Hanmi’s Second Quarter Results Driven by Strong Loan Production and 20% Year-Over-Year Growth in Loans

2016 Second Quarter Highlights:    

• Net income of $14.1 million or $0.44 per diluted share
• Loans receivable of $3.45 billion, up 4.3% for the quarter, 8.4% year-to-date and 19.9% year-over-year
• New loan production of $265.2 million, up 27.0% from the prior quarter and up 27.5% from a year ago
• Noninterest-bearing deposits up 12.0% from a year ago
• Net interest margin of 4.02%, up 16 basis points from the prior quarter and 36 basis points from the same period last year after excluding acquisition accounting

LOS ANGELES, July 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hanmi Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:HAFC) (or “Hanmi”), the holding company for Hanmi Bank (the “Bank”), today reported second quarter net income of $14.1 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared with $14.8 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2016 and $14.0 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2015.

For the first six months of 2016, net income increased 15.6% to $29.0 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, compared with $25.0 million, or $0.79 per diluted share, for the first six months of 2015.

Mr. C. G. Kum, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Our strong results in the second quarter were highlighted by a 27.5% year-over-year increase in new loan production, which helped drive loans receivable up by 4.3% compared with the prior quarter and an impressive 19.9% year-over-year. In addition, I am also pleased with the effort of our retail branch network as money market and savings account deposits increased 9.8% during the quarter and 27.4% year-over-year.”

Mr. Kum continued, “Our ongoing success in repositioning the balance sheet to deploy liquidity into loans is evident in our improving net interest margin, which increased by 16 basis points in the quarter and 36 basis points year-over-year after excluding the effects of acquisition accounting. Importantly, our efficiency ratio of 56.46% improved by 79 basis points on a linked quarter basis, led by the strength of our lending franchise and careful expense management. Looking ahead, Hanmi remains well positioned to drive long-term sustainable growth in the second half of 2016 and beyond.”

Quarterly Results
(In thousands, except per share data)

Results of Operations 
Second quarter net interest income increased $1.4 million or 3.7% to $40.0 million from $38.6 million for the first quarter and increased $2.9 million or 7.8% from the same period last year primarily from the increase in loans. Year-to-date, net interest income improved 5.4% to $78.6 million from $74.6 million for the first six months of 2015 principally because of the increase in loans.

Net interest margin (on a taxable equivalent basis) for the second quarter of 2016 was 4.02% up from 3.98% for the first quarter and 3.97% for the year-ago period. Net interest margin (excluding acquisition accounting) was 3.84%, up 16 basis points from the preceding quarter and 36 basis points from the second quarter last year. The increase in net interest margin from the preceding quarter was due to loan growth and loan prepayment penalties, while the increase from last year was due to loan growth and the change in the mix of earning assets. For the first six months of 2016, net interest margin was 4.00% compared with 3.93% for the first six months of 2015.

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

For the second quarter of 2016, Hanmi recorded a negative provision for loan losses of $1.5 million, unchanged from the prior quarter and compared with $2.4 million in the second quarter last year. For the first six months of 2016 and 2015, the negative loan loss provision was $3.0 million and $4.1 million, respectively.

Second quarter noninterest income increased $2.4 million, or 34.7%, to $9.4 million from $7.0 million for the first quarter of 2016 primarily due to a $1.3 million increase in disposition gains on PCI loans and a $0.9 million increase in gain on sales of SBA loans. Disposition gains on PCI loans were $2.0 million for the second quarter of 2016, compared with $0.7 million for the prior quarter, and $2.5 million for the second quarter last year as PCI loans decreased $4.8 million for the second quarter of 2016, while they declined $0.2 million for the first quarter of 2016 and decreased $7.2 million for the second quarter of 2015. Gains on sales of SBA loans were $1.8 million for the second quarter 2016, compared with $0.9 million for the first quarter of 2016 and $1.6 million for the year-ago period as the volume of SBA loans sold increased to $20.2 million from $12.4 million for the preceding quarter and $19.3 million for the same quarter last year.

