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Announcing its 85th Consecutive Profitable Quarter, Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. Reports Record Earnings of $10.6 Million for 2010,

^{Published on 2011-01-26 06:05:57 - Market Wire}
 

LOWELL, Mass.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. (the aCompanya) (NASDAQ: EBTC), parent of Enterprise Bank, announced record net income of $10.6 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2010, compared to $7.9 million, or $0.96 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2009, increases of $2.7 million, or 34%, and $0.19, or 20%, per diluted share. Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2010 amounted to $2.4 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, compared to $2.8 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, for the comparable 2009 period, decreases of $363 thousand, or 13%, and $0.06, or 19%, per diluted share.

"Managementa™s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

The increase in net income for the year was primarily attributed to growth in loans, deposits and investment assets under management, and an increase in the net interest margin. Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 was impacted by other real estate owned expenses for fair value adjustments and a decrease in net gains on sales of investment securities compared to the 2009 quarter.

As previously announced on January 18, 2011, the Company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.105 per share to be paid on March 1, 2011 to shareholders of record as of February 8, 2011. The quarterly dividend represents a 5% increase over the 2010 dividend rate.

Chief Executive Officer Jack Clancy commented, aWe are very pleased with our financial results and numerous accomplishments in 2010. Deposits, excluding brokered deposits, have grown $127 million, or 11%, since December 31, 2009. During a period when many banks have experienced declining loan portfolios, our loan balances grew $60.5 million, or 6% since December 31, 2009. This growth has been a key factor in our reporting of record net income, which exceeded the $10 million mark for the first time in the Banka™s history.a

Mr. Clancy further stated, aIn 2011, our focus will remain on increasing market share and on growing all of our business lines, including quality lending, deposits, investment assets managed and insurance services through continued organic growth and strategic expansion, as we seek to take advantage of market opportunities that continue to be presented to strong community banks. We remain committed to making investments in our branch network, technology, and most importantly in our employees, customers and communities, while positioning the Bank for long-term growth. We anticipate opening our third Southern New Hampshire location in Hudson within a few weeks.a

Founder and Chairman of the Board George Duncan stated, aWe were especially pleased in 2010 to have been selected by the Great Place to Work Institute^® as the #14 BestWorkplace, for medium-sized companies,in America. We appreciate that our highly-trained and motivated employees go the extra mile and believe their efforts greatly benefit our customers, and ultimately, the Banka™s bottom line. Our employees have an unwavering commitment and focus on the communities and customers that we serve. Local businesses, professionals, non-profits and individuals continue to seek the flexibility, responsiveness and personalized service that a community bank such as Enterprise provides. As a strong, well-capitalized community bank with state-of-the-art product capabilities delivered with a local and dedicated customer-service focus, we believe that we are well positioned to meet our communitiesa™ needs. This is demonstrated through our consistent earnings, as we have now recorded 85 consecutive quarters of profitability.a

Results of Operations

Net interest income increased $6.5 million, or 13%, for the year ended December 31, 2010 and amounted to $55.0 million, compared to $48.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. Net interest income for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 amounted to $14.0 million, an increase of $904 thousand, or 7%, compared to the December 2009 quarter. These increases in net interest income over the comparable 2009 periods were due primarily to loan growth. Average loan balances increased $92.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to 2009. For the three months ended December 31, 2010, average loan balances increased $60.6 million compared to the same three months in 2009. Additionally, net interest margin was 4.41% for the year ended December 31, 2010 compared to 4.28% for the year ended December 31, 2009. Reflecting the current industry trends of decreasing margins affecting many banks, for the three months ended December 31, 2010, net interest margin decreased to 4.31%, as compared to 4.40% for the quarter ended September 30, 2010 and 4.42% for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.

