Alerus Financial Corporation Reports Second Quarter 2022 Net Income of $9.3 Million

Alerus Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: ALRS) reported net income of $9.3 million for the second quarter of 2022, or $0.52 per diluted common share, compared to net income of $10.2 million, or $0.57 per diluted common share, for the first quarter of 2022, and net income of $11.7 million, or $0.66 per diluted common share, for the second quarter of 2021.

CEO Comments

President and Chief Executive Officer Katie Lorenson said, “In the second quarter, we reported earnings per share of $0.53, which included a merger expense impact of $(0.05) related to the acquisition of Metro Phoenix Bank. Excluding the impact of this merger related expense, our underlying core ROE was 12.7% which is consistent with our long-term strategic performance and continued goal of achieving a ROE greater than 12%. We continue to see robust loan growth which drove solid net interest income growth. Despite the challenging mortgage and equity markets, we saw the value of our diversified business model as we expanded our client base in both retirement services and wealth management through consistent execution of our One Alerus Growth Strategy.

Our credit quality remains strong and our allowance for loan loss reserve is 1.66% to total loans. We are well positioned for any potential economic volatility, with a common tier 1 ratio of 14.19%. With the closing of the Metro Phoenix Bank acquisition and the continued recruiting successes, Alerus is poised to expand its commercial presence especially in the faster growing parts of our footprint. As we continue to grow and position ourselves for the long term, I want to thank our talented team members for their hard work and dedication to serving in the best interest of our clients.”

Quarterly Highlights

• Return on average total assets of 1.14%, compared to 1.26% for the first quarter of 2022
• Return on average common equity of 11.93%, compared to 11.78% for the first quarter of 2022
• Return on average tangible common equity⁽¹⁾ of 15.25%, compared to 14.72% for the first quarter of 2022
• Net interest margin (tax-equivalent) was 2.98%, compared to 2.83% for the first quarter of 2022
• Allowance for loan losses to total loans was 1.66%, compared to 1.80% as of December 31, 2021
• Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2022 was 56.20% of total revenue, compared to 57.62% for the first quarter of 2022
• Loans held for investment increased $132.2 million, or 7.5%, since December 31, 2021; excluding Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP loans, loans held for investment increased $158.8 million, or 9.2%, since December 31, 2021
• Common equity tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets was 14.19%, compared to 14.65% as of December 31, 2021

(1) Represents a non-GAAP financial measure. See “Non-GAAP to GAAP Reconciliations and Calculation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Selected Financial Data (unaudited)

Results of Operations

Net Interest Income

Net interest income for the second quarter of 2022 was $22.8 million, a $1.1 million, or 5.1%, increase from the first quarter of 2022. Net interest income increased $1.6 million, or 7.7%, from $21.1 million for the second quarter of 2021. The linked quarter increase in net interest income was primarily driven by increases of $696 thousand in interest income from loans and $625 thousand in interest income from investment securities, partially offset by a $259 thousand increase in interest expense. Interest expense increased due to an increase in short-term borrowings because of corresponding decrease in deposits. Interest income from loans increased primarily due to a $70.4 million increase in average loans.

Net interest margin (tax-equivalent), a non-GAAP financial measure, was 2.98% for the second quarter of 2022, a 15 basis point increase from 2.83% for the first quarter of 2022, and a 10 basis point increase from 2.88% in the second quarter of 2021, primarily due to an increase in earning asset yields and a change in balance sheet mix given strong growth in the loan portfolio.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2022 was $29.2 million, a $244 thousand, or 0.8%, decrease from the first quarter of 2022. This linked quarter decrease was primarily driven by a $1.4 million decrease in retirement and benefit services revenue, partially offset by a $1.1 million increase in mortgage banking revenue. Retirement and benefit services revenue decreased primarily due to decreases of $685 thousand in non-asset based fees and $668 thousand in asset based fees. The decreases in non-asset based fees were primarily the result of seasonally lower revenues in the health and welfare and payroll businesses. Asset based fees for retirement and benefit services revenue decreased primarily as a result of a $3.6 billion, or 10.1%, decrease in the market value of assets under administration/management primarily due to market value decreases in the bond and equity markets. Mortgage banking revenue increased primarily due to an $82.6 million, or 44.2%, increase in mortgage originations as well as a 64 basis point increase in the gain on sale margin.

Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2022 decreased $7.5 million, or 20.5%, from $36.7 million in the second quarter of 2021. This year over year decrease was primarily the result of a $6.2 million decrease in mortgage banking revenue as well as a $1.6 million decrease in retirement and benefit services revenue, partially offset by a $410 thousand increase in wealth management revenue. Mortgage banking revenue decreased primarily due to a $276.0 million decrease in mortgage originations as well as a 29 basis point decrease in gain on sale margin. Retirement and benefit services revenue decreased primarily due to decreases of $912 thousand in asset based fees and $667 thousand in non-asset based fees. The asset based fees for retirement and benefit services decreased primarily due to a $5.2 billion, or 14.1%, decrease in assets under administration/management. Non-asset based fees decreased primarily due to a $316 thousand decrease in plan document fees. Wealth management revenue increased primarily due to a $608.8 million increase in assets under management.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense for the second quarter of 2022 was $40.0 million, a $1.9 million, or 5.0%, increase compared to the first quarter of 2022. The quarter over quarter increase was primarily driven by increases of $2.2 million in compensation expense and $705 thousand in professional fees and assessments. Partially offsetting these increases were decreases of $375 thousand in employee taxes and benefits and $314 thousand in occupancy and equipment expense. The increase in compensation expense was primarily due to an increase in mortgage originations. Professional fees and assessments increased primarily due to $814 thousand in merger related expenses from our acquisition of MPB BHC, Inc. The decrease in employee taxes and benefits was primarily due to seasonally higher payroll taxes in the first quarter. Occupancy and equipment expensed decreased primarily as a result of a decrease in depreciation expense, a result of assets being fully depreciated.

Noninterest expense for the second quarter of 2022 decreased $2.6 million, or 6.0%, from $42.6 million in the second quarter of 2021. The year over year decrease in noninterest expense was primarily due to a $3.1 million decrease in compensation expense as well as a $717 thousand decrease in mortgage and lending expenses, partially offset by a $737 thousand increase in professional fees and assessments. The decreases in compensation expense and mortgage and lending expenses were primarily due to a $276.0 million decrease in mortgage originations. Professional fees and assessments increased primarily due to the acquisition of Metro Phoenix Bank.

Financial Condition

Total assets were $3.3 billion as of June 30, 2022, a decrease of $97.6 million, or 2.9%, from December 31, 2021. The overall change in assets included decreases of $205.3 million in cash and cash equivalents and $75.2 million in investment securities. Partially offsetting these decreases were increases of $132.2 million in loans held for investment and $21.2 million in deferred tax assets. Deferred tax assets increased primarily due to the impact of unrealized losses attributed to available-for-sale investment securities. If PPP loans were excluded, loans held for investment would have increased $158.8 million, or 9.2%, from December 31, 2021.

Loans

Total loans were $1.9 billion as of June 30, 2022, an increase of $132.2 million, or 7.5%, from December 31, 2021. This increase was primarily a result of increases of $57.9 million in residential real estate first mortgages and $47.7 million in commercial and industrial loans. If PPP loans were excluded, commercial and industrial loans would have increased $74.3 million, or 18.4%, from December 31, 2021, primarily as a result of organic growth.

