First Commonwealth Announces First Quarter 2025 Earnings; Increases Quarterly Dividend

INDIANA, Pa., April 29, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF) today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2025.

Financial Summary

First Quarter 2025 Highlights

Financial results

• GAAP Net income of $32.7 million and diluted earnings per share totaled $0.32, a decrease of $3.2 million, or $0.03 per share from the prior quarter and a decrease of $4.9 million, or $0.05 per share from first quarter of 2024.

  • Core pre-tax pre-provision net revenue (PPNR)⁽¹⁾ totaled $46.9 million, a decrease of $4.5 million from the prior quarter and a decrease of $4.0 million from the first quarter of 2025. The decrease from the prior quarter was primarily as a result of a $2.8 million decrease in noninterest income

• End of period loans increased $99.0 million, or 4.4% annualized from the previous quarter, driven by a $121.4 million increase in commercial loans offset by a $22.4 million decrease in consumer loans

  • Average loans increased $34.8 million, or 1.6% annualized from the previous quarter

• End of period deposits increased $183.6 million, or 7.7% annualized from the previous quarter, including a $214.8 million increase in savings deposits and a $24.2 million increase in noninterest bearing deposits, which together offset a $27.9 million decrease in time deposits and a $27.5 million decrease in interest-bearing demand deposits

  • Average deposits increased $58.8 million, or 2.5% annualized from the previous quarter

• The loan-to-deposit ratio decreased 73 basis points to 92.6% in the first quarter of 2025

• Net interest income (FTE) of $95.9 million increased $0.4 million from the previous quarter and increased $3.2 million from the first quarter of 2024

• Noninterest income of $22.5 million decreased $2.8 million from the previous quarter due, in part, to a $1.0 million decrease in gain on sale of Small Business Administration (“SBA”) loans

• Noninterest expense (excluding merger-related expense) of $71.1 million increased $2.1 million from the previous quarter, due primarily to a $2.4 million increase in salaries and benefits

• Tangible book value per share increased $0.40, or 16.3% annualized from the previous quarter

  • Total shareholders’ equity increased $41.9 million from the previous quarter, due in part to a $21.3 million decrease in unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) from the previous quarter

  • AOCI as a percentage of tangible common equity decreased 240 basis points to 7.63% in the first quarter of 2025
    

Profitability

• The net interest margin of 3.62% increased 8 basis points compared to the prior quarter and increased 10 basis points from the first quarter of 2024

• The core efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾ increased by 301 basis points to 59.08% compared to the prior quarter

• The core ROAA decreased 9 basis points to 1.14% compared to the prior quarter

• Core pre-tax pre-provision ROAA⁽¹⁾ of 1.63% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025

Strong capital positions

• On April 29, 2025, the Board of Directors authorized a 3.9% increase in the quarterly cash dividend to shareholders

• The Bank-level Total Capital Ratio is 13.6%, which represents $342.0 million in excess capital above the regulatory “well capitalized” requirement of 6.5%

• There were no shares repurchased in the first quarter of 2025. The remaining capacity under the current program was $6.7 million as of March 31, 2025
  

Asset quality

• The total provision for credit losses was $5.7 million, a decrease of $0.8 million from the previous quarter.

• Reserve build/(release)⁽²⁾ was $1.0 million, which resulted in reserves to total loans of 1.32%, which is unchanged from the previous quarter

• Nonperforming loans of $59.4 million decreased $2.1 million from the previous quarter

• Net charge-offs on loans totaled $3.1 million, a decrease of $10.6 million from the prior quarter; the prior quarter included approximately $8.0 million of net charge-offs for loans specifically reserved for in previous quarters

  • Net charge-offs as a percentage of average loans outstanding (annualized) was 0.14% in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 46 basis points from the previous quarter
    

Franchise Growth

• The company has received all required shareholder and regulatory approvals for its previously announced acquisition of CenterGroup Financial. This acquisition is expected to be completed on April 30, 2025.
  

