EX-99 2 ex99mf4thqtr.htm

EXHIBIT 99

PRESS RELEASE

Date: February 9, 2007

From: MutualFirst Financial, Inc.

For Publication: Immediately

Contact: Tim McArdle, Senior Vice President and Treasurer of
MutualFirst Financial, Inc. (765) 747-2818

MutualFirst Announces Fourth Quarter 2006 Earnings

MutualFirst Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ: MFSF), the holding company of Mutual Federal Savings Bank (the "Bank"), announced today that net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2006 was $703,000, or $.17 for basic and diluted earnings per share. This compared to net income for the comparable period in 2005 of $1.6 million, or $.37 for basic and diluted earnings per share. Annualized return on assets was .29% and return on tangible equity was 3.88% for the fourth quarter of 2006 compared to .66% and 8.57% respectively, for the same period last year.

Net income for the year ended December 31, 2006 was $4.8 million or $1.13 for basic and $1.11 for diluted earnings per share. This compared to net income for the year 2005 of $6.5 million or $1.49 for basic and $1.45 for diluted earnings per share. Annualized return on average assets was .49% and return on average tangible equity was 6.43% for the year 2006 compared to .73% and 7.79% respectively, for the year 2005.

The comparative reduction of income for the fourth quarter and year ending 2006 was primarily due to a lower net interest margin, increased operating expenses, and several one-time events as discussed below.

"2006 presented a challenging operating environment," stated CEO David W. Heeter. "During the year we have taken several steps that will help position us for the future. The economic environment continues to present significant challenges."

On November 17, 2006, the Bank sold $24.6 million of below market, fixed rate mortgage loans at a $1.2 million pretax loss. With the proceeds of the sale, the Bank paid off higher costing borrowings, thereby enhancing the structure of its balance sheet and future earnings. Also, on December 29, 2006, the Bank exchanged existing property, originally purchased for the purpose of building a new branch in Elkhart County, Indiana, for an equally desirable parcel of land in Elkhart County, where the branch will be constructed, at a pretax gain of $819,000.

MutualFirst's assets totaled $960.7 million at December 31, 2006, a decrease from December 31, 2005 of $11.1 million, or 1.1%. Loans, excluding loans held for sale, decreased $16.9 million or 2.1%. Consumer loans increased $8.0 million, or 3.7%, and commercial real estate and business loans decreased $235,000, or .2%, while residential real estate loans held in the portfolio decreased $24.6 million, furthering our strategy to reduce the percentage of residential real estate mortgage loans to total loans in the portfolio. Mortgage loans held for sale decreased $693,000 to $1.3 million and mortgage loans sold during the year 2006 totaled $50.9 million compared to $13.5 million sold during the year 2005.

Allowance for loan losses increased $55,000 to $8.2 million when comparing year end 2005 to year end 2006. Net charge offs for the year 2006 were $2.0 million or .24% of average loans on an annualized basis compared to $2.2 million, or .29% of average loans for the year 2005. As of year end 2006 the allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans receivable and non-performing loans was 1.00% and 143.59% compared to .98% and 108.04% for year end 2005, respectively.

Total deposits were $703.4 million at December 31, 2006, an increase of $18.8 million, or 2.7%, from December 31, 2005. Total borrowings decreased $28.9 million to $158.9 million at December 31, 2006 from $187.8 million at December 31, 2005.

Stockholders' equity decreased $1.5 million, or 1.7%, from $88.8 million at December 31, 2005, to $87.3 million at December 31, 2006. The decrease was due primarily to the repurchase of 233,000 shares of common stock for $4.9 million, dividend payments of $2.4 million and a $560,000 reduction due to an SEC accounting rule change. This decrease was partially offset by net income of $4.8 million, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) shares earned of $665,000, and RRP shares earned of $151,000. Also, the market value of securities available for sale compared to their book value increased $20,000 from a loss of $375,000 at December 31, 2005 to a loss of $355,000 at December 31, 2006.

