EX-99.1 2 botj-20220419xex99_1.htm EX-99.1 Exhibit 99.1

Exhibit 99.1



BOTJ-FG-logo



Bank of the James Announces First Quarter 2022

Financial Results and Declaration of Dividend

Strong Earnings, High Asset Quality, Expense Management



LYNCHBURG, VA,  April 22,  2022 -- Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ:BOTJ), the parent company of Bank of the James (the “Bank”), a full-service commercial and retail bank, and Pettyjohn, Wood & White, Inc. (“PWW”), an SEC-registered investment advisor, today announced unaudited results of operations for the three month period ended March 31, 2022.  The Bank serves Region 2000 (the greater Lynchburg MSA), and the Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lexington, and Roanoke, Virginia markets.

Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2022 was $2.14 million or $0.45 per basic and diluted share compared with $1.84 million or $0.38 per basic and diluted share for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Robert R. Chapman III, President and CEO,  commented:  “Despite the fact that our interest income declined in 2022 because of the decrease in PPP loan fees, the first quarter provided a strong start for 2022,  with year-over-year earnings growth that reflected strong fee income from treasury services and investment management, residential mortgage loan originations, and gains on sale of residential mortgages.

The quality of the Company’s loan portfolio underscored our financial performance. We finished the quarter with some of the strongest asset quality ratios and nonperforming loan levels in the Company’s history. We believe this demonstrates diligent credit management and partnering with customers who navigated through the unprecedented economic and health-related challenges and uncertainties of the past two years.

“Noninterest income reflected fees generated by customers’ increasing use of our suite of electronic corporate treasury services that enable them to manage finances and operations with greater efficiency and lower costs. These services play an important role in cementing full-service relationships with commercial and nonprofit clients.

“The residential mortgage division continued to make exceptional contributions to noninterest income, generating fee income from residential mortgage originations and gains on sales of originated mortgage loans sold to the secondary market. Although we are now in a rising interest rate environment, the demand for homes, as well as new home construction and sales, continues to be robust in the communities we serve. We also benefit from the reputation our mortgage team has established for outstanding service and efficient loan processing, which is driving increasing market share.

“The Company’s wholly-owned investment management subsidiary, Pettyjohn, Wood & White  an established Lynchburg, Virginia-based investment advisory firm with more than $650 million of assets under management,  generated gross fee income of approximately $1 million, which enhanced our noninterest income. This acquisition, which closed in December 2021, has provided additional income diversity and a range of investment services that complement our financial management capabilities. We continue to look for opportunities to expand sources of noninterest income.  Because the acquisition closed at the end of December 2021, PWW did not contribute any income in 2021.

The economic health of our served markets is generally very good.  We are anticipating and addressing the new challenges facing customers, including rising interest rates, supply chain issues, a shortage of skilled workers and an inflationary environment. Our service, expertise, and extensive banking and financial management capabilities position

 

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Bank of the James to meet customers’ needs while operating in a way that maximizes our productivity, efficiency, and value for shareholders.”

Highlights

·

Net income in the first quarter of 2022 was highlighted by continuing strong revenue contributions from gains on the sale of originated residential mortgages and mortgage loan processing fees, a loan loss provision recovery, and income contributions from PWW.

·

Total interest income of $6.92 million in the first quarter of 2022 declined 6% from $7.37 million a year earlier, primarily reflecting lower interest yields on loans and lower income from Payroll Protection Plan (PPP) loan fees as the program continued to wind down during the quarter.

·

Net interest income after recovery of loan losses was $6.69 million at March 31, 2022 compared with $6.75 million at March 31, 2021 and included a 15% year-over-year reduction of interest expense, reflecting ongoing interest expense management partially offset by interest payments on a loan used to finance the acquisition of PWW.  The Company recorded a $300,000 recovery of loan losses in the first quarter of 2022.

·

Total noninterest income was $3.63 million at March 31, 2022, up 49% from $2.43 million a year earlier. Growth primarily reflected increased gains on sale of loans held for sale, fees generated by electronic treasury management products, and fee income from PWW.  PWW contributed $1.02 million in non-interest income in the first quarter of 2022.