The provision for loan losses amounted to $5.1 million and $4.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2010 and 2009, respectively. The provision for loan losses during any period is a function of the level of loan growth and trends in asset quality, taking into consideration net charge-offs, the level of non-performing and adversely classified loans, and reserves for specific impaired loans. Loan growth in 2010 amounted to $60.5 million compared to $134.2 million for the same period in 2009. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company recorded net charge-offs of $3.9 million, compared to net charge-offs of $1.9 million for the comparable period ended December 31, 2009. Net charge-offs to average total loans were 0.36% at December 31, 2010 compared to 0.19% in 2009. Total non-performing assets to total assets were 1.51% at December 31, 2010, compared to 1.66% at December 31, 2009. Management continues to closely monitor the non-performing assets, charge-offs and necessary allowance levels, and believes that current loan quality statistics are a function of the current economic environment and reflect more normalized levels compared to the historic lows from 2000 to 2007. The allowance for loan losses to total loans ratio was 1.70% at December 31, 2010, compared to 1.68% at December 31, 2009.

Non-interest income for the year ended December 31, 2010 amounted to $11.6 million, an increase of $1.3 million, or 13%, compared to the year ended 2009. The increase in the current year primarily resulted from increases in investment advisory fees and deposit service fees and minimal impairment charges on investment securities in 2010 as compared to 2009, partially offset by a decrease in net gains on sales of investment securities.

Non-interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2010, amounted to $45.7 million, an increase of $3.0 million, or 7%, compared to the same period in the prior year. This increase in non-interest expense was related primarily to the Companya™s strategic growth initiatives, resulting in increases in compensation-related costs, technology and advertising expenses. Also impacting non-interest expense in 2010 was a $500 thousand fair value adjustment to other real estate owned (OREO), partially offset by a reduction in deposit insurance costs in 2010 due to the special assessment in 2009.

Key Financial Highlights

• Total assets were $1.40 billion at December 31, 2010 as compared to $1.30 billion at December 31, 2009, an increase of 7%.
• Total loans amounted to $1.14 billion at December 31, 2010, an increase of $60.5 million, or 6%, since December 31, 2009.
• Total deposits, excluding brokered deposits, were $1.24 billion at December 31, 2010 as compared to $1.12 billion at December 31, 2009, an increase of 11%. Brokered deposits amounted to $82 thousand and $27.9 million on those respective dates.
• Investment assets under management amounted to $493.1 million at December 31, 2010 as compared to $433.0 million at December 31, 2009, an increase of 14%. The increase is attributable primarily to asset growth, both from new business and market value appreciation.
• Total assets under management amounted to $1.95 billion at December 31, 2010 as compared to $1.79 billion at December 31, 2009, an increase of 9%.

Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. (the aCompanya), is a Massachusetts corporation that conducts substantially all of its operations through Enterprise Bank and Trust Company, commonly referred to as Enterprise Bank, and has reported 85 consecutive profitable quarters. The Company principally is engaged in the business of attracting deposits from the general public and investing in commercial loans and investment securities. Through the bank and its subsidiaries, the Company offers a range of commercial and consumer loan products, deposit and cash management products as well as investment management, trust and insurance services. The Companya™s headquarters and the bank's main office are located at 222 Merrimack Street in Lowell, Massachusetts. The Companya™s primary market area is the Merrimack Valley and North Central regions of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Enterprise Bank has seventeen full-service branch offices located in the Massachusetts cities and towns of Lowell, Acton, Andover, Billerica, Chelmsford, Dracut, Fitchburg, Leominster, Methuen, Tewksbury, and Westford and in the New Hampshire towns of Derry and Salem. The Company expects to open a new branch in Hudson, New Hampshire by the end of the first quarter 2011.

The above text contains statements about future events that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of the words abelieve,a aexpect,a aanticipate,a aintend,a aestimate,a aassume,a awill,a ashould,a and other expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate to historical matters. Forward-looking statements should not be relied on, because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond the control of the Company. These risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results, performance and achievements of the Company to be materially different from the anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, changes in interest rates, regulatory considerations and competition. For more information about these factors, please see our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K on file with the SEC, including the sections entitled aRisk Factorsa and aManagementa™s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.a Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and we undertake no duty, and specifically disclaim any duty, to update or revise any such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.