $336.5 million, or 20.5%, and interest bearing deposits increased by $302.9 million, or 6.3%, primarily from the Bank of America branch acquisition
- Shareholders’ equity increased $74.5 million, or 7.6%, to $1.059 billion, up from $984.9 million at December 31, 2014
- Tangible equity to tangible assets declined to 8.24%, at December 31, 2015 from 8.28%, at December 31, 2014, due to the Bank of America branch acquisition
- Asset quality improvement in 2015 from year end 2014
- Nonperforming assets (NPAs) declined by 32.5%, or $25.8 million in 2015, to $53.7 million at December 31, 2015, from $79.6 million at December 31, 2014
- NPAs to total assets improved to 0.63% from 1.02%
- Net charge offs on non-acquired loans declined to 0.09%, or $3.4 million, in 2015, from 0.16%, or $4.9 million, in 2014
- Coverage ratio of ALLL on non-acquired non-performing loans improved to 181.8% at December 31, 2015 from 121.1% at December 31, 2014
Quarterly Cash Dividend
The Board of Directors of South State Corporation has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.28 per share payable on its common stock. This per share amount is $0.02 per share, or 7.7% higher than the dividend paid in the immediately preceding quarter and is $0.05 per share, or 21.7%, higher than fourth quarter of 2014. The dividend will be payable on February 19, 2016 to shareholders of record as of February 12, 2016.
