Bank of the Carolinas Corporation Reports Fourth Quarter and Year End Financial Results

MOCKSVILLE, N.C., Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bank of the Carolinas Corporation (Nasdaq: BCAR) today reported financial results for the three- and twelve-month periods ended December 31, 2010.

For the three-month period ended December 31, 2010, the Company reported a net loss of $2.3 million as compared to a net loss of $1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.  After payment of dividends on preferred stock, the net loss available to common shareholders for the three months ended December 31, 2010 was $2.5 million, or $0.65 per common share, compared to a net loss of $2.0 million, or $0.51 per common share, for the fourth quarter of 2009.

For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company reported a net loss of $2.7 million, as compared to a net loss of $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2009.  The net loss available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $3.6 million, or $0.92 per common share, compared to a net loss of $3.8 million, or $0.97 per common share, for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Fourth quarter and year end results were negatively impacted by the provision for loan losses and valuation provisions and costs related to foreclosed real estate.  Those combined costs totaled $4.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, an increase of 35.0% over the same quarter in 2009.  For the full year period of 2010, credit related costs totaled $8.3 million, or an 11.1% increase over the previous year.  Excluding these credit related costs, the Company had improved operating results in 2010 due to both an increased net interest margin and reductions in noninterest expenses.  The Company's year-to-date net interest margin increased to 3.26% in 2010 as compared to 2.56% in 2009.  Noninterest expense, excluding the costs related to foreclosed real estate, was reduced by 23.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010 versus the fourth quarter of 2009 and for the year end period was reduced 7.0% in 2010 versus 2009.

As of December 31, 2010, the Company's nonperforming assets totaled $33.0 million and amounted to 6.17% of total assets as compared to total nonperforming assets of $17.5 million, or 2.86% of total assets, as of December 31, 2009.  The allowance for loan losses was 1.87% of total loans as of December 31, 2010, and net charge-offs for the year end period represented 2.08% of average loans outstanding.    

Total assets at December 31, 2010 amounted to $535.0 million, a decrease of 12.4% when compared to $610.4 million as of December 31, 2009.  The decrease in assets was part of a strategic decision by the Company to improve its net interest margin and capital ratios.  Loans totaled $366.2 million at December 31, 2010, a decline of 6.4% from a year earlier, and deposits fell 15.7% over the prior year to $416.2 million.

The Company continues to be well capitalized, exceeding all regulatory capital requirements, with a Tier 1 leverage ratio of 7.79% and a total capital to risk-weighted assets ratio of 11.51% as of December 31, 2010.

Bank of the Carolinas Corporation is the holding company for Bank of the Carolinas, a North Carolina chartered bank headquartered in Mocksville, NC with offices in Advance, Asheboro, Cleveland, Concord, Harrisburg, King, Landis, Lexington and Winston-Salem.  The common stock of the Company is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "BCAR".

DISCLOSURES ABOUT FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this press release relating to plans, strategies, economic performance and trends, projections of results of specific activities or investments, expectations or beliefs about future events or results, and other statements that are not descriptions of historical facts, may be forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Forward-looking information is inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors which include, but are not limited to, factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.  Copies of those reports are available directly through the SEC's Internet website at www.sec.gov.  Forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "plans," "intends," "anticipates," "feels," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "forecasts," "potential" or "continue," or similar terms or the negative of these terms, or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of our management about future events.  Factors that could influence the accuracy of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (a) pressures on our earnings, capital and liquidity resulting from current and future conditions in the credit and capital markets, (b) continued or unexpected increases in nonperforming loans and credit losses in our loan portfolio, (c) continued adverse conditions in the economy and in the real estate market in our banking markets (particularly those conditions that affect our loan portfolio, the abilities of our borrowers to repay their loans, and the values of collateral that secures our loans), (d) the financial success or changing strategies of our customers, (e) actions of government regulators, or change in laws, regulations or accounting standards, that adversely affect our business, (f) changes in the interest rate environment and the level of market interest rates that reduce our net interest margins and/or the values of loans we make and securities we hold,  (g) changes in competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions or in our ability to compete effectively against other financial institutions in our banking markets, and (h) other developments or changes in our business that we do not expect.  Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements included in this press release are reasonable, they represent our management's judgments only as of the date they are made, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements.  As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph.  We have no obligation, and do not intend, to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Bank of the Carolinas Corporation