Net interest income before the provision for loan losses decreased $1.1 million from $7.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2005 to $6.1 million for the three months ended December 31, 2006. The primary reason for the decline was a 52 basis point decrease in the net interest margin reflecting the Bank's liability sensitive nature as interest-bearing liabilities continued to reprice upwards faster than interest-earning assets during the year.

Net interest income before the provision for loan losses decreased $1.1 million for the year 2006 compared to the year 2005. Net interest margin compression of 41 basis points was partially offset by an increase in average interest earning assets of $76.6 million, or 9.5%.

The provision for loan losses for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $625,000, compared to $444,000 for last year's comparable period. The increase was due to a refinement in the allowance calculation and the change in mix of loans in the portfolio. Non-performing loans to total loans at December 31, 2006 were .70% compared to .90% at December 31 2005. Non-performing assets to total assets were .86% at December 31, 2006 compared to 1.03% at December 31, 2005. These decreases were a result of one non-performing loan in the amount of approximately $1.9 million being paid in full during 2006.

Non-interest income decreased $214,000 to $1.6 million for the three months ended December 31, 2006 compared to $1.8 million for the same period in 2005. The decrease was due to a $998,000 decrease in gain on loan sales, mostly due to the loss on the large loan sale, and a $283,000 decrease in equity gains in limited partnerships, partially due to an SEC accounting rule change effective in the fourth quarter. The decreases were mostly offset by other operating income increasing $1.0 million, primarily related to the land exchange described above and prior year state tax refunds.

For the year ended December 31, 2006 non-interest income decreased $89,000 to $6.6 million compared to $6.7 million for the year ended 2005. The decrease was due to a reduction in commission income on annuity and mutual fund sales of $299,000 as short term interest rates have made these products less competitive, in addition to the loan sale loss and limited partnership losses as mentioned above. These decreases were partially offset by a $344,000 increase in service fees on transaction accounts, along with the land exchange gain and state tax refunds mentioned above.

Non-interest expense was flat at $6.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2006 and 2005. On a linked quarter basis non-interest expense increased $162,000 from $6.2 million in the third quarter of 2006 to $6.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, due primarily to acceleration of certain expenses in the fourth quarter. These expenses included payment of compensation due to acquired personnel over the last fifteen months and costs related to relocating an existing branch into one purchased in the Community First branch acquisition.

Non-interest expense increased $1.6 million or 6.9% to $25.0 million for the year 2006 compared to $23.4 million for the year 2005. The increase was due primarily to the compensation and occupancy costs associated with the opening of three new branches: one in May of 2005, another with the purchase of Fidelity Federal in September of 2005 and the other with the Community First branch acquisition in August of 2006. Marketing expenses were up $165,000 primarily due to a new branding campaign designed to more clearly communicate our strategic position. Other expenses increased $436,000, primarily due to increased REO expenses due to more repossessed properties, and other general and administrative expense increases related to the opening of the new branches.

Income tax expense decreased $637,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2006 compared to the same period in 2005 due primarily to less taxable income.

For the year ended December 31, 2006, income tax expense decreased $1.4 million compared to the year 2005. The decrease was due primarily to decreased taxable income. The effective tax rate also decreased from 27.1% to 17.8% due to an increased percentage of low income housing tax credits to taxable income when comparing the year 2006 to the year 2005.

MutualFirst Financial, Inc. and Mutual Federal Savings Bank are headquartered in Muncie, Indiana with twenty-one full service offices in Delaware, Randolph, Kosciusko, Grant and Wabash counties.

Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to changes in interest rates; the loss of deposits and loan demand to competitors; substantial changes in financial markets; changes in real estate values and the real estate market; or regulatory changes.

MUTUALFIRST FINANCIAL INC.
 
