Second Quarter 2022 Highlights

• Loan growth of $494.1 million (up 35.7% annualized) including $314.8 million for commercial loans excluding PPP (up 34.5% annualized) and $139.2 million for residential loans including held for sale (up 37.8% annualized)
• Deposit growth of $199.1 million (up 12.6% annualized) including $53.4 million of non-interest-bearing (up 12.3% annualized)
• Net interest income (tax equivalent) of $59.3 million or $58.5 million excluding PPP and marks, up 2.1% and 8.8%, respectively, from 2022 first quarter
• Net interest margin (tax equivalent) of 3.36% or 3.32% excluding PPP and acquisition marks accretion, down six but up 12 basis points, respectively, from 2022 first quarter
• Asset quality improved with non-performing loans down 26.6% and classified loans down 19.0% from 2022 first quarter
• Declared dividend of $0.30 per share, up 11.1% from prior year comparable period

Premier Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: PFC) (“Premier” or the “Company”) announced today 2022 second quarter results. Net income for the second quarter of 2022 was $22.4 million, or $0.63 per diluted common share, compared to $31.4 million, or $0.84 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2021. The year-over-year comparison is primarily impacted by increased provision for credit losses due to loan growth, lower PPP interest income and securities gain/loss fluctuations, which are summarized as follows and discussed further below.

“Excellent work by the entire Premier team to essentially drive an entire year’s worth of loan and deposit growth into a single quarter,” said Gary Small, President and CEO of Premier. “Commercial, consumer and residential mortgage balances grew in a range of 8.6% to 13.5% for the quarter while deposit growth totaled 3.2%. Year-to-date loan growth adjusting for PPP totaled 12.4%, a reflection of the strength of the business opportunities across our markets and the solid financial position of the households we serve.”

Quarterly results

Strong loan and deposit growth

Gross loans including those held for sale increased $494.1 million (up 35.7% annualized) on a linked quarter basis. Loan growth occurred in each category including $314.8 million from commercial loans excluding PPP (up 34.5% annualized), $139.2 million from residential loans including held for sale (up 37.8% annualized) and $53.2 million from consumer/home equity loans (up 54.1% annualized). PPP loans decreased $14.1 million and were only $4.6 million as of June 30, 2022.

Deposits increased $199.1 million (up 12.6% annualized) on a linked quarter basis. Deposit growth occurred in each category including $53.4 million from non-interest bearing deposits (up 12.3% annualized) and $145.8 million from interest-bearing deposits (up 12.7% annualized).

Net interest income and margin expansion

Net interest income of $59.3 million on a tax equivalent basis in the second quarter of 2022 was up 2.1% from $58.1 million in the first quarter of 2022 and up 4.3% from $56.9 million in the second quarter of 2021. Net interest margin of 3.36% in the second quarter of 2022 decreased eight basis points from 3.44% in the first quarter of 2022 but increased two basis points from 3.34% in the second quarter of 2021. Results for all periods include the impact of PPP as well as acquisition marks and related accretion for the UCFC acquisition. Second quarter 2022 includes $469,000 of accretion in interest income, $237,000 of accretion in interest expense and $160,000 of interest income on average balances of $13.0 million for PPP. Only $12,000 of PPP fees remain unrecognized as of June 30, 2022. Excluding the impact of acquisition marks accretion and PPP loans, net interest income was $58.5 million, up 8.8% from $53.7 million in the first quarter of 2022 and up 14.0% from $51.3 million in the second quarter of 2021. Additionally, net interest margin was 3.32% for the second quarter of 2022, up 12 basis points from 3.20% for the first quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2021. These improved results are primarily due to the combination of loan growth excluding PPP as discussed above and higher loan yields excluding PPP and acquisition marks accretion, which were 3.94% for the second quarter of 2022 compared to 3.80% in the first quarter of 2022 and 3.91% in the second quarter of 2021. The cost of funds in the second quarter of 2022 was 0.24%, up six basis points from the first quarter of 2022 but down two basis points from the second quarter of 2021. The linked quarter increase was primarily due to an increased utilization of higher cost FHLB borrowings as a result of loan growth in excess of deposit growth. The year-over-year decrease is primarily due to lower average deposit costs, which were 0.17% for the second quarter of 2022 compared to 0.22% for the second quarter of 2021.

