Capital City Bank Group, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Results

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 27, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Capital City Bank Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:CCBG) today reported a net loss of $0.5 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to net income of $2.0 million, or $0.12 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2011 and net income of $1.9 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2010. For the full year 2011, CCBG reported net income of $4.9 million, or $0.29 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $0.4 million, or $0.02 per diluted share in 2010.

Compared to the third quarter of 2011, earnings reflect lower operating revenues of $1.0 million, a $3.9 million increase in the loan loss provision and higher noninterest expense of $0.5 million, partially offset by lower income taxes of $2.9 million. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, the reduction in earnings was due to lower operating revenues of $2.8 million and a $3.8 million increase in the loan loss provision, partially offset by a $2.4 million reduction in noninterest expense and a higher income tax benefit of $1.8 million.

For the full year 2011, the improvement in earnings was due to a $7.7 million reduction in noninterest expense and a lower loan loss provision of $4.8 million, partially offset by a $3.6 million decline in operating revenues and higher income taxes of $3.6 million. 2011 performance also reflects the sale of our Visa Class B shares of stock during the first quarter which resulted in a $2.6 million net gain ($3.2 million pre-tax included in noninterest income and a swap liability of $0.6 million included in noninterest expense).

"Given the economic environment, we are proud of our accomplishments during 2011," said William G. Smith, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "Year over year we earned $0.29 per share versus a loss of $0.02 per share in 2010, our sales of OREO exceeded the combined sales of the prior two years and gross additions to our problem loan pool continued their downward trend. While the fourth quarter results were disappointing, they were consistent with our prior comments that our performance would be uneven as we work through this economic cycle. It remains a tough operating environment and there is work left to be done, but as the economy recovers, I believe we have the experience and capability to return Capital City to its historical performance levels."

The Return on Average Assets was -0.08% and the Return on Average Equity was -0.80% for the fourth quarter of 2011. These metrics were 0.31% and 2.97% for the third quarter of 2011, and 0.30% and 2.90% for the fourth quarter of 2010, respectively.

For the full year 2011, the Return on Average Assets was 0.19% and the Return on Average Equity was 1.86% compared to -0.02% and -0.16%, respectively, for the full year of 2010.

Discussion of Financial Condition

Average earning assets were $2.146 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011, a decrease of $56.5 million, or 2.6% from the third quarter of 2011, and a decline of $71.6 million, or 3.2%, from the fourth quarter of 2010.  The decrease in both periods is attributable to a reduction in the level of deposits (primarily seasonal in nature) and the resolution of problem loans as they were charged off or transferred to the other real estate category ("OREO"). Period over period, average deposits declined $28.9 million and $82.9 million, respectively, and average loans declined (a portion of which is attributable to problem loan resolution) by $21.0 million and $136.2 million, respectively.  

Loan balances continue to decline throughout the portfolio, driven primarily by a reduction in the commercial real estate, residential and commercial loan categories.  The loan portfolio has been impacted by weak loan demand attributable to the lack of consumer confidence and a sluggish economy.  In addition to lower production, normal amortization and payoffs, the resolution of problem loans (which has the effect of lowering the loan portfolio as loans are either charged off or transferred to the OREO category) also contributed to the overall decline.  During the fourth quarter of 2011, loan charge-offs and loans transferred to OREO accounted for $13.1 million, or 45%, of the net reduction in total loans of $29.0 million from the third quarter of 2011.  Compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, this accounted for $63.6 million, or 49%, of the net reduction in loans of $130.0 million⁽¹⁾.

Average total deposits were $2.033 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011, a decrease of $28.9 million, or 1.4%, from the third quarter of 2011 and a decrease of $82.9 million, or 3.9%, from the fourth quarter of 2010.  The decrease in deposits in both periods was driven primarily by a reduction in certificates of deposit.  Additionally, a decrease resulting from existing clients moving from our Guaranteed Now Account ("GNA") product to repurchase agreements occurred late in the fourth quarter of 2010 as further discussed below.  Noninterest bearing demand and savings accounts increased in both periods, partially offsetting the above mentioned declines in GNA and certificates of deposit.

Pursuant to changes in the FDIC's Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, our government guaranteed NOW product was discontinued during the fourth quarter of 2010.  Approximately $95 million in balances for this product remained in the NOW category, $95 million migrated to the noninterest bearing DDA category, and $60 million in balances moved to repurchase agreements as of the end of December 2010.   

