United Bancorp, Inc. Reports Earnings of $0.15 per Share for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2011, an Increase of 7.14%

MARTINS FERRY, Ohio, April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: UBCP), headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio reported net income of $738,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2011, compared to $683,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2010, an increase of 8.12%.  On a per share basis, the Company's diluted earnings were $0.15 for the three months ended March 31, 2011, as compared to $0.14 for the three months ended March 31, 2010, an increase of 7.14%.  

Randall M. Greenwood, Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer remarked, "The Company's earnings in the first quarter of 2011 generated an annualized 0.69% return on average assets ("ROA") and an 8.26% return on average equity ("ROE"), compared to 0.61% ROA and 7.69% ROE for the three months ended March 31, 2010.  Comparing the quarter ended March 31, 2011 to the first quarter of 2010, the Company's net interest margin increased to 4.18% from 4.00%, an increase of 18 basis points.  In dollars, the Company's net interest income increased approximately $56,000, due to an increase in earning assets and the net interest margin.  Comparing the same periods, Customer Service Fees on deposits decreased $89,000, due in part to changes in the way our overdraft program is structured as a result of pending regulatory guidance related to customer overdraft fees. The Company recognized a gain on sale of securities of $370,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2011. The Company sold its government sponsored mortgage–backed securities portfolio to take advantage of the favorable rate environment on these short term investments and provide liquidity to restructure the Company's balance sheet to shift towards higher yielding loan relationships. On the expense side, the Company's 2011 earnings were affected by a period over period increase of $288,000 in our provision for loan losses. The increase in the provision for loan losses was predicated primarily upon the economic challenges facing the banking industry."

James W. Everson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "We are pleased to see our first quarter earnings 8.12% above last year's first quarter performance.  Our budget projections show a continuation of earnings improvement for this year as we implement our planned cost savings initiatives as a follow up to our newly installed core processing system.  We are also pleased with our asset management and the improvement in our non performing loans, which decreased by 22% compared to the first quarter last year resulting in non-performing loans  to total loans at 1.69% at quarter end, well below our banking peer group.  We continue our focus on keeping a balance between maintaining our regulatory "Well Capitalized" status, sufficiently accruing into our loan loss reserve while managing our asset quality and making capital expenditures for future shareholder growth...plus cover our generous dividend payment policy."

United Bancorp, Inc. is headquartered in Martins Ferry, Ohio with total assets of approximately $432.1 million and total shareholder's equity of approximately $35.8 million as of March 31, 2011.  Through its single bank charter with its twenty banking offices and an operations center, The Citizens Savings Bank through its Community Bank Division serves the Ohio Counties of Athens, Fairfield and Hocking and through its Citizens Bank Division serves Belmont, Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson and Tuscarawas. United Bancorp, Inc. is a part of the Russell Microcap Index and trades on The NASDAQ Capital Market tier of the NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbol UBCP, Cusip #909911109.

Certain statements contained herein are not based on historical facts and are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Forward-looking statements, which are based on various assumptions (some of which are beyond the Company's control), may be identified by reference to a future period or periods, or by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "may," "will," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "anticipate," "continue," or similar terms or variations on those terms, or the negative of these terms.  Actual results could differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements, due to a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, those related to the economic environment, particularly in the market areas in which the company operates, competitive products and pricing, fiscal and monetary policies of the U.S. Government, changes in government regulations affecting financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates, acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses, credit risk management, asset/liability management, changes in the financial and securities markets, including changes with respect to the market value of our financial  assets, and the availability of and costs associated with sources of liquidity.  The Company undertakes no obligation to update or clarify forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE United Bancorp, Inc.