New Century Bancorp Reports First Quarter 2012 Earnings

Net income boosted by loan recovery.

News provided by

New Century Bancorp

Apr 24, 2012, 01:13 ET

DUNN, N.C., April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- New Century Bancorp (the "Company"NASDAQ: NCBC), the holding company for New Century Bank, today reported net income of $2.1 million for the quarter ended March, 31, 2012, and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.31, compared to net income of $121,000 and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.02 for the quarter ended March 31, 2011.

Total assets for the Company as of March 31, 2012, were $581.0 million, total deposits were $490.0 million, and total loans were $399.8 million, compared to total assets of $632.3 million, total deposits of $542.3 million, and total loans of $461.6 million as of the same date in 2011. Loan demand remains soft due to the economy's slow recovery, resulting in lower total loans in a year-to-year comparison. Total deposits are also lower in a year-to-year comparison, as the bank's need for deposits is related to loan demand.

"Our quarterly earnings were boosted by a reduction in our loan loss provision due to a large recovery on a loan, which is a positive outcome for the Company," said William L. Hedgepeth, president and CEO of New Century Bancorp and New Century Bank. "Even without the recovery, our earnings—the results of day-to-day operations—were strong. We are pleased with these results, as they reflect the hard work of our staff.

"There are still challenges ahead for us, as there are for all community banks, specifically a difficult regulatory environment and a still sluggish economy. As a locally owned and operated community bank offering strong products and services to individuals and small businesses through people who live here and know these communities, we are in a unique position to understand and serve our customers and our market. And that is exactly what we are doing."

New Century Bank has branch offices in these North Carolina communities: Dunn, Clinton, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Lillington, Lumberton, and a loan production office in Greenville.

The information as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2012, as presented is unaudited. This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, (i) statements regarding certain of our goals and expectations with respect to earnings, earnings per share, revenue, expenses and the growth rate in such items, as well as other measures of economic performance, including statements relating to estimates of credit quality trends, and (ii) statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "projects," "outlook" or similar expressions. The actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to, our ability to manage growth, our limited operating history, substantial changes in financial markets, regulatory changes, changes in interest rates, loss of deposits and loan demand to other savings and financial institutions, and changes in real estate values and the real estate market. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company's SEC filings, including its periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, copies of which are available upon request from the Company.

www.newcenturybanknc.com

  











New Century Bancorp, Inc.







Selected Financial Information and Other Data







($ in thousands, except per share data)








 At or for the three months ended 













March 31, 2012

December 31, 2011

September 30, 2011

June 30, 2011

March 31, 2011

March 31, 2010

Summary of Operations:










  Total interest income

$     6,619

$     7,086

$       7,584

$      7,798

$       7,915

$      8,333

  Total interest expense

1,772

1,903

2,089

2,193

2,240

2,446

  Net interest income

4,847

5,183

5,495

5,605

5,675

5,887

  Provision for loan losses

(2,136)

319

2,194

2,542

1,164

1,270

    Net interest income after provision

6,983

4,864

3,301

3,063

4,511

4,617

  Noninterest income

626

642

643

892

641

667

  Goodwill Impairment

-

-

-

-

-

-

  Noninterest expense

4,216

4,574

4,114

5,339

5,079

4,606

    Income (loss) before income taxes

3,393

932

(170)

(1,384)

73

678

  Provision for income taxes (benefit)

1,281

333

(148)

(523)

(48)

221

       Net income (loss)

$     2,112

$         599

$           (22)

$        (861)

$          121

$         457

Share and Per Share Data:






















  Earnings (loss) per share - basic

$       0.31

$        0.09

$        (0.00)

$       (0.13)

$         0.02

$        0.07

  Book value per share

7.49

7.22

7.14

7.08

7.20

8.03

  Tangible book value per share

7.41

7.14

7.05

6.99

7.10

7.91

  Ending shares outstanding

6,913,636

6,860,367

6,860,367

6,913,636

6,913,636

6,837,952

  Weighted average shares outstanding:










     Basic

6,859,196

6,860,367

6,861,034

6,913,636

6,913,636

6,837,952

     Diluted

6,859,196

6,860,367

6,861,034

6,913,636

6,913,653

6,845,714

Selected Performance Ratios:






















  Return on average assets

1.45%

0.39%

-0.01%

-0.55%

0.08%

0.30%

  Return on average equity

16.89%

4.80%

-0.18%

-6.82%

0.97%

3.34%

  Net interest margin

3.64%

3.68%

3.77%

3.84%

3.94%

4.08%

  Efficiency ratio (1)

77.03%

78.52%

67.03%

82.18%

80.41%

70.28%

Period End Balance Sheet Data:






















  Loans, held for sale

$     1,552

$              -

$                -

$              -

$               -

$              -

  Loans, net of unearned income

399,760

417,624

439,410

458,523

461,604

496,448

  Total Earning Assets

534,057

536,390

564,928

583,854

581,942

602,436

  Goodwill and other intangible assets

516

545

583

622

660

814

  Total Assets

580,996

589,651

616,580

629,135

632,327

642,883

  Deposits

489,966

501,377

527,172

538,812

542,271

542,348

  Short term debt

23,301

21,877

23,850

23,746

23,295

21,744

  Long term debt

12,372

14,372

14,372

14,372

14,372

18,372

  Shareholders' equity

51,777

49,546

48,949

48,965

49,778

54,934

Selected Average Balances:























  Gross Loans

$ 409,009

$    429,642

$     449,650

$  460,236

$   466,324

$   483,665

  Total Earning Assets

535,317

559,110

578,349

585,273

583,601

585,277

  Goodwill and other intangible assets

533

569

602

640

679

832

  Total Assets

585,249

608,118

625,768

631,204

631,582

625,307

  Deposits

495,649

518,508

534,271

539,690

539,751

531,115

  Short term debt

23,004

23,476

24,491

23,604

22,125

21,802

  Long term debt

13,845

14,372

14,372

14,372

16,372

13,972

  Shareholders' equity

50,300

49,486

49,855

50,669

50,379

55,533

Asset Quality Ratios:























  Nonperforming loans

$   19,270

$     19,636

$       20,116

$    16,307

$     15,206

$     18,956

  Other real estate owned

2,391

3,031

3,230

3,380

5,019

2,680

  Allowance for loan losses 

9,568

10,034

10,338

10,378

10,118

11,232

  Nonperforming loans (2) to period-end loans

4.82%

4.70%

4.58%

3.56%

3.29%

3.82%

  Allowance for loan losses to period-end loans

2.39%

2.40%

2.35%

2.26%

2.19%

2.26%

  Delinquency Ratio (3)

0.23%

1.02%

0.93%

0.48%

0.59%

0.45%

  Net loan charge-offs to average loans

-1.64%

0.68%

1.92%

1.94%

-0.57%

0.05%







































(1)  Efficiency ratio is calculated as non-interest expenses divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income.

(2)  Nonperforming loans consist of non-accrual loans and restructured loans.

(3)  Delinquency Ratio includes 30-89 days past due and excludes non-accrual loans.













SOURCE New Century Bancorp