First BancTrust Corporation Reports Third Quarter Results And Declares Regular Quarterly Cash Dividend

PARIS, Ill., Nov. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First BancTrust Corporation (the "Company") (Pink Sheets: FIRT), today reported third quarter net income of $94,000, or 4 cents per diluted share, compared with $442,000, or 20 cents per diluted share, a year earlier. For the nine months ended September 30, 2008, net income was $863,000, or 40 cents per diluted share, compared with $877,000, or 39 cents per diluted share, for the prior year period.

Net Interest Income

Net interest income for the third quarter increased 14 percent, or $311,000, to $2.52 million from $2.21 million a year earlier, primarily due to increased interest income from growth in the balance of portfolio loans. Net interest income increased $1.02 million to $7.13 million for the first nine months of the year.

The Provision for Loan Losses for the third quarter increased 377 percent to $869,000 from $182,000 a year earlier. For the first nine months of the year, the Provision for Loan Losses increased by $825,000 from $446,000 to $1.271 million or 185 percent. The additional provision for loan losses in the third quarter was made largely to offset anticipated losses in a single, rapidly deteriorating commercial credit. Otherwise, the increased provision for the nine month period occurred primarily to provide adequate reserves for loan growth and to recognize the challenges of the current economic environment.

Noninterest Income, Expense

Third quarter noninterest income declined $20,000 to $936,000 compared to $956,000 for the same period a year ago, primarily as a result of decreases in other Net Gains on Loan Sales and Abstract and Title Fees. For the nine-month period, noninterest income increased $79,000 from $2.81 million to $2.90 million, primarily as result of increases in customer service fees and other service fees.

Noninterest expense for the third quarter increased $131,000 to $2.49 million from the $2.36 million reported during the same quarter last year. For the nine-month period, noninterest expense increased $204,000 to $7.33 million from $7.53 million. The primary reasons for the increase in both time periods were the increases in salaries and benefits, professional fees, marketing expense, expenses associated with foreclosed assets, as well as increases in Freddie Mac delivery fees and corporate filing expenses.

Assets, Loans, Deposits

Total assets at September 30, 2008, were $350.19 million compared with $326.88 million at December 31, 2006, an increase of $23.31 million or 7 percent. During the same period, loans, net of allowance for loan losses, increased by $31.05 million from $234.86 million to $265.91 million, an increase of 13 percent. Deposits increased by $16.93 million or 7 percent to $249.07 million compared with $232.14 million at year-end 2007.

Quarterly Dividend

The board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 6 cents per common share, payable December 15, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 1, 2008. This marks the 29th consecutive quarterly dividend the company has paid.

About First BancTrust Corporation

First BancTrust Corporation is a holding company that owns all of the capital stock of First Bank & Trust, S.B., an Illinois-chartered savings bank that conducts business from its main office located in Paris, Illinois, and branch banks in Marshall, Savoy, Rantoul, and Martinsville, Illinois. On September 30, 2008, the company had $350 million of total assets, $323 million of total liabilities and $27 million of stockholders' equity.

Footnote:

This earnings report may contain certain forward-looking statements which are based on management's current expectations regarding economic, legislative, and regulatory issues that may impact the Company's earnings in future periods. Factors that could cause future results to vary materially from current management expectations include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, changes in interest rates, deposit flows, real estate values, and competition, changes in accounting principles, policies, or guidelines, changes in legislation or regulation, and other economic, competitive, governmental, regulatory, and technological factors affecting the Company's operations, pricing, products, and services. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Further information concerning the Company and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect the company's financial results is available at http://www.firstbanktrust.com/firt.htm or by faxing a request for a copy of our latest press release to (217) 465-0285. First BancTrust Corporation stock is traded Over-the-Counter (OTC) on Pink Sheets. Investors can view First BancTrust Corporation's security quotes and profile on http://www.pinksheets.com under ticker symbol "FIRT".

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                           First BancTrust Corporation
                         Selected Financial Information
                   (in thousands of dollars except share data)

    Balance Sheet Data                           Sept. 30,          Dec. 31,
                                                    2008              2007
                                                (unaudited)

    Total Assets                                  $350,188          $326,875
    Cash And Cash Equivalents                        8,022            10,339
    Investment Securities                           47,518            53,960
    FHLB Stock                                       3,749             3,749
    Loans Held For Sale                                315               394
    Loans, Net of Allowance for
     Loans Losses of $2,479 and $2,091             265,914           234,855
    Deposits                                       249,069           232,139
    Federal Home Loan Bank Advances                 60,800            55,800
    Junior Subordinated Debentures                   6,186             6,186
    Stockholders' Equity                            27,148            26,501

    Book Value Per Common Share                     $12.42            $12.07



    Summary Of Operations        Three Months Ended        Nine Months Ended
                                      Sept. 30                  Sept. 30
                                   2008       2007          2008         2007
                                                 (unaudited)

    Interest Income               $5,036     $4,804        $14,909    $13,643
    Interest Expense               2,515      2,594          7,779      7,534

    Net Interest Income            2,521      2,210          7,130      6,109

    Provision For Loan Losses        869        182          1,271        446

    Net Interest Income After
     Provision For Loan Losses     1,652      2,028          5,859      5,663
    Noninterest Income               936        956          2,896      2,817
    Noninterest Expense            2,486      2,355          7,531      7,327

    Income Before Income Tax         102        629          1,224      1,153
    Income Tax Expense                 8        187            361        276

    Net Income                       $94       $442           $863       $877

    Share Data
      Weighted Avg. Shares Out.
       - Basic                 2,114,650  2,136,836      2,107,048  2,163,835
      Weighted Avg. Shares Out.
       - Diluted               2,169,176  2,211,005      2,162,549  2,247,419

      Basic Earnings Per Share     $0.04      $0.21          $0.41      $0.41
      Diluted Earnings Per Share   $0.04      $0.20          $0.40      $0.39

    Ratios Based On Net Income
      Return on Average
       Stockholders' Equity         1.38%      6.78%          4.24%      4.44%
      Return On Average Assets      0.11%      0.59%          0.34%      0.39%

SOURCE First BancTrust Corporation

RELATED LINKS
http://www.firstbanktrust.com