·

Loans, net of the allowance for loan losses, were $588.92 million at March 31, 2022 compared with $576.47 million at December 31, 2021. The Company also had $6.52 million of loans held for sale at March 31, 2022 compared with $1.63 million a year earlier, reflecting strong ongoing residential mortgage originations. Loans, net at March 31, 2022 were lower than a year earlier, primarily reflecting paydowns of PPP loans.

·

The Company added approximately $13 million in new commercial real estate loans in the first quarter of 2022. Commercial and industrial loan levels declined year-over-year, returning to more normalized levels and reflecting the payoff or forgiveness of PPP loans.

·

Asset quality remained exceptionally strong, reflected in a ratio of nonperforming loans to total loans of 0.14% at March 31, 2022 compared with 0.16% at December 31, 2021.

·

Total deposits were $881.43 million at March 31, 2022, down marginally from December 31,  2021. Deposits were well above deposits at March 31, 2021, reflecting continued growth of lower-cost core deposits  (noninterest-bearing demand, NOW, savings and money market accounts), which increased to 84% of total deposits.

·

Total stockholders’ equity was $60.6 million and book value per share was $12.78 at March 31, 2022 compared with $14.65 million at December 31, 2021. The Company’s return on average equity rose to 12.27% from 11.49% a year earlier, while return on average assets increased to 0.89% from 0.85% a year earlier.

·

On April 19, 2022 the Company’s board of directors approved a quarterly $0.07 per share dividend payable to stockholders of record on June 3, 2022, to be paid on June 17, 2022.





First Quarter 2022 Operational Review



Net interest income after recovery of loan losses in the first quarter of 2022 was $6.69 million compared with $6.75 million in the first quarter of 2021,  primarily reflecting slightly lower interest income, reduced interest expense, and a $300,000 recovery of loan losses in the first quarter of 2022, as indicated by the Bank’s allowance for loan losses methodology.

Total interest income was  $6.92 million in the first quarter of 2022 compared with $7.37 million a year earlier, reflecting lower accreted fees from PPP loan processing, modest organic loan growth and pressure on interest rates. Management noted interest rate increases during the quarter had minimal impact but anticipates higher rates will have a positive impact on both earning assets and loan yields in the coming quarters. The return on interest earning assets during the first quarter of 2022 was 3.09% as compared to 3.66%  in the first quarter of 2021.

Total interest expense in the first quarter of 2022 was $525,000 compared with $617,000 a year earlier, primarily reflecting reduced costs of time deposits and high levels of lower-cost core deposits (noninterest-bearing demand, NOW,

 

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savings and money market accounts), partially offset by interest expense on a loan used to finance the acquisition of PWW.

During the first quarter, the Company shifted a significant amount of investment funds from Fed funds into its fixed income portfolio, including $30 million in agency mortgage-backed securities, as yields became more attractive. This is expected to have a positive impact in future quarters.  The net interest margin was 2.86%  and the interest spread was 2.80% in the first quarter of 2022 compared with 3.35% and 3.27%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2021.

First quarter 2022 noninterest income increased significantly from a year earlier to $3.63 million compared with $2.43 million. The increase primarily reflected gains from the sale of residential mortgages to the secondary market, mortgage processing fees, income from the Bank’s line of treasury management services for commercial customers, and wealth management fee income from PWW.  In the first quarter of 2022, PWW’s net revenue after expenses and before tax was $445,000.

Noninterest expense in the first quarter of 2022 was $7.65 million compared with $6.89 million in the first quarter of 2021, primarily reflecting higher salaries and benefits as the Company invested in hiring, employee retention, and performance-based compensation for loan production along with the added personnel expense of PWW employees. Noninterest expense was relatively unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2021. Return on average equity was 12.27% and return on average assets was 0.89% at March 31, 2022, up from 11.49% and 0.85%, respectively, a year earlier.

Balance Sheet Review: Strong Asset Quality, Commercial Lending Momentum

Total assets were $973.59 million at March 31, 2022 compared with $987.63 million at December 31, 2021 and $886.36 million at March 31, 2021. The long-term growth in assets primarily reflects an increase in cash and cash equivalents, and securities available-for-sale resulting from an increase in deposits. 

Loans, net of allowance for loan losses, were $588.92 million at March 31, 2022, up from $576.47 million at December 31, 2021. The growth in loans, receivable primarily reflected new commercial real estate (CRE) loans during the first quarter of 2022. Commercial real estate loans (owner occupied and non-owner occupied and excluding construction loans) continued the steady growth of past quarters.  At March 31, 2022, CRE loans were approximately $320.27 million, an increase from $307.95 million at December 31, 2021 and up from $280.12 million at March 31, 2021.