We continue to pursue prudent pricing discipline to manage the mix of our deposits.  Therefore, we are not attempting to compete with higher rate paying competitors for deposits.  We continue to experience a favorable shift in the mix of our deposits as higher cost certificates of deposit balances are replaced with lower rate non-maturity deposits and noninterest bearing demand accounts.    

We maintained an average net overnight funds (deposits with banks plus fed funds sold less fed funds purchased) sold position of $191.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to an average net overnight funds sold position of $231.7 million in the prior quarter and an average overnight funds sold position of $172.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.  The lower balance when compared to the third quarter of 2011 reflects declining deposits (public funds and certificates of deposit) and lower levels of short-term borrowings, partially offset by a decrease in the loan portfolio.  The higher balance as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 is primarily attributable to a net reduction in loans and an increase in repurchase agreements, partially offset by a decline in deposits, borrowings and the deployment of funds to the investment portfolio. 

Nonperforming assets (including nonaccrual loans, troubled debt restructurings ("TDR's") and OREO) totaled $158.3 million at year-end 2011, an increase of $15.3 million from the third quarter of 2011 and $13.0 million from year-end 2010. The increase in nonperforming assets compared to both periods was driven by a higher level of nonaccrual loans added during the fourth quarter of 2011 generally reflective of the prolonged economic recovery in our markets and its impact on our borrowers. Nonaccrual loans totaled $75.0 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of $21.6 million from the third quarter of 2011 and $9.3 million from the fourth quarter of 2010. Nonaccrual loan inflow during the fourth quarter of 2011 was primarily comprised of loans secured by residential 1-4 family real estate, commercial real estate, and farm property. Five relationships constituted $16.9 million of the $21.6 million increase. TDR's totaled $20.6 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, a decrease of $7.8 million from the third quarter of 2011 and a decrease of $1.0 million from the fourth quarter of 2010. OREO balances totaled $62.6 million at year-end 2011 compared to $61.2 million at the end of the third quarter of 2011 and $57.9 million at year-end 2010. Nonperforming assets represented 5.99% of total assets at December 31, 2011, compared to 5.67% at September 30, 2011 and 5.54% at December 31, 2010.                

Equity capital was $251.9 million as of December 31, 2011, compared to $260.9 million as of September 30, 2011 and $259.0 million as of December 31, 2010. Our leverage ratio was 10.02%, 10.20%, and 10.10%, respectively, for these periods. Further, our risk-adjusted capital ratio of 15.32% at December 31, 2011 exceeds the 10.0% threshold to be designated as "well-capitalized" under the risk-based regulatory guidelines. At December 31, 2011, our tangible common equity ratio was 6.51%, compared to 7.19% at September 30, 2011 and 6.82% at December 31, 2010. The tangible common equity ratio was impacted by an $8.0 million unfavorable variance in the pension component of our other comprehensive income. This unfavorable variance was driven by a reduction in our pension plan's discount rate due to a decline in market rates, and a lower than anticipated return on plan assets.  

Discussion of Operating Results

Tax equivalent net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $22.6 million compared to $23.3 million for the third quarter of 2011 and $24.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.  For the full year 2011, tax equivalent net interest income totaled $92.8 million compared to $99.0 million in 2010.

The decrease of $0.7 million in tax equivalent net interest income compared to the third quarter of 2011 was due to a reduction in loan income attributable to declining loan balances, an increase in foregone interest on nonaccrual loans and continued unfavorable asset repricing, partially offset by lower interest expense.  The lower interest expense reflects the reduction in deposit rates enacted late in the third quarter of 2011. The rate change affected all interest bearing deposit categories with the exception of savings.  

The decrease in tax equivalent net interest income of $2.0 million and $6.2 million, for the three and twelve month periods ended December 31, 2011, respectively, as compared to the same periods in 2010, resulted from an unfavorable change in earning asset mix and yield, partially offset by a reduction in interest expense and a lower level of foregone interest on nonaccrual loans.

The decline in loans, coupled with the low rate environment continues to put pressure on our net interest income.  Lowering our cost of funds, to the extent we can, and continuing to shift the mix of our deposits will help to partially mitigate the unfavorable impact of weak loan demand and repricing. 

The net interest margin for the fourth quarter of 2011 was 4.17%, a decrease of 3 basis points from the third quarter of 2011 and a decline of 24 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2010.  For the full year 2011, the margin declined by 14 basis points to 4.18%. The decrease in the margin for all comparable periods is attributable to the shift in our earning asset mix and unfavorable asset repricing, partially offset by a lower average cost of funds.