"We are pleased to report a strong start to 2025, with robust growth in the first quarter. Our annualized loan growth of 4.4% reflects good momentum in our commercial lending and indirect auto businesses, while end of period deposits increased by an impressive 7.7% annualized from the prior quarter,” stated T. Michael Price, President and Chief Executive Officer. “As we look ahead, I am thrilled to welcome CenterBank’s employees and customers to the First Commonwealth family, with the acquisition set to close in the coming weeks. This strategic expansion strengthens our presence in Cincinnati and enhances our ability to deliver exceptional financial solutions across these markets."

Earnings

Net income for the first quarter of 2025 was $32.7 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to $35.8 million, or $0.35 per share in the fourth quarter of 2024 and $37.5 million, or $0.37 per share for the first quarter of 2024.

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income (FTE) of $95.9 million increased $0.4 million from the previous quarter and increased $3.2 million from the prior year quarter. The increase from the prior quarter was primarily due to a $34.8 million increase in average loans combined with expansion of the net interest margin (NIM).

The NIM for the first quarter of 2025 was 3.62% as compared to 3.54% in the prior quarter and 3.52% in the year ago quarter. The increase from the prior quarter was primarily due to a 10 basis point decrease in the cost of funds that was only partially offset by a 5 basis point decrease in the yield on loans.

Total average deposits grew $58.8 million in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to the previous quarter. Average interest-bearing demand and savings deposits grew $66.1 million and total time deposits increased $33.2 million from the prior quarter. The increase in interest bearing deposits was partially offset by a $40.5 million decrease in average noninterest-bearing deposits.

End of period deposits increased $183.6 million, or 7.7% annualized from the previous quarter, including a $214.8 million increase in savings deposits and a $24.2 million increase in noninterest bearing deposits, which together offset a $27.9 million decrease in time deposits and a $27.5 million decrease in interest-bearing demand deposits.

Asset Quality

Provision for credit losses totaled $5.7 million in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to $6.5 million in the previous quarter. The decrease from the previous quarter was primarily driven by a $10.6 million decrease in net charge-offs. Net charge-offs in the previous quarter included $8.0 million of loans specifically provided for in prior quarters.

The allowance for credit losses (ACL) as a percentage of end-of-period loans was 1.32% in the first quarter which was unchanged from the previous quarter.

At March 31, 2025, nonperforming loans totaled $59.4 million as compared to $61.5 million in the prior quarter and $42.4 million in the first quarter of 2024.

Nonperforming loans represented 0.65% of total loans as of March 31, 2025 as compared to 0.68% and 0.47% for the periods ended December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively.

At March 31, 2025, criticized loans totaled $190.5 million, a decrease of $33.7 million from the previous quarter.

During the first quarter of 2025, net charge-offs were $3.1 million, compared to $13.7 million in the prior quarter and $4.3 million in the first quarter of 2024. Net charge-offs in the previous quarter were primarily driven by acquired loans, of which $8.0 million were specifically reserved for in prior periods.

Net charge-offs were 0.14%, 0.61% and 0.19% of average loans (annualized) for the periods ended March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively.

Noninterest Income and Noninterest Expense

Noninterest income totaled $22.5 million for the first quarter of 2025, as compared to $25.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $24.0 million for the first quarter of 2024. There were no material securities gains during the current or comparable quarters.

The $2.8 million decrease from the previous quarter was primarily driven by a $1.4 million gain on a limited partnership and donation of a branch facility in the previous quarter, a $1.0 million decrease in gain on sale of SBA loans and seasonally lower fees due to the number of days in the quarter.

Noninterest expense (excluding merger-related) totaled $71.1 million for the first quarter of 2025, as compared to $69.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 and $65.5 million for the first quarter of 2024. The $2.1 million increase from the previous quarter was primarily the result of a $2.4 million increase in salaries and benefits and a $1.0 million increase in occupancy expense due to a $0.7 million increase in snow removal expense. Contributing to the higher salary expense in 2025 was a $1.8 million increase in incentive expense, of which $1.5 million was attributed to finalizing payments related to prior year volumes and performance.

The core efficiency ratio was 59.08% during the first quarter of 2025 as compared to 56.07% in the previous quarter and 55.05% in the first quarter of 2024.