For the first half of 2016, noninterest income decreased $5.6 million, or 25.7%, to $16.3 million from $22.0 million for the same period last year primarily due to a $4.1 million reduction in gain on sale of securities, a $1.1 million decrease in disposition gains on PCI loans and a $0.6 million decrease in gain on sales of SBA loans. There were no sales of securities in the first half of 2016, while securities transactions resulted in gains of $4.1 million for the same period last year. Disposition gains on PCI loans were $2.6 million for the first six months of 2016, compared with $3.7 million for the same period last year as PCI loans decreased $5.0 million for the first half of 2016 and declined $10.6 million for the same period last year. Gains on sales of SBA loans were $2.6 million for the first six months 2016, compared with $3.3 million for the first six months of 2015 as the volume of SBA loans sold decreased to $32.6 million from $39.2 million for the same period last year.

Noninterest expense for the second quarter increased $1.8 million, or 6.9%, to $27.9 million from $26.1 million for the first quarter primarily because first quarter noninterest expenses related to advertising and promotions, occupancy and equipment, and provisions for SBA recourse allowances were unusually low or negative. During the first quarter, Hanmi delayed spending associated with a new tagline campaign related to the new Hanmi logo until the second quarter. In addition, the first quarter included a $1.3 million reduction in SBA recourse allowance (recorded in other operating expense). Finally, the first quarter also benefitted from a $0.4 million reduction in occupancy and equipment arising from a property tax refund and an early lease termination on a building.

Noninterest expense increased $0.8 million, or 3.1%, from $27.0 million for the second quarter last year primarily due to an increase in salaries and employee benefits and higher other operating expenses, partially offset by lower occupancy and equipment expense from the branch closure and consolidations completed in the third quarter last year.

For the first half of 2016, noninterest expense decreased $4.5 million, or 7.7%, to $53.9 million from $58.4 million for the same period last year primarily due to reductions in merger and integration costs, professional fees and data processing fees related to the August 2014 acquisition of Central Bancorp, Inc. (“CBI”), along with lower salaries and employee benefits and occupancy and equipment expense from the branch closure and consolidation completed in the third quarter last year. As a result of careful management of noninterest expense, coupled with the improvements in revenue from the growth in earning assets, the efficiency ratio improved to 56.84% for the first six month of 2016 from 60.52% for the first six months of 2015.

Hanmi recorded a provision for income taxes of $8.9 million for the second quarter of 2016, representing an effective tax of 38.5%, compared with $6.2 million or 29.5% for the preceding quarter and $9.6 million or 40.8% for the second quarter of 2015. Income tax expense for the first quarter of 2016 included a $1.8 million benefit arising from the finalization of the 2014 amended income tax returns. The effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2016 would have been 38.0% without this benefit.

For the first half of 2016, Hanmi recorded a provision for income taxes of $15.0 million, representing an effective tax of 34.2%, compared with $17.2 million or 40.7% for the same period last year.

Financial Position
Total assets were $4.44 billion at June 30, 2016, a 3.0% increase from $4.31 billion at March 31, 2016, and a 11.9% increase from $3.97 billion at June 30, 2015. The increases in total assets were primarily due to increases in loans receivable.

Loans receivable, before the allowance for loan losses, were $3.45 billion at June 30, 2016, up 4.3% from $3.31 billion at March 31, 2016, and up 19.9% from $2.88 billion at June 30, 2015. The increase in loans from the end of the 2015 second quarter reflects Hanmi’s strong loan production. Loans held for sale, representing the guaranteed portion of SBA loans, were $12.8 million at June 30, 2016, compared with $2.6 million at the end of the 2016 first quarter and $4.2 million at the end of the 2015 second quarter. 