The following table presents the composition of our loan portfolio as of the dates indicated:

Deposits

Total deposits were $2.6 billion as of June 30, 2022, a decrease of $301.0 million, or 10.3%, from December 31, 2021. Interest-bearing deposits decreased $127.0 million, while noninterest-bearing deposits decreased $174.0 million in the second quarter of 2022. The decrease in interest-bearing deposits included decreases of $72.0 million in interest-bearing demand deposits, $32.5 million in time deposits and $22.9 million in money market savings deposits. The decrease in interest-bearing demand deposits decreased due to a seasonal decrease in our public unit deposits. Time deposits decreased primarily due to clients shifting balances to more liquid accounts. Synergistic deposits decreased $82.1 million from December 31, 2021, primarily due to year-end seasonally higher temporary balances from retirement plan terminations. Excluding synergistic deposits, commercial transaction deposits decreased $178.0 million and consumer transaction deposits decreased $10.1 million. Noninterest-bearing deposits as a percentage of total deposits were 29.2% as of June 30, 2022, compared to 32.1% as of December 31, 2021.

The following table presents the composition of our deposit portfolio as of the dates indicated:

Asset Quality

Total nonperforming assets were $5.2 million as of June 30, 2022, an increase of $2.1 million, or 69.7%, from December 31, 2021. As of June 30, 2022, the allowance for loan losses was $31.4 million, or 1.66% of total loans, compared to $31.6 million, or 1.80% of total loans, as of December 31, 2021.

The following table presents selected asset quality data as of and for the periods indicated:

For the second quarter of 2022, we had net charge-offs of $340 thousand compared to net recoveries of $141 thousand for the first quarter of 2022 and $6 thousand of net recoveries for the second quarter of 2021.

There was no provision expense recorded for the three months ended June 30, 2022, no change compared to the three months ended March 31, 2022, and no change compared to the three months ended June 30, 2021. Although nonperforming assets increased, management continues to see an overall decrease in criticized loan volume, which includes substandard and special mention loans, supported the decision that no additional provision expense should be recognized.

Capital

Total stockholders’ equity was $307.2 million as of June 30, 2022, a decrease of $52.2 million, or 14.5%, from December 31, 2021. The decrease in stockholders’ equity was primarily due to a $66.2 million decrease in other comprehensive loss, due to rising interest rates, which resulted in a lower fair value of our available-for-sale investment securities. Management expects that we could see a continued decline in other comprehensive loss if the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates. Tangible book value per common share, a non-GAAP financial measure, decreased to $14.93 as of June 30, 2022, from $17.87 as of December 31, 2021. Tangible common equity to tangible assets, a non-GAAP financial measure, decreased to 7.96% as of June 30, 2022, from 9.21% as of December 31, 2021. Common equity tier 1 capital to risk weighted assets decreased to 14.19% as of June 30, 2022, from 14.65% as of December 31, 2021.

The following table presents our capital ratios as of the dates indicated:

Metro Phoenix Bank Acquisition

On December 8, 2021, the Company announced the signing of a definitive agreement and plan of merger to acquire MPB BHC, Inc. (OTCPK: MPHX), the bank holding company for Metro Phoenix Bank, the largest full-service community bank headquartered in Phoenix.

The merger was completed on July 1, 2022, the Company’s twenty fifth since 2000, and significantly increases the Alerus presence in Arizona. Alerus currently intends to merge Metro Phoenix Bank into Alerus Financial, N.A. in September of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

As a result of the merger, Alerus now has the fifth largest deposit market share in the Phoenix metropolitan statistical area (MSA) among community banks and operates three branch locations in Arizona (Phoenix, Scottsdale and Mesa). The combined company’s Arizona operation has approximately $423 million in total loans and approximately $466 million in total deposits.

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference call at 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, July 28, 2022, to discuss its financial results. The call can be accessed via telephone at (844) 200-6205, using access code 874956. A recording of the call and transcript will be available on the Company’s investor relations website at investors.alerus.com following the call.

