ROCKLAND, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Independent Bank Corp. (NASDAQ: INDB), parent of Rockland Trust Company, today announced 2015 third quarter net income of $18.6 million, or $0.71 per diluted share as compared to $17.5 million, or $0.67 per diluted share in the prior quarter. The second quarter of 2015 contained items which the Company considers non-core, such as merger and acquisition expenses, gains and losses on the sale of fixed income securities, and impairment on acquired facilities. The third quarter contained no such items. When excluding non-core items, net operating earnings for the third quarter of $18.6 million, or $0.71 per diluted share, increased by 4.1% and 4.4%, respectively, as compared to the prior quarter’s net operating earnings of $17.9 million, or $0.68 per diluted share.

“Loan growth improved and asset quality remained strong during the third quarter,” said Christopher Oddleifson, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Independent and Rockland Trust. “Rockland Trust has steadily increased earnings due to the disciplined efforts of my colleagues, who face intense competition every day. We remain focused on responsible, relationship-based growth and expansion.”

BALANCE SHEET

Total assets of $7.1 billion at September 30, 2015 decreased by $60.4 million, or 0.8%, from the prior quarter and increased by $751.1 million, or 11.8%, as compared to the year ago period, inclusive of the acquisition of Peoples Federal Bancshares ("Peoples").

The commercial loan portfolio increased by $49.1 million, or 1.3% (5.0% annualized) over the prior quarter, led by growth in the commercial real estate and construction sectors, as business activity continued to remain strong throughout the Company's footprint. The home equity portfolio also continued to experience growth due to sustained direct mail campaigns with an increase of 1.9% (7.6% annualized) over the prior quarter, while the residential mortgage portfolio remained stable in the third quarter. These factors contributed to growth in total loans at September 30, 2015 of $63.3 million, or 1.2% (4.6% annualized) over the prior quarter. Compared to the prior year period, total loans increased by $550.3 million, or 11.1%, inclusive of the Peoples acquisition.

Total deposits at September 30, 2015 decreased by $55.7 million, or 0.9% from the prior quarter and increased by $612.4 million, or 11.5% over the prior year period, inclusive of the acquisition of Peoples. Core deposits decreased by $41.2 million, or 3.1% on an annualized basis from the prior quarter, and represent 87.8% of total deposits at September 30, 2015, consistent with prior quarter levels. The decline in total and core deposits for the quarter was due in part to an outflow from a large short-term deposit related to the Company’s tax section 1031 exchange business as well as seasonal declines in government banking deposits. Total cost of deposits remained low at 20 basis points during the quarter, reflecting the Company’s continued emphasis on its core deposit customer base.

The securities portfolio increased by $10.6 million from the prior quarter to $814.4 million at September 30, 2015, due primarily to the purchase of $50.6 million of additional securities, offset by principal paydowns during the quarter. The securities portfolio comprised 11.4% of total assets as of September 30, 2015.

Stockholders’ equity at September 30, 2015 rose to $759.2 million, an increase of 2.1% from June 30, 2015. Compared to the year ago period, stockholders’ equity has increased by $132.0 million, or 21.0%, fueled primarily by the Peoples acquisition and strong earnings results. The strong growth in capital led to a further increase in the Company’s tangible book value per share of $0.59, or 2.9%, during the third quarter, to $20.81, which is 11.5% above the prior year level. In addition, the Company’s tangible common ratio of 7.88% represents an increase of 30 basis points from the prior quarter.

NET INTEREST INCOME

Net interest income increased to $55.0 million for the third quarter as compared to $53.7 million in the linked quarter, driven primarily by higher average earning asset levels. During the third quarter, the Company’s net interest margin decreased by four basis points from the prior quarter to 3.39%. The decline is reflective of increased liquid asset levels along with ongoing pressure on loan yields, partially offset by a three basis point positive impact from a security prepayment.

NONINTEREST INCOME

The Company recorded noninterest income of $19.2 million during the third quarter, which represents a $1.0 million, or 5.0%, decrease from the linked quarter. Significant changes in noninterest income in the third quarter compared to the prior quarter included the following:

• Deposit account fees and interchange and ATM fees increased by $471,000, or 5.7%.
• Investment management income decreased by $547,000, or 9.9%, primarily driven by seasonal tax preparation fees earned during the second quarter and an overall market driven decline in assets under administration, which decreased by 1.5% to $2.5 billion.
• Mortgage banking income increased by $254,000, or 20.7%, driven primarily by increased volume.
• Loan level derivative income decreased $462,000 due to lower volume based on customer demand.
• During the second quarter, the Company recorded gains of $798,000 on sales of fixed income securities. There were no such gains in the third quarter.
• Other noninterest income increased $78,000, or 3.8%, mainly due to increases in dividend income from the Company's investment in Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") stock.

NONINTEREST EXPENSE

The Company recorded noninterest expense of $47.0 million during the third quarter, a $1.6 million, or 3.3%, decrease from the prior quarter. Significant changes in noninterest expense in the third quarter compared to the prior quarter included the following:

• Salaries and employee benefits increased $367,000, or 1.4%, due primarily to increases in salaries and performance-based commissions. These increases were partially offset by decreases in payroll taxes, medical insurance and retirement plans.
• Occupancy and equipment expense decreased $229,000, or 4.0%, mainly due to reductions in seasonal maintenance costs and an impairment charge relating to an acquired facility incurred in the prior quarter.
• The Company incurred $271,000 in merger and acquisition costs during the second quarter of 2015, related to the Peoples acquisition. There were no such costs incurred during the third quarter.
• The Company incurred a loss of $1.1 million on the sale of pooled trust preferred and mortgage backed securities during the second quarter. There was no such loss during the third quarter.
• Other noninterest expenses decreased by $235,000, or 1.8%, driven primarily by lower advertising costs and reduced levels of other losses and charge-offs, offset by increases in loan workout costs and mortgage related expenses.