Full time equivalent staff was 1,538, 1,512 and 1,465 at March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024 and March 31, 2024, respectively.

Dividends and Capital

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation declared a common stock quarterly dividend of $0.135 per share, which represents a 3.9% increase from the previous quarter. The cash dividend is payable on May 23, 2025 to shareholders of record as of May 9, 2025. This dividend represents a 3.5% projected annual yield utilizing the April 28, 2025 closing market price of $15.31.

First Commonwealth’s capital ratios for Total, Tier I, Leverage and Common Equity Tier I at March 31, 2025 were 14.7%, 12.9%, 10.7% and 12.2% respectively. First Commonwealth’s current capital levels exceed the fully phased-in Basel III capital requirements issued by U.S. bank regulators.

Conference Call

First Commonwealth will host a quarterly conference call to discuss its financial results for the first quarter of 2025 on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 at 2:00 PM (ET). The call can be accessed by dialing (toll free) 1-888-330-3181 conference ID # 4651379 or through the company’s web page, http://www.fcbanking.com/InvestorRelations. A replay of the call will be available approximately one hour following the conclusion of the conference by dialing 1-800-770-2030 and entering the conference ID # 4651379. A link to the webcast replay will also be accessible on the company’s web.

About First Commonwealth Financial Corporation

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF), headquartered in Indiana, Pennsylvania, is a financial services company with 125 community banking offices in 30 counties throughout western and central Pennsylvania and throughout Ohio, as well as commercial lending operations in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Canton, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. The company also operates mortgage offices in Wexford, Pennsylvania, as well as Hudson and Lewis Center, Ohio. First Commonwealth provides a full range of commercial banking, consumer banking, mortgage, equipment finance, wealth management and insurance products and services through its subsidiaries First Commonwealth Bank and First Commonwealth Insurance Agency. For more information about First Commonwealth or to open an account today, please visit www.fcbanking.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this release that are not historical facts may constitute “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 (the “Exchange Act”), and are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, notwithstanding that such statements are not specifically identified as such. In addition, certain statements may be contained in our future filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in press releases, and in oral and written statements made by us or with our approval that are not statements of historical fact and constitute “forward-looking statements” as well. These statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate” or words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties, and could be affected by many factors, including, but not limited to: (1) volatility and disruption in national and international financial markets; (2) the effects of and changes in trade and monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve Board; (3) inflation, interest rate, commodity price, securities market and monetary fluctuations; (4) the effect of changes in laws and regulations (including laws and regulations concerning taxes, banking, securities and insurance) with which First Commonwealth or its customers must comply; (5) the soundness of other financial institutions; (6) political instability; (7) impairment of First Commonwealth’s goodwill or other intangible assets; (8) acts of God or of war or terrorism; (9) the timely development and acceptance of new products and services and perceived overall value of these products and services by users; (10) changes in consumer spending, borrowings and savings habits; (11) changes in the financial performance and/or condition of First Commonwealth’s borrowers; (12) technological changes; (13) acquisitions and integration of acquired businesses; (14) First Commonwealth’s ability to attract and retain qualified employees; (15) changes in the competitive environment in First Commonwealth’s markets and among banking organizations and other financial service providers; (16) the ability to increase market share and control expenses; (17) the effect of changes in accounting policies and practices, as may be adopted by the regulatory agencies, as well as the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and other accounting standard setters; (18) the reliability of First Commonwealth’s vendors, internal control systems or information systems; (19) the costs and effects of legal and regulatory developments, the resolution of legal proceedings or regulatory or other governmental inquiries, the results of regulatory examinations or reviews and the ability to obtain required regulatory approvals; and (20) other risks and uncertainties described in this report and in the other reports that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, you should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements in this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Media Relations:
Ron Wahl
Communications and Media Relations
Phone: 724-463-6806
E-mail: RWahl@fcbanking.com

Investor Relations:
Ryan M. Thomas
Vice President / Finance and Investor Relations
Phone: 724-463-1690
E-mail: RThomas1@fcbanking.com