"We are extremely pleased by our core performance both for fourth quarter and for the year 2023," stated H. Charles Maddy III, President and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Financial Group, "highlighted by solid loan growth, a stable top quartile peer net interest margin, an enviable efficiency ratio and best-in-class return on tangible common equity." Mr. Maddy continued, "Looking ahead as we prepare for our strategic merger with Burke & Herbert, we remain committed to enhancing shareholder value, driven by our foundational strengths and synergistic growth plans. With our dedicated team, resilient strategies and community trust, we are optimistic and geared up for the opportunities and challenges ahead."

Results from Operations

Net interest income totaled $40.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, marking an increase of 18.7 percent from the prior-year fourth quarter and down 1.2 percent from the linked quarter. This year-over-year robust growth is primarily attributable to our strategic expansion of the loan portfolio and optimizations in investment allocations. NIM for the fourth quarter 2023 was 3.76 percent compared to 3.88 percent for the linked quarter and 3.80 percent for the prior-year quarter, as the cost of interest-bearing funds outpaced the increased yields on interest earning assets.

Summit recorded a $1.50 million provision for credit losses in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to $1.25 million for the linked quarter and $1.50 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Noninterest income, consisting primarily of service fee income from community banking activities and trust and wealth management fees, for fourth quarter 2023 was $5.80 million compared to $5.27 million for the linked quarter and $4.87 million for the comparable period of 2022. The Company recognized net gains on equity investments of $365,000 in the fourth quarter 2023 compared to $180,000 in the linked quarter. Excluding gains and losses from debt securities and equity investments, the combined revenue from net interest income and non-interest income for Q4 2023 was $46.2 million compared to $46.4 million in the linked quarter and a substantial 18.6 percent growth from $39.0 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Total noninterest expense decreased to $23.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, down 1.1 percent from $24.2 million in the linked quarter primarily due to lower salaries and employee benefits and fewer acquisition-related expenses in the fourth quarter. Conversely, there was a 26.8 percent hike from $18.8 million for the same quarter in the prior year, attributed mainly to the assimilation of operational costs from the newly integrated PSB operations and higher acquisition-related expenses in 2024.

Salary and benefit expenses were $11.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2023, a decrease from $12.0 million in the preceding quarter but up from $10.5 million in the same period last year. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to the PSB acquisition and higher group health insurance premiums.

Acquisition-related expenses representing legal, due diligence and fairness opinion costs relative to the Burke & Herbert merger were $839,000 for Q4 2023 compared to $1.11 million for the linked quarter and $81,000 during Q4 2022.

Summit’s efficiency ratio was 47.33 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, an increase from 46.40 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, and marginally better than the 47.15 percent in the linked quarter. Concurrently, the non-interest expense to average assets ratio was optimized to 2.05 percent, compared to 2.10 percent in the previous quarter, indicating enhanced operational efficiency despite the expanded asset base post-PSB acquisition.

Balance Sheet

As of December 31, 2023, total assets were $4.6 billion, an increase of $717.6 million, or 18.3 percent since December 31, 2022. Excluding acquired PSB assets, total assets increased by $149.3 million, or 3.8 percent since December 31, 2022.

Total loans net of unearned fees increased 19.4 percent to $3.7 billion as of December 31, 2023, from $3.1 billion at December 31, 2022. Total loans, excluding those related to mortgage warehouse lending and acquired loans, reached $3.2 billion as of December 31, 2023. This represents an increase of 2.85 percent (or 11.4 percent when annualized) during the quarter just ended.

Deposits totaled $3.7 billion on December 31, 2023, a 1.0 percent decrease during the fourth quarter. Core deposits decreased 1.1 percent during the fourth quarter 2023 to $3.7 billion. Adjusted uninsured deposits (excluding uninsured public deposits otherwise secured or collateralized as required by law) were 34.8 percent of total deposits at December 31, 2023 compared to 29.8 percent at year-end 2022.

Total shareholders’ equity was $440.2 million as of December 31, 2023, compared to $354.5 million at December 31, 2022. Summit paid a quarterly common dividend of $0.22 per share in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Tangible Book Value Per Common Share ("TBVPCS") increased by $1.67 to $23.89 during the fourth quarter of 2023, representing a 7.5 percent increase. This increase was primarily due to retained earnings and the increase in the fair value of available for sale securities reflected in accumulated other comprehensive loss. Summit had 14,683,457 outstanding common shares at December 31, 2023, compared to 12,783,646 at year-end 2022.

Asset Quality

The Company recorded net loan recoveries of $188,000 during the fourth quarter 2023, representing 0.02 percent of average loans annualized, compared to net loan charge-offs ("NCOs") of $119,000, representing 0.01 percent of average loans annualized, in the linked quarter. NCOs of $1,000 represented 0.0 percent of average loans annualized in the year-ago period.

Summit’s allowance for loan credit losses was $48.1 million on December 31, 2023, $47.2 million at the end of the linked quarter, and $38.9 million on December 31, 2022. As of December 31, 2023, the allowance for loan credit losses stood at 1.31 percent of total loans, reflecting a slight increase compared to the rate of 1.26 percent recorded as of December 31, 2022. In terms of the allowance's coverage, it represented 386.6 percent of nonperforming loans at December 31, 2023, in contrast to the figure of 497.2 percent at December 31, 2022.

