California BanCorp reports Q4 EPS 63c, consensus 61c

Reports Q4 revenue $19.9M, consensus $19.83M. Q4 net interest margin was 3.88% vs. 3.86% for 3Q23 and 4.32% for 4Q22. Tangible book value per share of $22.50 increased by 74c, or 3%. “Despite a challenging year for the banking industry, we generated a record level of earnings in 2023, which reflects the strength of the franchise we have built and our ability to perform well in a variety of economic conditions,” said CEO Steven Shelton. “While maintaining our conservative approach to new loan production and prudent balance sheet management, we continued to deliver strong financial performance in Q4 with our return on assets remaining above 1%…Given the strength of our balance sheet, with a high level of capital, liquidity, and reserves, along with a conservatively underwritten loan portfolio, we believe we are well positioned to continue delivering strong financial performance in 2024 even if the macroeconomic environment remains challenging….We have a strong deposit pipeline that we believe should result in continued growth in our client roster during 2024, further improvement in our level of profitability in the years ahead, and an increase in the value of our franchise.”