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HBT Financial , Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2021 Financial Results October 25 , 2021 Third Quarter Highlights ( 1 ) • Net income of $ 13.7 million , or $ 0.50 per diluted share ; return on average assets ( ROAA ) of 1.37 % ; return on average stockholders ' equity ( ROAE ) of 14.29 % ; and return on average tangible common equity ( ROATCE ) ( 1 ) of 15.32 % • Adjusted net income ( 1 ) of $ 14.5 million ; or $ 0.53 per diluted share ; adjusted ROAA ( 1 ) of 1.45 % ; adjusted ROAE ( 1 ) of 15.08 % ; and adjusted ROATCE ( 1 ) of 16.18 % See " Reconciliation of Non - GAAP Financial Measures " below for reconciliation of non - GAAP financial measures to their most closely comparable GAAP financial measures . BLOOMINGTON , III . , Oct. 25 , 2021 ( GLOBE NEWSWIRE ) -- HBT Financial , Inc. ( NASDAQ : HBT ) ( the " Company " or " HBT Financial " or " HBT " ) , the holding company for Heartland Bank and Trust Company and NXT Bank , today reported net income of $ 13.7 million , or $ 0.50 diluted earnings per share , for the third quarter of 2021. This compares to net income of $ 13.7 million , or $ 0.50 diluted earnings per share , for the second quarter of 2021 , and net income of $ 10.6 million , or $ 0.38 diluted earnings per share , for the third quarter of 2020 . Fred L. Drake , Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of HBT Financial , said , " We continued to deliver strong financial results in the third quarter driven by a higher level of revenue , disciplined expense management , and healthy credit metrics . We are beginning to see stronger loan demand in our legacy markets . We also benefited from our acquisition of NXT Bancorporation by buying participations in some of NXT Bank's third quarter loan production prior to the closing of the acquisition . As a result , our total loan balances increased 3 % during the third quarter , excluding PPP loans . With ample liquidity and capital levels , strong asset quality , and a growing low - cost deposit base , we remain well positioned to support our customers and communities as economic conditions and loan demand may continue to strengthen . ” " The completion of our acquisition of NXT Bancorporation on October 1 , 2021 is a significant milestone for the Company . In the near - term , we will have more opportunities to bring back loans they have previously participated out to other banks onto our balance sheet and redeploy more of our excess liquidity into higher - yielding earning assets . Over the longer - term , we believe the expansion of our franchise into Iowa and the addition of a talented group of bankers from NXT will positively impact the level of organic growth that we generate . We are also seeing better opportunities to attract high quality commercial lenders that we expect will further strengthen our business development capabilities , improving our ability to capitalize on disruption in the Chicago banking market created by merger activity , " said Mr. Drake . Adjusted Net Income In addition to reporting GAAP results , the Company believes adjusted net income and adjusted earnings per share , which adjust for the additional C Corp equivalent tax expense for periods prior to October 11 , 2019 , acquisition expenses , branch closure expenses , net earnings ( losses ) from closed or sold operations , charges related to termination of certain employee benefit plans , realized gains ( losses ) on sales of securities , and mortgage servicing rights ( " MSR " ) fair value adjustments , provide investors with additional insight into its operational performance . The Company reported adjusted net income of $ 14.5 million , or $ 0.53 adjusted diluted earnings per share , for the third quarter of 2021. This compares to adjusted net income of $ 14.2 million , or $ 0.52 adjusted diluted earnings per share , for the second quarter of 2021 , and adjusted net income of $ 10.8 million , or $ 0.39 adjusted diluted earnings per share , for the third quarter of 2020 ( see " Reconciliation of Non - GAAP Financial Measures " tables ) . Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin Net interest income for the third quarter of 2021 was $ 30.7 million , an increase of 3.4 % from $ 29.7 million for the second quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in PPP loan fees recognized as loan interest income which totaled $ 3.0 million during the third quarter of 2021 and $ 2.4 million during the second quarter of 2021 . Relative to the third quarter of 2020 , net interest income increased $ 1.8 million , or 6.4 % . The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in PPP loan fees recognized as loan interest income which totaled $ 0.9 million during the third quarter of 2020 . Net interest margin for the third quarter of 2021 was 3.18 % , compared to 3.14 % for the second quarter of 2021. The increase was primarily attributable to the recognition of PPP loan fees . The contribution of PPP loan fees to net interest margin was 31 basis points during the third quarter of 2021 and 25 basis points during the second quarter of 2021 . Relative to the third quarter of 2020 , net interest margin decreased from 3.39 % . The decrease was primarily due to a decline in the average yield on earning assets and increased balances being held in cash and lower - yielding securities . Noninterest Income Noninterest income for the third quarter of 2021 was $ 8.4 million , a decrease of 4.4 % from $ 8.8 million for the second quarter of 2021. The decrease was primarily attributable to impairment losses of $ 0.6 million related to the branches closed during the third quarter of 2021 pursuant to our branch rationalization plan . Additionally , gains on sale of mortgage loans decreased $ 0.3 million due to a lower level of mortgage refinancing activity . Partially offsetting these declines were a positive $ 40 thousand mortgage servicing rights ( " MSR " ) fair value adjustment during the third quarter of 2021 , compared to a negative $ 0.3 million MSR fair value adjustment in the second quarter of 2021 , and a $ 0.3 million increase in service charges on deposit accounts . Relative to the third quarter of 2020 , noninterest income decreased 16.5 % from $ 10.0 million , primarily attributable to a $ 1.9 million decrease in gains on sale of mortgage loans due to a lower level of mortgage refinancing activity and the $ 0.6 million of impairment losses related to the branches closed