31-Dec 31-Dec
Selected Financial Condition Data (Unaudited): 2006 2005

(000) (000)
 
Total Assets $960,700 $971,829
 
Cash and cash equivalents 24,915 22,365
 
Loans held for sale 1,330 2,022
 
Loans receivable, net 805,625 822,547
 
Investment securities available for sale, at fair value 41,363 40,081
 
Total deposits 703,359 684,554
 
Total borrowings 158,852 187,792
 
Total stockholders' equity 87,264 88,794
 
 
 
Three Months Three Months Three Months Twelve Months Twelve Months
Ended Ended Ended Ended Ended
31-Dec 30-Sep 31-Dec 31-Dec 31-Dec
Selected Operations Data (Unaudited): 2006 2006 2005 2006 2005


(000) (000) (000) (000) (000)
 
Total interest income $14,284 $14,335 $13,648 $56,119 $48,478
Total interest expense 8,184 7,991 6,404 29,890 21,170


 
   Net interest income 6,100 6,344 7,244 26,229 27,308
Provision for loan losses 625 525 444 2,068 1,775


Net interest income after provision
  for loan losses 5,475  5,819  6,800  24,161  25,533 


 
  Non-interest income

Fees and service charges 1,103  1,147  1,137  4,370  4,026   
Equity in gains (losses) of limited partnerships (166) (13) 117  (181) 135   
Commissions 195  135  221  682  982   
Net gain on loan sales and servicing (963) 121  62  (607) 420   
Increase in cash surrender value of life insurance 304  267  190  1,075  955   
Other income 1,081  91  41  1,303  214   


  Total non-interest income 1,554  1,748  1,768  6,642  6,732 


 
  Non-interest expense

Salaries and benefits 3,651  3,591  3,571  14,617  13,792   
Occupancy and equipment 858  861  879  3,428  3,298   
Data processing fees 238  228  216  898  822   
Professional fees 266  236  411  993  1,019   
Marketing 251  273  265  966  801   
Other expenses 1,105  1,019  1,030  4,117  3,680   


  Total non-interest expense 6,369  6,208  6,372  25,019  23,412 


 
Income before taxes 660  1,359  2,196  5,784  8,853 
Income tax provision  (43) 215  594  1,028  2,401 


  Net income  $703  $1,144  $1,602  $4,756  $6,452 


 
Average Balances, Net Interest Income, Yield Earned and Rates Paid
Three Three
mos ended mos ended
12/31/2006 12/31/2005

Average Interest Average Average Interest Average
Outstanding Earned/ Yield/ Outstanding Earned/ Yield/
Balance Paid Rate Balance Paid Rate

(000) (000) (000) (000)
Interest-Earning Assets:
 Interest -bearing deposits $2,208  $20  3.62% $1,718  $7  1.63%
 Mortgage-backed securities:
    Available-for-sale 10,372  125  4.82  10,116  121  4.78 
Investment securities:
    Available-for-sale 30,123  386  5.13  30,067  311  4.14 
 Loans receivable 833,714  13,645  6.55  834,733  13,075  6.27 
 Stock in FHLB of Indianapolis 10,092  108  4.28  10,125  134  5.29 
 Total interest-earning assets (1) 886,509  14,284  6.45  886,759  13,648  6.16 

Non-interest earning assets, net of allowance 
  for loan losses and unrealized gain/loss 87,860 
85,179 
     Total assets $974,369 
$971,938 
 
 
Interest-Bearing Liabilities:
 Demand and NOW accounts $119,611  623  2.08  $72,617  94  0.52 
 Savings deposits 56,999  72  0.51  62,019  78  0.50 
 Money market accounts 27,886  162  2.32  44,064  191  1.73 
 Certificate accounts 467,795  5,387  4.61  479,566  4,279  3.57 

 Total deposits 672,291  6,244  3.72  658,266  4,642  2.82 
 Borrowings 153,848  1,940  5.04  165,312  1,762  4.26 

  Total interest-bearing accounts 826,139  8,184  3.96  823,578  6,404  3.11 
Non-interest bearing deposit accounts 46,112  44,630 
Other liabilities 14,737 
15,037 
  Total liabilities 886,988  883,245 
Stockholders' equity 87,381 
88,693 
    Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $974,369 
$971,938 
 