About Alerus Financial Corporation

Alerus Financial Corporation is a diversified financial services company with corporate offices in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. Through its subsidiary, Alerus Financial, N.A., Alerus provides innovative and comprehensive financial solutions to business and consumer clients through four distinct business segments—banking, retirement and benefit services, wealth management, and mortgage. Alerus provides clients with a primary point of contact to help fully understand the unique needs and delivery channel preferences of each client. Clients are provided with competitive products, valuable insight and sound advice supported by digital solutions designed to meet the clients’ needs. Alerus has banking, mortgage, and wealth management offices in Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota, the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area, and Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Mesa Arizona. Alerus Retirement and Benefits plan administration hubs are located in Minnesota, Michigan, and Colorado.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Some of the financial measures included in this press release are not measures of financial performance recognized by U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures include the ratio of tangible common equity to tangible assets, tangible common equity per share, return on average tangible common equity, net interest margin (tax-equivalent), and the efficiency ratio. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in its analysis of its performance, and believes financial analysts and investors frequently use these measures, and other similar measures, to evaluate capital adequacy and financial performance. Reconciliations of non-GAAP disclosures used in this press release to the comparable GAAP measures are provided in the accompanying tables. Management, banking regulators, many financial analysts and other investors use these measures in conjunction with more traditional bank capital ratios to compare the capital adequacy of banking organizations with significant amounts of goodwill or other intangible assets, which typically stem from the use of the purchase accounting method of accounting for mergers and acquisitions.

These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for total stockholders’ equity, total assets, book value per share, return on average assets, return on average equity, or any other measure calculated in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, the manner in which we calculate these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from that of other companies reporting measures with similar names.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements concerning plans, estimates, calculations, forecasts and projections with respect to the anticipated future performance of Alerus Financial Corporation. These statements are often, but not always, identified by words such as “may”, “might”, “should”, “could”, “predict”, “potential”, “believe”, “expect”, “continue”, “will”, “anticipate”, “seek”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “projection”, “would”, “annualized”, “target” and “outlook”, or the negative version of those words or other comparable words of a future or forward-looking nature. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding our projected growth, anticipated future financial performance, financial condition, credit quality, management’s long-term performance goals and the future plans and prospects of Alerus Financial Corporation.

Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: the negative effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including its effects on the economic environment, our clients, and our operations, including due to supply chain disruptions, as well as any changes to federal, state, or local government laws, regulations, or orders in response to the pandemic; our ability to successfully manage credit risk and maintain an adequate level of allowance for loan losses; new or revised accounting standards, including as a result of the implementation of the new Current Expected Credit Loss Standard; business and economic conditions generally and in the financial services industry, nationally and within our market areas, including rising rates of inflation; the overall health of the local and national real estate market; concentrations within our loan portfolio; the level of nonperforming assets on our balance sheet; our ability to implement our organic and acquisition growth strategies; the impact of economic or market conditions on our fee-based services; our ability to continue to grow our retirement and benefit services business; our ability to continue to originate a sufficient volume of residential mortgages; the occurrence of fraudulent activity, breaches or failures of our information security controls or cybersecurity-related incidents; interruptions involving our information technology and telecommunications systems or third-party servicers; potential losses incurred in connection with mortgage loan repurchases; the composition of our executive management team and our ability to attract and retain key personnel; rapid technological change in the financial services industry; increased competition in the financial services industry from non-banks such as credit unions and other Fintech companies; our ability to successfully manage liquidity risk, especially in light of recent excess liquidity at the Bank; the effectiveness of our risk management framework; the commencement and outcome of litigation and other legal proceedings and regulatory actions against us or to which we may become subject; potential impairment to the goodwill we recorded in connection with our past acquisitions; the extensive regulatory framework that applies to us; the impact of recent and future legislative and regulatory changes; interest rate risks associated with our business, including the effects of recent and anticipated rate increases by the Federal Reserve; fluctuations in the values of the securities held in our securities portfolio; governmental monetary, trade and fiscal policies; severe weather, natural disasters, widespread disease or pandemics, such as the COVID-19 global pandemic, acts of war or terrorism, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or other adverse external events; any material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting; developments and uncertainty related to the future use and availability of some reference rates, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate, as well as other alternative rates; changes to U.S. or state tax laws, regulations and guidance, including recent proposals to increase the federal corporate tax rate; talent and labor shortages and employee turnover; possible federal mask and vaccine mandates; our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing items; and any other risks described in the “Risk Factors” sections of the reports filed by Alerus Financial Corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.