WINTER HAVEN, Fla., April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SouthState Corporation (NYSE:SSB) today released its unaudited results of operations and other financial information for the three-month period ended March 31, 2024. "In the midst of a transition year for the US economy, SouthState produced first quarter revenue and earnings per share in line with our guidance," commented John C. Corbett, SouthState's Chief Executive Officer.  "Loans and deposits grew in the low-single digit percent range and asset quality remains stable with strong reserves. Our markets are resilient, and people are migrating to the South as an attractive place to live and grow a business." Highlights of the first quarter of 2024 include: Returns Reported Diluted Earnings per Share ("EPS") of $1.50; Adjusted Diluted EPS (Non-GAAP) of $1.58 Net Income of $115.1 million; Adjusted Net Income (Non-GAAP) of $121.3 million Return on Average Common Equity of 8.4%; Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (Non-GAAP) of 13.6% and Adjusted Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (Non-GAAP) of 14.4%* Return on Average Assets ("ROAA") of 1.03% and Adjusted ROAA (Non-GAAP) of 1.08%* Pre-Provision Net Revenue ("PPNR") per Weighted Average Diluted Share (Non-GAAP) of $2.28 Book Value per Share of $72.82; Tangible Book Value ("TBV") per Share (Non-GAAP) of $46.48 ∗ Annualized percentages Performance Net Interest Income of $344 million; Core Net Interest Income (excluding loan accretion) (Non-GAAP) of $340 million Net Interest Margin ("NIM"), non-tax equivalent of 3.40% and tax equivalent (Non-GAAP) of 3.41% Net charge-offs of $2.7 million, or 0.03% annualized; $12.7 million Provision for Credit Losses ("PCL"), including release for unfunded commitments; total allowance for credit losses ("ACL") plus reserve for unfunded commitments of 1.60% Noninterest Income of $72 million; Noninterest Income represented 0.64% of average assets for the first quarter of 2024 Recorded FDIC special assessment expense of $3.9 million Efficiency Ratio of 58% and Adjusted Efficiency Ratio (Non-GAAP) of 56% Balance Sheet Loans increased $279 million, or 3% annualized, led by consumer real estate; ending loan to deposit ratio of 88% Deposits increased $130 million, or 1% annualized Total deposit cost of 1.74%, up 0.14% from prior quarter, resulting in a 33% cycle-to-date beta Repurchased a total of 100,000 shares during 1Q 2024 at a weighted average price of $79.85 Strong capital position with Tangible Common Equity, Total Risk-Based Capital, Tier 1 Leverage, and Tier 1 Common Equity ratios of 8.2%, 14.4%, 9.6%, and 11.9%, respectively† † Preliminary Subsequent Events The Board of Directors of the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.52 per share, payable on May 17, 2024 to shareholders of record as of May 10, 2024 Financial Performance Three Months Ended (Dollars in thousands, except per share data) Mar. 31, Dec. 31, Sep. 30, Jun. 30, Mar. 31, INCOME STATEMENT 2024 2023 2023 2023 2023 Interest Income    Loans, including fees (1) $ 463,688 $ 459,880 $ 443,805 $ 419,355 $ 393,366    Investment securities, trading securities, federal funds sold and securities       purchased under agreements to resell 53,567 55,555 56,704 58,698 57,043 Total