The provision for loan losses for the fourth quarter of 2011 was $7.6 million compared to $3.7 million in the third quarter of 2011 and $3.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2010. For the full year 2011, the loan loss provision totaled $19.0 million compared to $23.8 million for 2010. Compared to the third quarter of 2011, the increase in the provision was driven by a higher level of general reserves reflective of an increase in the level of internally classified loans, delinquent loans and higher loan loss factors. While the level of impaired loans increased quarter over quarter, our impaired loan reserves declined reflective of charge-offs realized on loans migrating to OREO status and lower specific reserves needed for loans added to impaired status during the quarter. For the full year 2011, the lower loan loss provision was primarily due to lower specific reserves required for newly identified impaired loans. Net charge-offs for the fourth quarter of 2011 totaled $6.2 million, or 1.50% of average loans, compared to $5.1 million, or 1.22%, in the third quarter of 2011, and $6.1 million, or 1.35%, in the fourth quarter of 2010. For 2011, our net charge-offs totaled $23.4 million, or 1.39% of average loans, compared to $32.4 million, or 1.77%, for 2010. A $6.0 million reduction in construction loan charge-offs drove the year over year decline in net charge-offs. Over the last four years, we have recorded a cumulative loan loss provision totaling $115.3 million, or 6.0% of beginning loans and have recognized cumulative net charge-offs of $102.0 million, or 5.3%. At year-end 2011, the allowance for loan losses of $31.0 million was 1.91% of outstanding loans (net of overdrafts) and provided coverage of 32% of nonperforming loans compared to 1.79% and 36%, respectively, at the end of the third quarter of 2011, and 2.01% and 41%, respectively, at year-end 2010.

Noninterest income for the fourth quarter of 2011 totaled $13.9 million, a decrease of $0.3 million, or 2.2%, from the third quarter of 2011 and a decrease of $0.9 million, or 5.8%, from the fourth quarter of 2010. Lower deposit fees of $0.1 million, bank card fees of $0.1 million and other income of $0.3 million, partially offset by higher mortgage banking fees of $0.2 million, drove the decline over the third quarter of 2011. The unfavorable variance compared to the fourth quarter of 2010 was primarily due to lower data processing fees of $0.1 million, mortgage banking fees of $0.2 million and other income of $0.9 million, partially offset by higher deposit fees of $0.1 million and bank card fees of $0.2 million. For the full year 2011, noninterest income totaled $58.8 million, an increase of $2.0 million over 2010 driven by a $2.2 million increase in other income. The increase in other income reflects a $3.2 million pre-tax gain from the sale of our Class B shares of Visa stock during the first quarter of 2011 that was partially offset by lower merchant fees of $1.1 million. Higher retail brokerage fees of $0.4 million and bank card fees of $0.9 million also contributed to the year over year increase, but were partially offset by lower deposit fees of $1.0 million. Year over year, the aforementioned reduction in merchant fees reflects the transfer of our merchant processing business to another processor, which was completed in August 2010. This decline is substantially offset by a reduction in processing costs, which is reflected as interchange fees in noninterest expense. The higher level of brokerage fees reflects increased client investment activity. Bank card fees increased due to an increase in new deposit accounts as well as higher card utilization. The reduction in deposit fees reflects a lower level of overdraft fees due to reduced activity as well as the implementation of new rules under Regulation E.  

Noninterest expense for the fourth quarter of 2011 totaled $31.1 million, an increase of $0.5 million over the third quarter of 2011 and a decrease of $2.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2010. The increase from the third quarter was primarily due to higher OREO expense of $0.9 million and other expense of $0.4 million, partially offset by lower salary/associate benefit expense of $0.5 million and occupancy expense of $0.2 million. Lower OREO expense of $1.3 million, intangible amortization of $0.4 million, and other expense of $0.3 million drove the favorable variance compared to the fourth quarter of 2010.   

For the full year 2011, noninterest expense totaled $126.2 million, a $7.7 million decline from 2010, which was primarily attributable to lower expense for OREO of $2.2 million, intangible amortization of $2.0 million, and other expense of $3.5 million. The lower level of OREO expense reflects both a reduction in valuation adjustments and property carrying costs. Intangible amortization expense declined due to the full amortization of core deposit intangibles related to several past acquisitions. The reduction in other expense primarily reflects a reduction in FDIC insurance expense of $1.8 million, interchange fees of $1.0 million, professional fees of $0.5 million, and advertising expense of $0.4 million. The reduction in FDIC insurance expense reflects a lower rate due to recent changes to the FDIC premium structure. Lower interchange fees are attributable to the sale of our merchant processing business as noted above in our discussion of noninterest income. Professional fees declined due to higher consulting fees paid in 2010 related to the review of our vendor contracts. The reduction in advertising fees primarily reflects efficiencies gained in the promotion of our free checking products.           