Summit’s allowance for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments was $7.74 million as of December 31, 2023, compared to $6.91 million at the end of the linked quarter. During the most recent quarter, the allowance for credit losses on unfunded loan commitments increased by $830,000, primarily due to a change in mix of type of unfunded loan balances.

As of December 31, 2023, nonperforming assets ("NPAs"), consisting of nonperforming loans, foreclosed properties, and repossessed assets, totaled $16.2 million, or 0.35 percent of assets, compared to NPAs of $12.9 million, or 0.33 percent of assets at year-end 2022.

About the Company

Summit Financial Group, Inc. is the $4.6 billion financial holding company for Summit Community Bank, Inc. Its talented bankers serve commercial and individual clients throughout West Virginia, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Virginia, Kentucky, Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware. Summit’s focus on in-market commercial lending and providing other business banking services in dynamic markets is designed to leverage its highly efficient operations and core deposits in strong legacy locations. Residential and consumer lending, trust and wealth management, and other retail financial services are offered through convenient digital and mobile banking platforms, including MySummitBank.com and 54 full-service branch locations. More information on Summit Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMF), headquartered in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle in Moorefield, is available at SummitFGI.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the results of operations presented in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), Summit’s management uses, and this press release contains or references, certain non-GAAP financial measures, such as tangible common equity/tangible assets; efficiency ratio; return on average tangible equity and return on average tangible common equity. Summit believes these financial measures provide information useful to investors in understanding our operational performance and business and performance trends which facilitate comparisons with the performance of others in the financial services industry. Although Summit believes that these non-GAAP financial measures enhance investors' understanding of Summit’s business and performance, these non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered an alternative to GAAP or are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures presented by other companies.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains comments or information that constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995) that are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates" and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as "will", "should", "would" and "could" are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.

Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, actual results may differ materially. Factors that might cause such a difference include: the effect of pandemics, including the negative impacts and disruptions on the communities we serve, and the domestic and global economy, which may have an adverse effect on our business; current and future economic and market conditions, including the effects of declines in housing prices, high unemployment rates, U.S. fiscal debt, budget and tax matters, geopolitical matters, and any slowdown in global economic growth; fiscal and monetary policies of the Federal Reserve; future provisions for credit losses on loans and debt securities; changes in nonperforming assets; changes in interest rates and interest rate relationships; demand for products and services; the degree of competition by traditional and non-traditional competitors; the successful integration of operations of our acquisitions; changes in banking laws and regulations; changes in tax laws; the impact of technological advances; the outcomes of contingencies; trends in customer behavior as well as their ability to repay loans; changes in the national and local economies, the impact of natural disasters, extreme weather events, military conflict (including the Russia/Ukraine conflict, the conflict in Israel and surrounding areas, the possible expansion of such conflicts and potential geopolitical consequences), terrorism or other geopolitical events; delays in completing the pending merger of Summit and Burke & Herbert, the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals and shareholder approvals or to satisfy any of the other conditions to the merger on a timely basis or at all, the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the merger are not realized when expected or at all, corporate strategies or objectives, including the impact of certain actions and initiatives, anticipated trends in Summit's business, regulatory developments, estimated synergies, cost savings and financial benefits of completed transactions, growth strategies, the inability to realize cost savings or improved revenues or to implement integration plans and other consequences associated with the proposed merger; and the other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of Summit’s Annual Report on Form 10–K for the year ended December 31, 2022, in the "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" section of Summit’s Quarterly Report on Form 10–Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2023, June 30, 2023 and September 30, 2023, and other reports Summit files with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to revise these statements following the date of this press release.

NOTES

(A) – Presented on a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal tax rate of 21%.

(B) – Non-GAAP financial measure computed on a tax equivalent basis excluding acquisition-related expenses, gains/losses on sales of assets, write-downs of OREO properties to fair value and amortization of intangibles.

(C) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

(D) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average common shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

NOTES

(A) – Presented on a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal tax rate of 21%.

(B) – Non-GAAP financial measure computed on a tax equivalent basis excluding acquisition-related expenses, gains/losses on sales of assets, write-downs of OREO properties to fair value and amortization of intangibles.

(C) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

(D) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Net income applicable to common shares + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average common shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

NOTES

(A) – Presented on a tax-equivalent basis assuming a federal tax rate of 21%.

(B) – Non-GAAP financial measure computed on a tax equivalent basis excluding acquisition-related expenses, gains/losses on sales of assets, write-downs of OREO properties to fair value and amortization of intangibles.

(C) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

(D) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Net income + Amortization of intangibles [after-tax]) / (Average common shareholders’ equity – Average intangible assets).

NOTES

(A) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Common stock and related surplus + Retained earnings + Accumulated other comprehensive income/loss – Intangible assets) / Common shares outstanding.

(B) – Non-GAAP financial measure that equals: (Common stock and related surplus + Retained earnings + Accumulated other comprehensive income/loss – Intangible assets) / (Total assets – Intangible assets).