Commercial loans (primarily C&I loans) were $104.92 million at March 31, 2022 compared with $105.07 million at December 31, 2021. The commercial loan portfolio at quarter-end was significantly lower than a year earlier, reflecting the completed paydowns and forgiveness of PPP loans. Management noted that businesses’ significant cash reserves and conservative operation driven by inflation concerns, supply chain issues and a tight labor market continues to slow normal commercial and industrial lending. The Company anticipates these conditions will continue to impact commercial and industrial lending in coming quarters.

Commercial construction loans were stable at $29.28 million at March 31, 2022, reflecting the steady addition of new construction loans as previous projects are completed. Residential construction loans remained strong, reflecting active demand for new housing in several of the Company’s markets. Consumer loans and retained residential mortgages were relatively unchanged,  reflecting the Company’s emphasis on managing the amount of consumer loans and residential mortgages it retains.

Improved qualitative factors due to the economy and delinquency trends (as reflected in the non-performing loan ratio improvement) resulted in recovery of $300,000 from the allowance for loan losses in the first quarter of 2022. Asset quality has been consistently strong, with a ratio of nonperforming loans to total loans of 0.14% at March 31, 2022 as compared to 0.16% at December 31, 2021.  The allowance for loan losses to total loans was 1.15% at March 31, 2022 as compared to 1.19% at December 31, 2021. Total nonperforming loans of $852,000 were down 11% from December 31, 2021 and less than half of the $1.9 million at March 31, 2021. Other real estate owned has remained at consistently low levels during the past several quarters. Management believes the current levels of the allowance for loan losses is a reasonable estimate of the probable  losses inherent in the Company’s loan portfolio.    

Total deposits at March 31, 2022 were $881.43 million, compared with $887.06 million at December 31, 2021. Total deposits continued to reflect strong demand deposit activity, in part due to increased balances held by businesses, organic growth in the Bank’s markets and also new customer deposits. The Bank trimmed time deposits, while core deposits

 

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(noninterest bearing demand, NOW, money market and savings) increased to approximately 84% of total deposits at March 31, 2022.

The first quarter of 2022 was the first period reflecting income generated by PWW. The value of PWW is reflected in the Company’s balance sheet in the form of goodwill and intangibles.  The increase in other assets was due primarily due to $732,000 in fees receivable related to PWW.

The Company maintained its focus on generating shareholder value, reflected in total stockholders’ equity, book value per share, and improving return on average equity, return on average assets and productivity measures.  Due to increased interest rates in the first quarter of 2022, the Bank had an unrealized decrease in the value of its securities portfolio, which resulted in a decrease in stockholder’s equity thereby adversely affecting book value. 

About the Company

Bank of the James, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. opened for business in July 1999 and is headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. The bank currently services customers in Virginia from offices located in Altavista, Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Forest, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Madison Heights, Roanoke, and Rustburg. The Bank offers full investment and insurance services through its BOTJ Investment Services division and BOTJ Insurance, Inc. subsidiary.  The Bank provides mortgage loan origination through Bank of the James Mortgage, a division of Bank of the James. The Company provides investment advisory services through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Pettyjohn, Wood & White, Inc., an SEC-registered investment advisor. Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. common stock is listed under the symbol “BOTJ” on the NASDAQ Stock Market, LLC.  Additional information on the Company is available at www.bankofthejames.bank.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "plan" and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements which speak only as of the dates on which they were made. Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. (the "Company") undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, competition, general economic conditions, potential changes in interest rates, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes in the value of real estate securing loans made by the Bank.  Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

CONTACT: J. Todd Scruggs, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (434) 846-2000.

tscruggs@bankofthejames.com 

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOLLOWS

 

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Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)





(unaudited)

 

 

Assets

3/31/2022

 

12/31/2021

Cash and due from banks

$32,780 

 

$29,337 

Federal funds sold

64,027 

 

153,816 

  Total cash and cash equivalents

96,807 

 

183,153 



 

 

 

Securities held-to-maturity (fair value of $3,650 in 2022 and $4,006 in 2021)