interest income 517,255 515,435 500,509 478,053 450,409 Interest Expense    Deposits 160,162 149,584 133,944 100,787 55,942    Federal funds purchased, securities sold under agreements       to repurchase, and other borrowings 13,157 11,620 11,194 15,523 13,204 Total interest expense 173,319 161,204 145,138 116,310 69,146 Net Interest Income 343,936 354,231 355,371 361,743 381,263   Provision for credit losses 12,686 9,893 32,709 38,389 33,091 Net Interest Income after Provision for Credit Losses 331,250 344,338 322,662 323,354 348,172 Noninterest Income 71,558 65,489 72,848 77,214 71,355 Noninterest Expense Operating expense 240,923 245,774 238,042 240,818 231,093 Merger, branch consolidation, severance related and other expense (8) 4,513 1,778 164 1,808 9,412 FDIC special assessment 3,854 25,691 — — — Total noninterest expense 249,290 273,243 238,206 242,626 240,505 Income before Income Taxes Provision 153,518 136,584 157,304 157,942 179,022 Income taxes provision 38,462 29,793 33,160 34,495 39,096 Net Income $ 115,056 $ 106,791 $ 124,144 $ 123,447 $ 139,926 Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) (2) Net Income (GAAP) $ 115,056 $ 106,791 $ 124,144 $ 123,447 $ 139,926 Securities losses (gains), net of tax — 2 — — (35) Merger, branch consolidation, severance related and other expense, net of tax (8) 3,382 1,391 130 1,414 7,356 FDIC special assessment, net of tax 2,888 20,087 — — — Adjusted Net Income (non-GAAP) $ 121,326 $ 128,271 $ 124,274 $ 124,861 $ 147,247    Basic earnings per common share $ 1.51 $ 1.40 $ 1.63 $ 1.62 $ 1.84    Diluted earnings per common share $ 1.50 $ 1.39 $ 1.62 $ 1.62 $ 1.83    Adjusted net income per common share - Basic (non-GAAP) (2) $ 1.59 $ 1.69 $ 1.63 $ 1.64 $ 1.94    Adjusted net income per common share - Diluted (non-GAAP) (2) $ 1.58 $ 1.67 $ 1.62 $ 1.63 $ 1.93    Dividends per common share $ 0.52 $ 0.52 $ 0.52 $ 0.50 $ 0.50    Basic weighted-average common shares outstanding 76,301,411 76,100,187 76,139,170 76,057,977 75,902,440    Diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding 76,660,081 76,634,100 76,571,430 76,417,537 76,388,954    Effective tax rate 25.05 % 21.81 % 21.08 % 21.84 % 21.84 %   Performance and Capital Ratios Three Months Ended Mar. 31, Dec. 31, Sep. 30, Jun. 30, Mar. 31, 2024 2023 2023 2023 2023 PERFORMANCE RATIOS Return on average assets (annualized) 1.03 % 0.94 % 1.10 % 1.11 % 1.29 % Adjusted return on average assets (annualized) (non-GAAP) (2) 1.08 % 1.13 % 1.10 % 1.12 % 1.35 % Return on average common equity (annualized) 8.36 % 7.99 % 9.24 % 9.34 % 10.96 % Adjusted return on average common equity (annualized) (non-GAAP) (2) 8.81 % 9.60 % 9.25 % 9.45 % 11.53 % Return on average tangible common equity (annualized) (non-GAAP) (3) 13.63 % 13.53 % 15.52 % 15.81 % 18.81 % Adjusted return on average tangible common equity (annualized) (non-GAAP) (2) (3) 14.35 % 16.12 % 15.54 % 15.98 % 19.75 % Efficiency ratio (tax equivalent) 58.48 % 63.43 % 54.00 % 53.59 % 51.41 % Adjusted efficiency ratio (non-GAAP) (4) 56.47 % 56.89 % 53.96 % 53.18 % 49.34 % Dividend payout ratio (5) 34.42 % 37.01 % 31.84 % 30.75 % 27.09 % Book value per common share $ 72.82 $ 72.78 $ 68.81 $ 69.61 $ 69.19 Tangible book value per common share (non-GAAP) (3) $ 46.48 $ 46.32 $ 42.26 $ 42.96 $ 