Service fees increasing but total non-interest income impacted by mortgage banking and securities

Service fees in the second quarter of 2022 were $6.7 million, an 11% increase from $6.0 million in the first quarter of 2022 and a 6% increase from $6.3 million in the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to increased consumer activity for interchange and ATM/NSF charges. However, total non-interest income in the second quarter of 2022 of $14.4 million was down from $16.9 million in the first quarter of 2022 and $17.3 million in the second quarter of 2021 due to fluctuations in mortgage banking and gains/losses on securities. Mortgage banking income decreased $2.3 million on a linked quarter basis due to a $1.4 million decrease in gains primarily from lower saleable mix and a $0.9 million lower MSR valuation gain. Mortgage banking income for the second quarter decreased $0.2 million year-over-year due to a $1.5 million decrease in gains primarily from compressed margins and lower saleable mix offset by a $1.3 million benefit from lower MSR amortization and an MSR valuation gain in 2022 compared to a loss in 2021. Securities losses were $1.2 million in the second quarter of 2022 from decreased valuations on equity securities, compared to $0.6 million of losses on equity securities in the first quarter of 2022 and compared to $0.7 million of net gains in the second quarter of 2021, comprised of $1.5 million from available-for-sale security sales gains offset by $0.8 million of losses on equity securities. Other income for the second quarter decreased $1.5 million from 2021, primarily due to a $1.3 million non-recurring settlement payment in the second quarter of 2021.

“The rising rate environment is having a predictably favorable effect on net interest income,” said Small. “Margin improvement combined with outstanding loan growth make a powerful combination overcoming the unfavorable effects of a flat to inverted yield curve. Our favorable interest income trend is serving to offset the negative effect the current rate environment has created for the residential mortgage business. While our mortgage origination activity has performed well during the first half of the year, the combination of rising rates, interest rate volatility, and general market uncertainty continues to put pressure on gain on sale fee income and is expected to continue through the remainder of the year.”

Managing non-interest expenses and efficiency

Non-interest expenses in the second quarter of 2022 were $39.1 million, a 5% decrease from $41.3 million in the first quarter of 2022 but a 3% increase from $38.1 million in the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to fluctuations in compensation and benefit expenses. Compensation and benefits were $22.3 million in the second quarter of 2022, compared to $25.5 million in the first quarter of 2022 and $21.0 million in the second quarter of 2021. The linked quarter decrease was primarily due to higher deferred costs related to increased loan production and lower healthcare benefit costs. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to costs related to higher staffing levels for our growth initiatives. All other non-interest expenses increased $1.0 million on a linked quarter basis primarily due to consulting/advisory services and decreased a net $0.3 million on a year-over-year basis due to cost cutting initiatives. The efficiency ratio for the second quarter 2022 of 52.23% improved from 54.60% in the first quarter of 2022, primarily due to lower expenses, and was generally consistent with 51.85% in the second quarter of 2021.

“We continue to invest in our people and efforts to improve our client's experience while managing to keep our overall expense profile well under control,” said Small.

Credit quality

Non-performing assets totaled $35.2 million, or 0.44% of assets, at June 30, 2022, a decrease from $47.6 million at March 31, 2022, and from $41.3 million at June 30, 2021. Loan delinquencies increased to $11.2 million, or 0.2% of loans, at June 30, 2022, from $7.6 million at March 31, 2022, and from $9.9 million at June 30, 2021. Classified loans totaled $48.8 million, or 0.7% of loans, as of June 30, 2022, a decrease from $60.3 million at March 31, 2022, and from $101.3 million at June 30, 2021.

The 2022 second quarter results include net loan charge-offs of $5.3 million and a total provision expense of $6.6 million, compared with net loan recoveries of $244,000 and a total provision benefit of $3.9 million for the same period in 2021. The current year provision is primarily due to loan growth, whereas the prior year provision was primarily due to the improving economic environment following the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic recession and reserve increase in 2020. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.14% at June 30, 2022, compared with 1.25% at March 31, 2022, and 1.33% at June 30, 2021. The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans excluding PPP and including unaccreted acquisition marks was 1.21% at June 30, 2022, compared with 1.34% at March 31, 2022, and 1.57% at June 30, 2021. The continued economic improvement following the 2020 pandemic-related downturn has resulted in a year-over-year decrease in the allowance percentages.

“Asset quality continued to improve this quarter with a 27% decrease in non-performing loans and a 19% decrease in classified loans,” said Paul Nungester, CFO of Premier. “Our non-performing loans have declined to 0.5% of total loans while our coverage level of non-performing loans has increased to 193%.”

Year to date results

For the six-month period ended June 30, 2022, net income totaled $48.7 million, or $1.36 per diluted common share, compared to $72.4 million, or $1.94 per diluted common share for the six months ended June 30, 2021. The year-over-year comparison is primarily impacted by fluctuations in the provision for credit losses, mortgage banking income, PPP interest income and securities gains/losses, which are summarized as follows.