3,651 

 

3,655 

Securities available-for-sale, at fair value

212,616 

 

161,267 

Restricted stock, at cost

1,324 

 

1,324 

Loans, net of allowance for loan losses of $6,870 in 2022 and $6,915 in 2021

588,924 

 

576,469 

Loans held for sale

6,516 

 

1,628 

Premises and equipment, net

18,010 

 

18,190 

Software, net

117 

 

161 

Interest receivable

2,194 

 

2,064 

Cash value - bank owned life insurance

18,898 

 

18,785 

Customer relationship Intangible

8,266 

 

8,406 

Goodwill

3,001 

 

3,001 

Other real estate owned

761 

 

761 

Income taxes receivable

-

 

77 

Deferred tax asset

3,432 

 

1,371 

Other assets

9,068 

 

7,322 

  Total assets

$973,585 

 

$987,634 



 

 

 

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

 

 

 

Deposits

 

 

 

  Noninterest bearing demand

159,386 

 

162,286 

  NOW, money market and savings

582,039 

 

582,000 

  Time

140,002 

 

142,770 

Total deposits

881,427 

 

887,056 



 

 

 

Capital notes

10,034 

 

10,031 

Other borrowings

10,856 

 

10,985 

Income taxes payable

456 

 

-

Interest payable

39 

 

46 

Other liabilities

10,194 

 

10,087 

  Total liabilities

$913,006 

 

$918,205 



 

 

 

Stockholders' equity

 

 

 

  Common stock $2.14 par value; authorized 10,000,000 shares; issued and outstanding

 

 

 

    4,740,657 as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021

10,145 

 

10,145 

  Additional paid-in-capital

37,230 

 

37,230 

  Accumulated other comprehensive (loss)

(12,043)

 

(1,386)

  Retained earnings

25,247 

 

23,440 

 

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Total stockholders' equity

$60,579 

 

$69,429 



 

 

 

Total liabilities and stockholders' equity

$973,585 

 

$987,634 



 

6


 

Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Consolidated Statements of Income

(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share amounts)

(unaudited)





For the Three Months



Ended March 31,

Interest Income

2022

 

2021

  Loans

$5,905 

 

$6,860 

  Securities

 

 

 

    US Government and agency obligations

258 

 

191 

    Mortgage backed securities

307 

 

77 

    Municipals

289 

 

153 

    Dividends

 

    Other (Corporates)

108 

 

50 

  Interest bearing deposits

 

14 

  Federal Funds sold

37 

 

14 

    Total interest income

6,915 

 

7,365 



 

 

 

Interest Expense

 

 

 

  Deposits

 

 

 

    NOW, money market savings

126 

 

135 

    Time Deposits

178 

 

373 

  Federal Funds purchased

-

 

-

  FHLB borrowings

-

 

-

  Finance leases

25 

 

27 

  Other borrowings

114 

 

-

  Capital notes

82 

 

82 

   Total interest expense

525 

 

617 



 

 

 

    Net interest income

6,390 

 

6,748 



 

 

 

Recovery of loan losses

(300)

 

-



 

 

 

    Net interest income after recovery of loan losses

6,690 

 

6,748 



 

 

 

Noninterest income

 

 

 

  Gains on sale of loans held for sale

1,904 

 

1,774 

  Service charges, fees and commissions

592 

 

554 

  Wealth management fees

1,015 

 

-

  Life insurance income

113 

 

98 

  Other

 

    Total noninterest income

3,631 

 

2,434 



 

 

 

Noninterest expenses

 

 

 

  Salaries and employee benefits

3,989 

 

3,732 

  Occupancy

471 

 

428 

  Equipment

606 

 

626 

  Supplies

142 

 

118 

  Professional, data processing, and other outside expense

1,054 

 

914 

 

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  Marketing

192 

 

273 

  Credit expense

262 

 

276 

  Other real estate expenses, net

 

66 

  FDIC insurance expense

130 

 

165 

  Amortization of intangibles

140 

 

-

  Other

656 

 

291 

    Total noninterest expenses

7,648 

 

6,889 



 

 

 

    Income before income taxes

2,673 

 

2,293 



 

 

 

    Income tax expense

534 

 

458 



 

 

 

    Net Income

$2,139 

 

$1,835 



 

 

 

Weighted average shares outstanding - basic and diluted (1)

4,740,657 

 

4,766,601 



 

 

 

Net income per common share - basic and diluted (1)

$0.45 

 

$0.38 



 

 

 



(1) Shares and per share amounts for all periods have been adjusted to reflect a 10% stock dividend declared in June 2021.