New loan production for the 2016 second quarter was $265.2 million, up 27.5% from $208.1 million for the second quarter last year and outpaced $112.0 million of loan payoffs. Second quarter 2016 new loan production was comprised of $197.2 million of commercial real estate loans, $19.2 million of commercial and industrial loans, $46.6 million of SBA loans, and $2.2 million of consumer loans. For the 2016 first quarter, new loan production was $208.8 million while loan payoffs were $59.9 million. Loan purchases for the 2016 second quarter were $66.5 million, compared with $30.7 million in the first quarter of 2016. SBA loan sales for the 2016 second quarter were $20.2 million, compared with $12.4 million for the first quarter of 2016.

Deposits were $3.59 billion at the end of the 2016 second quarter, compared with $3.50 billion at the end of the preceding quarter and $3.44 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2015. The cost of deposits was 0.43% for the second quarter of 2016, unchanged from the first quarter of 2016 and down from 0.44% for the second quarter a year ago.

At June 30, 2016, stockholders’ equity was $525.2 million, compared with $510.9 million and $472.7 million at March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2015, respectively. Tangible common stockholders’ equity was $523.6 million, or 11.79% of tangible assets, compared with $509.2 million, or 11.82% of tangible assets, and $470.9 million, or 11.86% of tangible assets at March 31, 2016 and June 30, 2015, respectively. Tangible book value per share was $16.23, up 2.8% from the preceding quarter and 10.2% from a year ago.   

During the second quarter, Hanmi declared a cash dividend on its common stock of $0.14 per share, unchanged from the prior quarter and up 27% from a year ago. The dividend was paid on June 30, 2016, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 16, 2016. 

Asset Quality
Nonperforming loans, excluding PCI loans, were $12.3 million or 0.36% of loans at the end of the second quarter of 2016, compared with $16.3 million or 0.50% of loans at the end of the first quarter of 2016 and $28.0 million, or 0.99% of loans at the end of the second quarter last year.

OREO was $11.8 million at the end of the second quarter of 2016, up from $9.4 million at the end of the prior quarter. Classified loans were $27.4 million, or 0.79% of loans, at June 30, 2016, compared with $32.3 million, or 0.98% of loans, at March 31, 2016, and $44.8 million, or 1.56% of loans, a year ago. Nonperforming assets were $24.2 million at the end of the second quarter of 2016, or 0.54% of assets, compared with 0.60% of assets at the end of the prior quarter and 1.00% of assets at the end of the same quarter last year.

Gross charge-offs for the second quarter of 2016 were $798,000, compared with $636,000 for the preceding quarter and $1.2 million for the same period a year ago. Recoveries of previously charged-off loans for the second quarter of 2016 were $995,000, compared with $252,000 for the preceding quarter and $1.4 million for the second quarter of 2015. As a result, there were net recoveries of $197,000 for the second quarter of 2016, compared to charge-offs of $384,000 for the preceding quarter and net recoveries of $272,000 for the year ago period. 

The allowance for loan losses was $39.7 million as of June 30, 2016, generating an allowance of loan losses to loans receivable ratio of 1.15% compared with 1.24% as of March 31, 2016 and 1.77% as of June 30, 2015.

Conference Call       
Management will host a conference call today, July 19, 2016 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, 2015, 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.

Hanmi Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited)
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Hanmi Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statement of Income (Unaudited)
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Hanmi Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statement of Income (Unaudited)
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Hanmi Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries
Selected Financial Data (Unaudited)
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Hanmi Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries
Selected Financial Data (Unaudited)
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Hanmi Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries
Average Balance, Average Yield Earned and Average Rate Paid (Unaudited)
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Hanmi Financial Corporation and Subsidiaries
Average Balance, Average Yield Earned and Average Rate Paid (Unaudited)
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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:

Tangible Common Equity to Tangible Assets Ratio (Unaudited)
(In thousands, except share, per share data and ratios)

Investor Contacts:
Romolo (Ron) Santarosa
Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
213-427-5636

Lasse Glassen
Addo Investor Relations
310-829-5400