WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J., Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Parke Bancorp, Inc. ("Parke Bancorp") (NASDAQ: "PKBK"), the parent company of Parke Bank, announced its operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.

Highlights for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018:

• Net income available to common shareholders increased $6.5 million to $6.8 million, or $0.65 per basic common share and $0.63 per diluted common share for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to net income available to common shareholders of $0.3 million, or $0.04 per basic common share and $0.04 per diluted common share for the same period in 2017. During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company wrote down its deferred tax asset (DTA) by $3.2 million as a result of the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on December 22, 2017. Excluding the non-recurring charge to the DTA in 2017, the increase in net income was $3.3 million.
                                                    
• Net interest income increased 24.2% to $13.2 million for the fourth quarter of  2018, compared to $10.6 million for the same quarter of 2017.
                                                
• Net income available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $24.4 million or $2.53 per basic common share and $2.28 per diluted common share, compared to $10.8 million, or $1.28  per basic common share and $1.13 per diluted common share for the year ended December 31, 2017, an increase in net income of $13.6 million or 126.8%. Excluding the non-recurring charge to the DTA in 2017, the increase in net income was $10.4 million.
                                                         
• Net interest income increased 19.1% to $48.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to $40.4 million for the same period in 2017.

The following is a recap of the significant items that impacted the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2018 period:

Interest income increased $4.5 million and $13.2 million for the fourth quarter and the year ended December 31, 2018, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2017 primarily due to higher loan volumes and a higher yield on loans. Interest expense increased $1.9 million and $5.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2018 and the year ended December 31, 2018, respectively, compared to the same periods in 2017, primarily due to higher deposit volumes and rates.

The provision for loan losses increased $0.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2018 and decreased $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the same periods of 2017. The decrease in the provision year over year is primarily due to improving credit quality.

For the fourth quarter of 2018, non-interest income increased $0.2 million compared to the fourth quarter of 2017, with the increase primarily attributable to increased gains on the sale of SBA loans and increased fee incomes from deposit accounts and loan fee accounts, partially offset by increase in losses related to the sale of Other Real Estate Owned ("OREO"). For the year ended December 31, 2018, non-interest income increased $1.8 million primarily due to increased fee incomes from deposit and loan accounts as well as decrease in losses related to the sale of OREO.

Non-interest expense increased $42,000 for the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to the same period of 2017. For the year ended December 31, 2018, non-interest expense increased $1.0 million compared to 2017, primarily due to an increase in compensation and occupancy costs reflecting the growth of the business. The less-than-proportional increase in non-interest expense for the quarter and the year when compared with the increases in interest income for the same periods in 2018 reflected an increase in the operating efficiency of the Company.

Income tax expense decreased $3.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, and decreased $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, compared to the same periods of last year. The decrease in income tax expenses reflected the combined effects of increased income for the quarter and the year ended December 31, 2018, and the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The effective tax rates for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2018 were 22.4% and 25.1%, respectively, compared to 91.5% and 51.1% for the same periods in 2017. The tax provisions of the fourth quarter and the year ended December 2017 included a non recurring charge off of the Company's deferred tax assets due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

December 31, 2018 discussion of financial condition

• Total assets increased to $1.47 billion at December 31, 2018, from $1.14 billion at December 31, 2017, an increase of $329.9 million or 29.0%.
                                                              
• Cash and cash equivalents totaled $154.5 million at December 31, 2018 as compared to $42.1 million at December 31, 2017. The $112.4 million increase was primarily due to the increase in deposits.
                                           
• The investment securities portfolio decreased to $32.4 million at December 31, 2018, from $40.3 million at December 31, 2017, a decrease of $7.9 million or 19.5% primarily due to the payoffs of securities.
                                                 
• Gross loans increased to $1.24 billion at December 31, 2018, from $1.01 billion at December 31, 2017, an increase of $228.3 million or 22.5%.
                                           