 

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Bank of the James Financial Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries

Dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data

unaudited



Selected Data:

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2022

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2021

Change

Interest income

$6,915  $7,365 

-6.11%

Interest expense

525  617 

-14.91%

Net interest income

6,390  6,748 

-5.31%

Recovery of loan losses

(300)

-

0.00% 

Noninterest income

3,631  2,434  49.18% 

Noninterest expense

7,648  6,889  11.02% 

Income taxes

534  458  16.59% 

Net income

2,139  1,835  16.57% 

Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (1)

4,740,657  4,766,601  (25,944)

Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (1)

4,740,657  4,766,601  (25,944)

Basic net income per share (1)

$0.45  $0.38  $0.07 

Fully diluted net income per share (1)

$0.45  $0.38  $0.07 



  (1) Shares and per share amounts for all periods have been adjusted to reflect a 10% stock dividend declared in June 2021.



Balance Sheet at

period end:

Mar 31,

2022

Dec 31,

2021

Change

Mar 31,

2021

Dec 31,

2020

Change

Loans, net

$588,924  $576,469  2.16%  $606,485  $601,934  0.76% 

Loans held for sale

6,516  1,628  300.25%  4,150  7,102 

-41.57%

Total securities

216,267  164,922  31.13%  103,499  93,856  10.27% 

Total deposits

881,427  887,056 

-0.63%

801,190  764,967  4.74% 

Stockholders' equity

60,579  69,429 

-12.75%

65,334  66,732 

-2.09%

Total assets

973,585  987,634 

-1.42%

886,360  851,386  4.11% 

Shares outstanding

4,740,657  4,740,657 

-

4,324,836  4,339,436  (14,600)

Book value per share

$12.78  $14.65  $(1.87) $15.11  $15.38  $(0.27)

 

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Daily averages:

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2022

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2021

Change

Loans, net

$581,619  $604,264 

-3.75%

Loans held for sale

3,635  6,158 

-40.97%

Total securities

198,551  96,246  106.30% 

Total deposits

876,023  788,308  11.13% 

Stockholders' equity

70,700  64,794  9.12% 

Interest earning assets

908,261  816,611  11.22% 

Interest bearing liabilities

741,202  643,736  15.14% 

Total assets

977,643  873,358  11.94% 





Financial Ratios:

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2022

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2021

Change

Return on average assets

0.89%  0.85%  0.04 

Return on average equity

12.27%  11.49%  0.78 

Net interest margin

2.86%  3.35%  (0.49)

Efficiency ratio

76.32%  75.03%  1.29 

Average equity to

 

 

 

average assets

7.23%  7.42%  (0.19)





Allowance for loan losses:

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2022

Three

months

ending

Mar 31,

2021

Change

Beginning balance

$6,915  $7,156 

-3.37%

Recovery of loan losses

(300)

-

0.00% 

Charge-offs

(8) (64)

-87.50%

Recoveries

263  14  1778.57% 

Ending balance

6,870  7,106 

-3.32%

 

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Nonperforming assets:

Mar 31,

2022

Dec 31,

2021

Change

Mar 31,

2021

Dec 31,

2020

Change

Total nonperforming loans

$852  $954 

-10.69%

$1,963  $2,064 

-4.89%

Other real estate owned

761  761  0.00%  761  1,105 

-31.13%

Total nonperforming assets

1,613  1,715 

-5.95%

2,724  3,169 

-14.04%

Troubled debt restructurings - (performing portion)

367  372 

-1.34%

384  392 

-2.04%





Asset quality ratios:

Mar 31,

2022

Dec 31,

2021

Change

Mar 31,

2021

Dec 31,

2020

Change

Nonperforming loans to total loans

0.14%  0.16%  (0.02) 0.32%  0.34%  (0.02)

Allowance for loan losses to total loans

1.15%  1.19%  (0.03) 1.16%  1.17%  (0.02)

Allowance for loan losses to nonperforming loans

806.34%  724.84%  81.50  362.00%  346.71%  15.29 





 

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