Net interest income of $117.4 million on a tax equivalent basis in the first half of 2022 was up 3.3% from $113.6 million in the first half of 2021. Net interest margin of 3.40% in the first half of 2022 increased by one basis point from 3.39% in the first half of 2021. Results for each period include the impact of PPP as well as acquisition marks and related accretion for the UCFC acquisition. The first half of 2022 includes $959,000 of accretion in interest income, $484,000 of accretion in interest expense and $3.8 million of interest income on average balances of $22.9 million for PPP. Excluding the impact of acquisition marks accretion and PPP loans, net interest income was $112.2 million, up 10.8% from $101.3 million in the first half of 2021. Additionally, net interest margin was 3.26% for the first half of 2022, up four basis points from 3.22% for first half of 2021. These improved results are primarily due to lower costs of funds and loan growth excluding PPP, partially offset by lower PPP income and accretion from acquisition marks. Cost of funds in the first half of 2022 were 0.21%, down 8 basis points from the first half of 2021. The year-over-year decrease is primarily due to lower average deposit costs, which were 0.16% for the first half of 2022 compared to 0.25% for the first half of 2021.

Service fees in the first half of 2022 were $12.7 million, an 8% increase from $11.8 million in the first half of 2021, primarily due to increased consumer activity for interchange and ATM/NSF charges. However, total non-interest income in the first half of 2022 of $31.2 million was down from $43.4 million in the first half of 2021 due to fluctuations in mortgage banking, gains/losses on securities and other income. Mortgage banking income decreased $6.5 million from 2021 due to a $4.6 million decrease in gains primarily from compressed margins and lower saleable mix and a $3.3 million decrease from lower MSR valuation gains, partially offset by a $1.5 million benefit from lower MSR amortization. Securities losses were $1.8 million in the first half of 2022 from decreased valuations on equity securities compared to $2.8 million of net gains in the first half of 2021 comprised of $2.0 million from available-for-sale security sales gains and $0.8 million of gains on equity securities. Other income for the first half decreased $1.5 million from 2021, primarily due to a $1.3 million non-recurring settlement payment in the first half of 2021.

Non-interest expenses in the first half of 2022 were $80.4 million, a 5% increase from $76.7 million in the first half of 2021, primarily due to fluctuations in compensation and benefit expenses. Compensation and benefits were $47.8 million in the first half of 2022 compared to $43.0 million in the first half of 2021. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to costs related to higher staffing levels for our growth initiatives. All other non-interest expenses decreased a net $1.2 million on a year-over-year basis due to cost cutting initiatives. The efficiency ratio for the first half of 2022 was 53.42% compared to 49.75% in the first half of 2021, partly due to higher expenses but primarily due to lower non-interest income discussed above.

The 2022 first half results include net loan charge-offs of $5.2 million and a total provision expense of $7.5 million, compared with net loan recoveries of $500,000 and a total provision benefit of $10.9 million for the same period in 2021. The current year’s provision expense is primarily due to loan growth, whereas the prior year’s provision benefit was primarily due to the improving economic environment following the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic recession and reserve increase in 2020.

Total assets at $8.01 billion

Total assets at June 30, 2022, were $8.01 billion, compared to $7.59 billion at March 31, 2022, and $7.59 billion at June 30, 2021. Gross loans receivable were $5.90 billion at June 30, 2022, compared to $5.39 billion at March 31, 2022, and $5.35 billion at June 30, 2021. At June 30, 2022, gross loans receivable increased $547.7 million from a year ago, despite a $282.7 million decrease in PPP loans. Excluding PPP, loans grew $830.4 million organically, or 16.4% from a year ago. Commercial loans excluding PPP increased by $543.2 million from June 30, 2021, to 2022, or 15.9%. Securities at June 30, 2022, were $1.15 billion, compared to $1.23 billion at March 31, 2022, and $1.29 billion at June 30, 2021. Also, at June 30, 2022, goodwill and other intangible assets totaled $339.3 million compared to $340.6 million at March 31, 2022, and $345.1 million at June 30, 2021, with the decreases attributable to intangibles amortization.

Total deposits at June 30, 2021, were $6.52 billion, compared with $6.32 billion at March 31, 2022, and $6.29 billion at June 30, 2021. At June 30, 2022, total deposits grew $199.1 million organically, or 12.6% annualized from the prior quarter and $224.9 million of 3.6% from June 30, 2021.