• Nonperforming loans at December 31, 2018 decreased to $3.1 million, representing 0.25% of total loans, a decrease of $1.5 million, or 32.4%, from $4.5 million of nonperforming loans at December 31, 2017. OREO at December 31, 2018 was $5.1 million, a decrease of $2.1 million compared to $7.2 million at December 31, 2017 primarily due to the sale and valuation adjustment of OREO assets. Nonperforming assets (consisting of nonperforming loans and OREO) represented 0.6% of total assets at December 31, 2018, as compared to 1.0% of total assets at December 31, 2017. Loans past due 30 to 89 days were $0.3 million at December 31, 2018, a decrease of $147,000 from December 31, 2017.
                                                       
• The allowance for loan losses was $19.1 million at December 31, 2018, as compared to $16.5 million at December 31, 2017. The ratio of the allowance for loan losses to total loans was 1.54% at December 31, 2018, and 1.63% at December 31, 2017. The ratio of allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans improved to 622.3% at December 31, 2018, compared to 364.7%, at December 31, 2017.
                                                                       
• Total deposits were $1.18 billion at December 31, 2018, up from $866.4 million at December 31, 2017, an increase of $317.5 million or 36.6% compared to December 31, 2017. Deposits growth was primarily due to an increase in non-interest bearing demand deposits and was driven primarily by the quick turnover cash flows of the Company's corporate customers.
                                                         
• Total borrowings were $118.1 million at December 31, 2018, a decrease of $10.0 million or 7.8% from December 31, 2017.
                                              
• Total shareholders' equity increased to $153.6 million at December 31, 2018, from $134.8 million at December 31, 2017, an increase of $18.8 million or 13.9% primarily due to the retention of earnings.

CEO outlook and commentary

Vito S. Pantilione, President and Chief Executive Officer of Parke Bancorp and Parke Bank, provided the following statement:

"On January 29, 1999, Parke Bank opened for business in a trailer with $8 million in assets and 10 employees. Twenty years later we have over $1.4 billion in assets with nearly 100 employees in seven full-service branches. What a great way to celebrate our 20th anniversary by reporting record earnings to our shareholders. The Company generated over $24 million, or $2.28 per diluted common share, in net income in 2018, an increase of 127% over last year. Our strong net income was supported by robust growth in our assets, loans and deposits while maintaining very strict controls of our expenses. Net interest income increased to $48.1 million in 2018 primarily due to the growth in income from our loan portfolio, which increased $228.3 million to $1.24 billion in 2018, a 22.5% increase over 2017. The increase in our loans was supported by our very strong growth in deposits, which was up $318 million to $1.18 billion, a 36.6% increase compared to 2017. Equally important is the growth in our Company's shareholders' equity, which increased to $154 million, a 13.9% increase over 2017.

The strong economy and low unemployment is expected to continue in 2019 providing continued growth potential in the banking industry and the Company. Recent Federal Reserve comments suggests that a pause or slowing of anticipated interest rate increases may be warranted due to the economy metrics, including inflation that appears to be under control. We will continue to "block and tackle", the basics of hard work in moving forward. Our Board of Directors continued their commitment to our shareholders approving an increase in our cash dividends in 2018 to 14 cents per share. Our Company is well positioned to take advantage of the many opportunities in the market."

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties which may cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors; our ability to continue to generate strong net earnings; our ability to continue to reduce our nonperforming loans and delinquencies and the expenses associated with them; our ability to realize a high recovery rate on disposition of troubled assets; our ability to take advantage of opportunities in the improving economy and banking environment; our ability to continue to pay a dividend in the future; our ability to enhance shareholder value in the future; our ability to continue growing our Company and support our profitability; our ability to prudently expand our operations in our market and in new markets; our ability to tightly control expenses;

and our ability to continue to grow our loan portfolio, therefore, readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Parke Bancorp, Inc. does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligations to publicly release the results of any revisions that may be made to any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such circumstance.

Financial Supplement:

Table 1: Condensed Balance Sheet (Unaudited)

Table 2: Consolidated Income Statement (Unaudited)

Table 3: Operating Ratios

Table 4: Asset Quality Data

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SOURCE Parke Bancorp, Inc.