Earnings release
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Western New England Bancorp , Inc. 8 - K Exhibit 99.1 For further information contact : James C. Hagan , President and CEO Guida R. Sajdak , Executive Vice President and CFO Meghan Hibner , Vice President and Investor Relations Officer 413-568-1911 WESTERN NEW ENGLAND BANCORP , INC . REPORTS RESULTS FOR THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30 , 2021 AND DECLARES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND Westfield , Massachusetts , July 27 , 2021 : Western New England Bancorp , Inc. ( the " Company " or " WNEB " ) ( NasdaqGS : WNEB ) , the holding company for Westfield Bank ( the " Bank ” ) , announced today the unaudited results of operations for the three and six months ended June 30 , 2021. For the three months ended June 30 , 2021 , the Company reported net income of $ 5.7 million , or $ 0.24 per diluted share , compared to net income of $ 2.0 million , or $ 0.08 per diluted share , for the three months ended June 30 , 2020. On a linked quarter basis , net income was $ 5.7 million , or $ 0.24 per diluted share , as compared to net income of $ 5.8 million , or $ 0.24 per diluted share , for the three months ended March 31 , 2021. For the six months ended June 30 , 2021 , net income was $ 11.4 million , or $ 0.47 per diluted share , compared to net income of $ 4.1 million , or $ 0.16 per diluted share , for the six months ended June 30 , 2020 . The Company also announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $ 0.05 per share , payable on or about August 25 , 2021 to shareholders of record on August 11 , 2021 . James C. Hagan , President and Chief Executive Officer , stated , “ We are pleased to report that we generated strong earnings for the third consecutive quarter despite the business disruptions caused by the COVID - 19 pandemic over the past year . Our ongoing and continuing commitment to support our borrowers and small business customers during the pandemic generated $ 4.0 million in Paycheck Protection Program ( “ PPP ” ) interest and origination fee income ( collectively " PPP income " ) during the six months ended June 30 , 2021. In response to the low interest rate environment and due to the proper positioning of our liability- sensitive balance sheet , we were also able to benefit from the rapid decline in interest rates , significantly reducing our total interest expense by $ 7.2 million , or 65.2 % , year - over - year . We continue to accumulate cash on our balance sheet due to the inflow of deposits from PPP forgiveness and various governmental efforts to support the economy . As a result , total deposits increased $ 232.7 million , or 12.0 % , year - over - year . Due to excess cash on the balance sheet , the net interest margin , excluding PPP income , decreased from 3.03 % in the first quarter of 2021 to 2.98 % in the second quarter of 2021 , but increased 26 basis points from 2.72 % during the second quarter of 2020. We are pleased to report an increase in the commercial loan portfolio of $ 46.3 million , or 4.4 % , excluding PPP loans , since year - end 2020 , notwithstanding industry - wide pandemic related slowdowns in demand , and the commercial loan pipeline remains strong as we enter the third quarter . We have successfully maintained our asset quality metrics at their historical levels over the course of the pandemic . Loan deferrals decreased from 14.7 % on June 30 , 2020 to 3.2 % on June 30 , 2021. Total delinquency and non - performing loans , excluding PPP loans , remain low at acceptable levels of 0.25 % and 0.34 % , respectively . Year - over - year , total non - performing loans decreased $ 4.4 million , or 42.4 % , to $ 6.0 million at June 30 , 2021. After careful review of our overall asset quality metrics and considering the improving economic trends , we released $ 1.2 million in reserves during the second quarter of 2021. Even after this release , our allowance for loan losses to total loans , excluding PPP loans , was 1.12 % at June 30 , 2021 , compared to 0.79 % at December 31 , 2019 , pre - COVID - 19 , evidencing our continuing prudent asset quality practices . During the six months ended June 30 , 2021 , we purchased 1.3 million shares of our common stock at an average price per share of $ 8.22 , representing 95 % of our tangible book value at quarter end . We continue to believe that the stock repurchase plan is a solid investment for our shareholders and provides us with the opportunity to leverage our capital and enhance shareholder value . We remain optimistic that over the next 12-24 months , the economy will continue to return to pre - COVID - 19 levels as the impacts of the vaccine and government stimulus take effect . We anticipate that we will see an increasing demand for our consumer and commercial loan products and will be able to fully leverage our cash and investment portfolio to benefit our net interest margin and to continue to enhance shareholder value . "