Westfield Financial shares quarterly earnings

Date: 11/13/2013

WESTFIELD – Westfield Financial Inc., the holding company for Westfield Bank, reported net income of $1.6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to $1.4 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2012, which represents a 14 percent increase in net income over the third quarter 2012.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income was $4.9 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, compared to $4.7 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, for the same period in 2012, which represents a 5.2 percent increase in net income over the same period in 2012.

Selected financial highlights for the third quarter and year-to-date 2013 include:

• Total loans increased $37.5 million, or 6.4 percent, at Sept. 30, 2013 compared to Sept. 30, 2012.

This was primarily due to increases in commercial real estate loans of $17.0 million, commercial and industrial loans of $11.0 million, and residential loans of $10.0 million. On a linked-quarter basis, total loans increased $13.6 million, or 2.2 percent, to $620.2 million for the third quarter 2013. This was primarily due to an increase in commercial real estate loans of $13.7 million.

• The net interest margin for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 increased 4 basis points to 2.59 percent, as compared to 2.55 percent for the first nine months of 2012. On a linked-quarter basis, the net interest margin increased 7 basis points to 2.62 percent for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2013, as compared to 2.55 percent for the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

• Net interest and dividend income increased $288,000 to $23.1 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, as compared to $22.8 million for the same period in 2012. On a linked-quarter basis, net interest and dividend income increased $191,000 to $7.8 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2013, as compared to $7.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2013.

• A portion of the investment securities portfolio was reclassified from available-for-sale to held-to-maturity during the third quarter 2013. At Sept. 30, 2013 securities classified as held-to-maturity totaled $299.0 million or 55.2 percent of debt securities and mortgage-backed securities, as compared to $174.0 million or 29.4 percent, at June 30, 2013.

• As of September 30, 2013, the Company had entered into several forward-starting interest rate swap contracts with a combined notional value of $155.0 million. The swap contracts have start dates ranging from the fourth quarter 2013 to the third quarter 2016 and have durations ranging from four to six years.

This hedge strategy converts the LIBOR based rate of interest on certain FHLB advances to fixed interest rates, thereby protecting the Company from floating interest rate variability and reducing future volatility in tangible book value and Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.

President and CEO, James C. Hagan, stated, “The results for the quarter and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2013 demonstrate the bank’s ongoing commitment and focus on commercial lending growth. We have taken steps to change our asset mix by decreasing the securities portfolio while increasing loans, thereby improving our net interest margin and return on assets.”