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BCB Bancorp, Inc., Announces Quarterly Earnings, Quarterly Cash Dividend

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  Published in Business and Finance on Friday, May 7th 2010 at 4:35 GMT by Market Wire
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BAYONNE, N.J.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--BCB Bancorp, Inc., Bayonne, NJ (NASDAQ: BCBP) announced net earnings of $718,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 compared to $1.36 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Basic and diluted earnings per share were $0.15 for the three months ended March 31, 2010 as compared to $0.29 for the three months ended March 31, 2009. The Board of Directors unanimously approved a cash dividend payment of $0.12 per common share for shareholders of record as of April 30, 2010, payable on May 17, 2010.

Total assets increased by $10.2 million or 1.6% to $641.7 million at March 31, 2010 from $631.5 million at December 31, 2009. The Bank continued to grow assets, funded primarily through cash flow provided by retail deposit growth. Total cash and cash equivalents increased by $23.6 million or 35.1% to $90.9 million at March 31, 2010 from $67.3 million at December 31, 2009. Investment securities classified as held-to-maturity decreased by $2.9 million or 2.2% to $129.7 million at March 31, 2010 from $132.6 million at December 31, 2009. Loans receivable decreased by $10.7 million or 2.7% to $391.2 million at March 31, 2010 from $401.9 million at December 31, 2009. Deposit liabilities increased by $10.5 million or 2.3% to $474.2 million at March 31, 2010 from $463.7 million at December 31, 2009. Stockholdersa™ equity increased by $238,000 or 0.5% to $51.6 million at March 31, 2010 from $51.4 million at December 31, 2009. The increase in stockholdersa™ equity is primarily attributable to net income of the Company for the three months ended March 31, 2010 of $718,000, a $51,000 increase in the market value of our available-for-sale securities portfolio, net of tax, and a $31,000 increase resulting from the exercise of stock options totaling 5,844 shares, partially offset by the payment of a quarterly cash dividend totaling $559,000 representing a $0.12/share payment during the three months ended March 31, 2010 and $3,000 paid to repurchase 463 shares of the Companya™s common stock.

Net income decreased by $645,000 or 47.4% to $718,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2010 from $1.36 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009. The decrease in net income primarily reflects a decrease in net interest income, an increase in non-interest expense and an increase in the provision for loan losses, partially offset by an increase in non-interest income and a decrease in income taxes. Net interest income decreased by $179,000 or 3.6% to $4.74 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010 from $4.92 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009. This decrease resulted primarily from a decrease in average yield on interest earning assets to 5.13% for the three months ended March 31, 2010 from 6.21% for the three months ended March 31, 2009, partially offset by an increase in average interest earning assets of $49.2 million or 8.6% to $620.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010 from $571.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009. Our average interest bearing liabilities increased by $44.8 million or 8.9% to $546.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2010 from $501.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009. Our net interest margin decreased to 3.06% for the three months ended March 31, 2010 from 3.44% for the three months ended March 31, 2009. Our net interest income was negatively impacted as the yield on interest earning assets decreased at a faster pace than the cost of interest bearing liabilities.

Our results also reflected a higher provision for loan losses, which totaled $450,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2010 as compared to $350,000 for the comparable period in 2009 and higher non-interest expense which totaled $3.3 million in the 2010 period as compared with $2.6 million in the 2009 period. Significant components of our non-interest expense that were higher in 2010 included higher FDIC premium assessments and merger-related expenses. Our non-interest income increased to $241,000 for the 2010 period from $181,000 in 2009.

Donald Mindiak, President & CEO commented, aNet income for the three month period ended March 31, 2010 was adversely impacted by certain one-time expenses associated with the business combination transaction with Pamrapo Bancorp Inc. These expenses totaled $200,000 for the quarter. The merger transaction has received regulatory approval and it is anticipated that the transaction should be consummated prior to the end of the second quarter. Additional expenses which impacted operating results were foreclosure expense which, when coupled with provision for loan loss accruals, increased expenses by $260,000 over the prior yeara™s first quarter.

aAs the Company has determined that current market conditions warrant maintaining a higher than customary liquidity position in the absence of investment opportunities that will provide a meaningfully higher return to the Bank, interest income has decreased accordingly. However, it is anticipated that this strategy will position us to and play a critical role in the Company taking advantage of the opportunities that will exist as the country comes out of the current recession. The declaration and maintenance of our quarterly cash dividend at $0.12/share reinforces the Boarda™s confidence in our ability to provide a competitive return on investment to our shareholders.a

BCB Community Bank presently operates four offices, three located in Bayonne and one located in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Questions regarding the content of this release should be directed to either Donald Mindiak, President & CEO, or Thomas Coughlin, COO & Principal Accounting Officer at 201-823-0700.

Forward-looking Statements and Associated Risk Factors

This release, like many written and oral communications presented by BCB Bancorp, Inc., and our authorized officers, may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding our prospective performance and strategies 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. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are including this statement for purposes of said safe harbor provisions.

Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations of the Company, are generally identified by use of words aanticipate,a abelieve,a aestimate,a aexpect,a aintend,a aplan,a aproject,a aseek,a astrive,a atry,a or future or conditional verbs such as acould,a amay,a ashould,a awill,a awould,a or similar expressions. Our ability to predict results or the actual effects of our plans or strategies is inherently uncertain. Accordingly, actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

There are a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause actual conditions, events, or results to differ significantly from those described in our forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions and trends, either nationally or in some or all of the areas in which we and our customers conduct our respective businesses; conditions in the securities markets or the banking industry; changes in interest rates, which may affect our net income, prepayment penalties and other future cash flows, or the market value of our assets; changes in deposit flows, and in the demand for deposit, loan, and investment products and other financial services in the markets we serve; changes in the financial or operating performance of our customersa™ businesses; changes in real estate values, which could impact the quality of the assets securing the loans in our portfolio; changes in the quality or composition of our loan or investment portfolios; changes in competitive pressures among financial institutions or from non-financial institutions; changes in our customer base; potential exposure to unknown or contingent liabilities of companies targeted for acquisition; our ability to retain key members of management; our timely development of new lines of business and competitive products or services in a changing environment, and the acceptance of such products or services by our customers; any interruption or breach of security resulting in failures or disruptions in customer account management, general ledger, deposit, loan or other systems; any interruption in customer service due to circumstances beyond our control; the outcome of pending or threatened litigation, or of other matters before regulatory agencies, or of matters resulting from regulatory exams, whether currently existing or commencing in the future; environmental conditions that exist or may exist on properties owned by, leased by, or mortgaged to the Company; changes in estimates of future reserve requirements based upon the periodic review thereof under relevant regulatory and accounting requirements; changes in legislation, regulation, and policies, including, but not limited to, those pertaining to banking, securities, tax, environmental protection, and insurance, and the ability to comply with such changes in a timely manner; changes in accounting principles, policies, practices, or guidelines; operational issues stemming from, and/or capital spending necessitated by, the potential need to adapt to industry changes in information technology systems, on which we are highly dependent; the ability to keep pace with, and implement on a timely basis, technological changes; changes in the monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government, including policies of the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board; war or terrorist activities; and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory, and geopolitical factors affecting our operations, pricing and services.

It also should be noted that the Company occasionally evaluates opportunities to expand through acquisition and may conduct due diligence activities in connection with such opportunities. As a result, acquisition discussions and, in some cases, negotiations, may take place in the future, and acquisitions involving cash, debt, or equity securities may occur. Furthermore, the timing and occurrence or non-occurrence of these events may be subject to circumstances beyond the Companya™s control.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Except as required by applicable law or regulation, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statements were made.