42.40 CAPITAL RATIOS Equity-to-assets 12.3 % 12.3 % 11.6 % 11.8 % 11.7 % Tangible equity-to-tangible assets (non-GAAP) (3) 8.2 % 8.2 % 7.5 % 7.6 % 7.5 % Tier 1 leverage (6) 9.6 % 9.4 % 9.3 % 9.2 % 9.1 % Tier 1 common equity (6) 11.9 % 11.8 % 11.5 % 11.3 % 11.1 % Tier 1 risk-based capital (6) 11.9 % 11.8 % 11.5 % 11.3 % 11.1 % Total risk-based capital (6) 14.4 % 14.1 % 13.8 % 13.5 % 13.3 %   Balance Sheet Ending Balance (Dollars in thousands, except per share and share data) Mar. 31, Dec. 31, Sep. 30, Jun. 30, Mar. 31, BALANCE SHEET 2024 2023 2023 2023 2023 Assets    Cash and due from banks $ 478,271 $ 510,922 $ 514,917 $ 552,900 $ 558,158    Federal funds sold and interest-earning deposits with banks 731,186 487,955 814,220 960,849 1,438,504 Cash and cash equivalents 1,209,457 998,877 1,329,137 1,513,749 1,996,662 Trading securities, at fair value 66,188 31,321 114,154 56,580 16,039 Investment securities:    Securities held to maturity 2,446,589 2,487,440 2,533,713 2,585,155 2,636,673    Securities available for sale, at fair value 4,598,400 4,784,388 4,623,618 4,949,334 5,159,999    Other investments 187,285 192,043 187,152 196,728 217,991                Total investment securities 7,232,274 7,463,871 7,344,483 7,731,217 8,014,663 Loans held for sale 56,553 50,888 27,443 42,951 27,289 Loans: Purchased credit deteriorated 1,031,283 1,108,813 1,171,543 1,269,983 1,325,400 Purchased non-credit deteriorated 4,534,583 4,796,913 5,064,254 5,275,913 5,620,290 Non-acquired 27,101,444 26,482,763 25,780,875 24,990,889 23,750,452     Less allowance for credit losses (469,654) (456,573) (447,956) (427,392) (370,645)                Loans, net 32,197,656 31,931,916 31,568,716 31,109,393 30,325,497 Premises and equipment, net 512,635 519,197 516,583 518,353 517,146 Bank owned life insurance 997,562 991,454 984,881 979,494 967,750 Mortgage servicing rights 87,970 85,164 89,476 87,539 85,406 Core deposit and other intangibles 83,193 88,776 95,094 102,256 109,603 Goodwill 1,923,106 1,923,106 1,923,106 1,923,106 1,923,106 Other assets 778,244 817,454 996,055 875,694 940,666                 Total assets $ 45,144,838 $ 44,902,024 $ 44,989,128 $ 44,940,332 $ 44,923,827 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Deposits:    Noninterest-bearing $ 10,546,410 $ 10,649,274 $ 11,158,431 $ 11,489,483 $ 12,422,583    Interest-bearing 26,632,024 26,399,635 25,776,767 25,252,395 23,979,009                Total deposits 37,178,434 37,048,909 36,935,198 36,741,878 36,401,592 Federal funds purchased and securities    sold under agreements to repurchase 554,691 489,185 513,304 581,446 544,108 Other borrowings 391,812 491,904 391,997 792,090 1,292,182 Reserve for unfunded commitments 53,229 56,303 62,347 63,399 85,068 Other liabilities 1,419,663 1,282,625 1,855,295 1,471,509 1,351,873                Total liabilities 39,597,829 39,368,926 39,758,141 39,650,322 39,674,823 Shareholders' equity:    Common stock - $2.50 par value; authorized 160,000,000 shares 190,443 190,055 190,043 189,990 189,649    Surplus 4,230,345 4,240,413 4,238,753 4,228,910 4,224,503    Retained earnings 1,749,215 1,685,166 1,618,080 1,533,508 1,448,636    Accumulated other comprehensive loss (622,994) (582,536) (815,889) (662,398) (613,784)                Total shareholders' equity 5,547,009