We realized a tax benefit of $1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to income tax expense of $1.0 million for the third quarter of 2011 and a tax benefit of $0.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.  For the full year 2011, we realized income tax expense of $0.6 million compared to a tax benefit of $3.0 million for 2010.  The increase in the tax provision year over year reflects higher operating profits, a lower level of tax exempt income and the resolution of certain tax contingencies.

Regulatory Matters

Our bank regulators recently concluded a regular safety and soundness examination. As of today, our regulators have not issued their report, but have indicated that they will not require an adjustment to our allowance for loan losses. The regulators have discussed with us a range of outcomes from continuing the existing board resolutions we adopted in February 2010 (the "Existing Board Resolutions") to entering into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU"). An MOU would be an informal action that is not published or publicly available and that is used when circumstances warrant a milder form of action than a formal supervisory action, such as a formal written agreement or order.  We have had discussions with our bank regulators concerning their findings, but we do not know their requirements at this time.  Those requirements, once finalized, may be more restrictive than those currently contained in the Existing Board Resolutions.  In particular, any new board resolutions or MOU could limit our ability to pay dividends to our shareowners, require us to suspend dividend payments to holders of our trust preferred securities, and take various other actions to improve our asset quality and preserve our capital position.  As with our Existing Board Resolutions, we expect that our management and board of directors will be required to focus considerable time and attention on taking corrective actions to comply with the terms of any new board resolutions or MOU.

As disclosed in a press release issued on December 14, 2011, we suspended the payment of quarterly dividends on our common stock.  We believe that, given our inability to fully earn our dividend in 2011, it was, and continues to be, prudent to preserve our capital at least until the economic conditions in Florida and Georgia improve.  We remain committed to resuming dividend payments as soon as conditions warrant, and subject to any limitations from our regulators. 

About Capital City Bank Group, Inc.

Capital City Bank Group, Inc. ("Company") (Nasdaq:CCBG) is one of the largest publicly traded financial services companies headquartered in Florida and has approximately $2.6 billion in assets. The Company provides a full range of banking services, including traditional deposit and credit services, asset management, trust, mortgage banking, merchant services, bankcards, data processing and securities brokerage services. The Company's bank subsidiary, Capital City Bank, was founded in 1895 and now has 70 banking offices and 78 ATMs in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. For more information about Capital City Bank Group, Inc., visit www.ccbg.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Forward-looking statements in this Press Release are based on current plans and expectations that are subject to uncertainties and risks, which could cause the Company's future results to differ materially. The following factors, among others, could cause the Company's actual results to differ: legislative or regulatory changes, including the Dodd-Frank Act; the strength of the U.S. economy and the local economies where the Company conducts operations; the accuracy of the Company's financial statement estimates and assumptions, including the estimate for the Company's loan loss provision; the frequency and magnitude of foreclosure of the Company's loans; continued depression of the market value of the Company that could result in an impairment of goodwill; restrictions on our operations, including the inability to pay dividends without our regulators' consent; the effects of the health and soundness of other financial institutions, including the FDIC's need to increase Deposit Insurance Fund assessments; the effects of the Company's lack of a diversified loan portfolio, including the risks of geographic and industry concentrations; harsh weather conditions and man-made disasters; fluctuations in inflation, interest rates, or monetary policies; changes in the stock market and other capital and real estate markets; customer acceptance of third-party products and services; increased competition and its effect on pricing, including the impact on our net interest margin from the repeal of Regulation Q; negative publicity and the impact on our reputation; technological changes; the effects of security breaches and computer viruses that may affect the Company's computer systems; changes in consumer spending and savings habits; the Company's growth and profitability; changes in accounting; the Company's ability to integrate acquisitions; and the Company's ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing. Additional factors can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, and the Company's other filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Forward-looking statements in this Press Release speak only as of the date of the Press Release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements or the reasons why actual results could differ.

⁽¹⁾ The reductions in loan portfolio balances stated in this paragraph are based on "as of" balances, not averages.

CONTACT: J. Kimbrough Davis
         Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
         850.402.7820

Released January 27, 2012