The Company generated a return on average assets and a return on average common equity of 1.03% and 9.75%, respectively, in the third quarter, as compared to 1.00% and 9.43%, respectively, for the prior quarter. On an operating basis, the return on average assets and the return on average common equity for the three months ended September 30, 2015 were 1.03% and 9.75%, respectively, as compared to 1.03% and 9.65%, respectively, for the prior quarter.

ASSET QUALITY

Asset quality metrics remained strong during the third quarter with total net charge-offs of $590,000, or 0.04% of average loans on an annualized basis, compared to 0.02% for the quarter ending June 30, 2015. The provision for loan losses was $800,000 for the third quarter as compared to $700,000 in the second quarter. Nonperforming loans increased during the third quarter by $3.4 million to $29.6 million, and represent 0.54% of total loans at September 30, 2015, as compared to 0.48% at June 30, 2015. Inclusive of a reduction in other real estate owned, total nonperforming assets increased to $32.1 million at the end of the third quarter, from $31.3 million at the end of the prior quarter. Delinquency as a percentage of loans was 0.43% at September 30, 2015, a decrease of six basis points from the prior quarter.

The allowance for loan losses was $55.2 million at September 30, 2015, as compared to $55.0 million at June 30, 2015. The Company’s allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans was 1.00% and 1.01% at September 30, 2015 and June 30, 2015, respectively, inclusive of the Peoples portfolio.

CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION

Christopher Oddleifson, Chief Executive Officer and Robert Cozzone, Chief Financial Officer will host a conference call to discuss third quarter earnings at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, October 16, 2015. Internet access to the call is available on the Company’s website at www.rocklandtrust.com or via telephonic access by dial-in at 1-888-336-7153 reference: INDB. A replay of the call will be available by calling 1-877-344-7529. Replay Conference Number: 10072927 and will available through October 30, 2015. Additionally, a webcast replay will be available until October 16, 2016.

ABOUT INDEPENDENT BANK CORP.

Independent Bank Corp. has approximately $7.1 billion in assets and is the holding company for Rockland Trust Company, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Massachusetts. Rockland Trust offers a wide range of banking, investment, and insurance services to businesses and individuals through retail branches, commercial lending offices, investment management offices, and residential lending centers located in Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as through telephone banking, mobile banking, and the Internet. Rockland Trust is an FDIC Member and an Equal Housing Lender. To find out why Rockland Trust is the bank “Where Each Relationship Matters ®”, please visit www.rocklandtrust.com.

This press release contains certain “forward-looking statements” with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and business of the Company.These statements may be identified by such forward-looking terminology as “expect,” “achieve,” “plan,” “believe,” “future,” “positioned,” “continued,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” or similar statements or variations of such terms.Actual results may differ from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

• a weakening in the United States economy in general and the regional and local economies within the New England region and the Company’s market area;
• adverse changes in the local real estate market;
• acquisitions may not produce results at levels or within time frames originally anticipated and may result in unforeseen integration issues or impairment of goodwill and/or other intangibles;
• changes in, trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
• higher than expected tax rates and any changes in and any failure by the Company to comply with tax laws generally and requirements of the federal New Markets Tax Credit program;
• unexpected changes in market interest rates for interest earning assets and/or interest bearing liabilities;
• adverse changes in asset quality including an unanticipated credit deterioration in our loan portfolio;
• unexpected increased competition in the Company’s market area;
• unanticipated loan delinquencies, loss of collateral, decreased service revenues, and other potential negative effects on our business caused by severe weather or other external events;
• a deterioration in the conditions of the securities markets;
• our inability to adapt to changes in information technology;
• electronic fraudulent activity within the financial services industry, especially in the commercial banking sector;
• adverse changes in consumer spending and savings habits;
• the inability to realize expected revenue synergies from the Peoples Federal Bancshares merger in the amounts or in the timeframe anticipated;
• inability to retain customers and employees, including those of Peoples Federal Bancshares;
• the effect of new laws and regulations regarding the financial services industry including, but not limited to, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act;
• changes in laws and regulations (including laws and regulations concerning taxes, banking, securities and insurance) generally applicable to the Company’s business;
• changes in accounting policies, practices and standards, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and other accounting standard setters; and
• other unexpected material adverse changes in our operations or earnings.

The Company wishes to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements as the Company’s business and its forward-looking statements involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (“Risk Factors”).Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any such forward-looking statements, whether in response to new information, future events or otherwise.Any public statements or disclosures by the Company following this release which modify or impact any of the forward-looking statements contained in this release will be deemed to modify or supersede such statements in this release.In addition to the information set forth in this press release, you should carefully consider the Risk Factors.

This press release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).This information includes operating earnings and operating EPS, return on average assets and return on average common equity calculated on an operating basis. The non-GAAP financial measures, including operating earnings and operating EPS, exclude gain or loss due to items that management believes are unrelated to its core banking business and will not have a material financial impact on operating results in future periods, such as gains or losses on the sales of securities, merger and acquisition expenses, and other items.The Company’s management uses operating earnings and operating EPS to measure the strength of the Company’s core banking business and to identify trends that may to some extent be obscured by such excluded gains or losses. The Company has included information on these non-GAAP measures because management believes that investors may find it useful to have access to the same analytical tool used by management and may also find that it facilitates the comparison of the Company to other companies in the financial services industry.These non-GAAP measures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP.An item which management deems to be non-core and excludes when computing these non-GAAP measures can be of substantial importance to the Company’s results for any particular quarter or year. The Company’s non-GAAP performance measures, including operating earnings and operating EPS, are not necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures which may be presented by other companies.