Net earning assets $  60,370 
$  63,181 
 
Net interest income $  6,100 
$  7,244 
 
Net interest rate spread 2.49%
3.06%
 
Net yield on average interest-earning assets 2.75%
3.27%
 
Average interest-earning assets to
  average interest-bearing liabilities 107.31%
107.67%
 
 
 
Three Months Three Months Three Months Twelve Months Twelve Months
Ended Ended Ended Ended Ended
31-Dec 30-Sep 31-Dec 31-Dec 31-Dec
  Selected Financial Ratios and Other Financial Data (Unaudited): 2006 2006 2005 2006 2005


 
Share and per share data:
 Average common shares outstanding
   Basic 4,131,938  4,166,531  4,289,030  4,196,059  4,328,965 
   Diluted 4,205,594  4,240,173  4,382,879  4,274,039  4,439,850 
Per share:
   Basic earnings  $0.17  $0.27  $0.37  $1.13  $1.49 
   Diluted earnings $0.17  $0.27  $0.37  $1.11  $1.45 
   Dividends $0.15  $0.15  $0.14  $0.58  $0.53 
 
Dividend payout ratio 88.24% 55.56% 37.84% 52.25% 36.55%
 
Performance Ratios:
   Return on average assets (ratio of net
      income to average total assets)(1) 0.29% 0.47% 0.66% 0.49% 0.73%
   Return on average tangible equity (ratio of net 
      income to average tangible equity)(1) 3.88% 6.23% 8.57% 6.43% 7.79%
   Interest rate spread information:
    Average during the period(1) 2.49% 2.56% 3.06% 2.70% 3.13%
 
    Net interest margin(1)(2) 2.75% 2.83% 3.27% 2.96% 3.37%
 
Efficiency Ratio 83.21% 76.72% 70.71% 76.11% 68.78%
 
    Ratio of average interest-earning
     assets to average interest-bearing
     liabilities 107.31% 107.67% 107.67% 107.65% 109.30%
 
Allowance for loan losses:
        Balance beginning of period $8,051  $8,177  $8,196  $8,100  $6,867 
        Charge offs:
          One- to four- family 57  215  118  527  303 
          Multi-family
          Commercial real estate 48  54  102 
          Construction or development
          Consumer loans 476  387  442  1,288  1,277 
          Commercial business loans 62  57  387  954 


              Sub-total 581  718  617  2,304  2,540 
 
        Recoveries:
          One- to four- family 81  22 
          Multi-family
          Commercial real estate 120 
          Construction or development
          Consumer loans 58  65  77  200  194 
          Commercial business loans 11  15 


              Sub-total 61  67  77  292  351 
 
Net charge offs 520  651  540  2,012  2,189 
Acquired with Fidelity Federal purchase 1,646 
Additions charged to operations 625  525  444  2,068  1,776 


Balance end of period $8,156  $8,051  $8,100  $8,156  $8,100 


 
Net loan charge-offs to average loans (1) 0.25% 0.31% 0.26% 0.24% 0.29%
 
 
December 31, September 30, December 31,
2006 2006 2005

 
 Total shares outstanding 4,366,636  4,391,637  4,552,218 
   Tangible book value per share $16.57  $16.60  $16.42 
 Nonperforming assets (000's)
   Loans: Non-accrual $5,569  $4,955  $5,421 
         Accruing loans past due 90 days or more 1,960 
         Restructured loans 111  112  116 

              Total nonperforming loans 5,680  5,074  7,497 
    Real estate owned 1,273  1,449  1,507 
    Other repossessed assets 1,322  977  978 

              Total nonperforming assets $8,275  $7,500  $9,982 
Asset Quality Ratios:
     Non-performing assets to total assets  0.86% 0.76% 1.03%
     Non-performing loans to total loans 0.70% 0.60% 0.90%
     Allowance for loan losses to non-performing loans 143.59% 158.67% 108.04%
     Allowance for loan losses to loans receivable 1.00% 0.95% 0.98%
 
 
 
(1) Ratios for the three periods have been annualized.
 
(2) Net interest income divided by average interest earning assets.
 
End