Total stockholders’ equity was $0.90 billion at June 30, 2022, compared to $0.94 billion at March 31, 2022, and $1.03 billion at June 30, 2021. The quarterly decrease in stockholders’ equity was primarily due to a decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) and buybacks. The decrease in AOCI is primarily related to a $42.0 million negative valuation adjustment on the available-for-sale securities portfolio. The Company also completed the repurchase of 90,870 common shares for $2.6 million during the quarter. At June 30, 2022, 1,200,130 common shares remained available for repurchase under the Company’s existing repurchase program.

Dividend to be paid August 12

The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per common share payable August 12, 2022, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 5, 2022. The dividend represents an annual dividend of 4.4 percent based on the Premier common stock closing price on July 25, 2022. Premier has approximately 35,555,000 common shares outstanding.

Conference call

Premier will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, to discuss the earnings results and business trends. The conference call may be accessed by calling 1-844-200-6205 and using access code 276702. Internet access to the call is also available (in listen-only mode) at the following URL: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/403093314. The webcast replay of the conference call will be available at www.PremierFinCorp.com for one year.

About Premier Financial Corp.

Premier Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: PFC), headquartered in Defiance, Ohio, is the holding company for Premier Bank and First Insurance Group. Premier Bank, headquartered in Youngstown, Ohio, operates 74 branches and 12 loan offices in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia (West Virginia office operates as Home Savings Bank) and serves clients through a team of wealth professionals dedicated to each community banking branch. First Insurance Group is a full-service insurance agency with ten offices in Ohio. For more information, visit the company’s website at PremierFinCorp.com.

Financial Statements and Highlights Follow

Safe Harbor Statement

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding projections, forecasts, goals and plans of Premier Financial Corp. and its management, future movements of interests, loan or deposit production levels, future credit quality ratios, future strength in the market area, and growth projections. These statements do not describe historical or current facts and may be identified by words such as “intend,” “intent,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “target,” “plan,” “anticipate,” or similar words or phrases, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “can,” or similar verbs. There can be no assurances that the forward-looking statements included in this presentation will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties in the forward-looking statements, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Premier or any other persons, that our objectives and plans will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, any one or more of which could affect Premier’s business and financial results in future periods and could cause actual results to differ materially from plans and projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but not limited to: impacts from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the economy, financial markets, our customers, and our business and results of operation; changes in interest rates; disruptions in the mortgage market; risks and uncertainties inherent in general and local banking, insurance and mortgage conditions; political uncertainty; uncertainty in U.S. fiscal or monetary policy; uncertainty concerning or disruptions relating to tensions surrounding the current socioeconomic landscape; competitive factors specific to markets in which Premier operates; increasing competition for financial products from other financial institutions and nonbank financial technology companies; legislative or regulatory rulemaking or actions; capital market conditions; security breaches or unauthorized disclosure of confidential customer or Company information; interruptions in the effective operation of information and transaction processing systems of Premier or Premier’s vendors and service providers; failures or delays in integrating or adopting new technology; the impact of the cessation of LIBOR interest rates and implementation of a replacement rate; and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and any further amendments thereto. All forward-looking statements made in this presentation are based on information presently available to the management of Premier and speak only as of the date on which they are made. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law. As required by U.S. GAAP, Premier will evaluate the impact of subsequent events through the issuance date of its June 30, 2022, consolidated financial statements as part of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to be filed with the SEC. Accordingly, subsequent events could occur that may cause Premier to update its critical accounting estimates and to revise its financial information from that which is contained in this news release.

Non-GAAP Reporting Measures

We believe that net income, as defined by U.S. GAAP, is the most appropriate earnings measurement. However, we consider core net interest income to be a useful supplemental measure of our operating performance. We define core net interest income as net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis excluding income from PPP loans and purchase accounting marks accretion. We believe that this metric is a useful supplemental measure of operating performance because investors and equity analysts may use this measure to compare the operating performance of the Company between periods or as compared to other financial institutions or other companies on a consistent basis without having to account for income from PPP loans and purchase accounting marks accretion. Our supplemental reporting measures and similarly entitled financial measures are widely used by investors, equity and debt analysts and ratings agencies in the valuation, comparison, rating and investment recommendations of companies. Our management uses these financial measures to facilitate internal and external comparisons to historical operating results and in making operating decisions. Additionally, they are utilized by the Board of Directors to evaluate management. The supplemental reporting measures do not represent net income or cash flow provided from operating activities as determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternative measures of profitability or liquidity. Finally, the supplemental reporting measures, as defined by us, may not be comparable to similarly entitled items reported by other financial institutions or other companies. Please see the exhibits for reconciliations of our supplemental reporting measures.