Shore Community Bank Announces First Quarter 2010 Earnings

TOMS RIVER, N.J., April 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Shore Community Bank (OTC Bulletin Board: SHRC) today reported net income of $82,285 for the first quarter of 2010, compared to net income of $26,194 reported for the first quarter of 2009. Basic and diluted net income per share for the three months ended March 31, 2010, were 5 cents as compared to a net income per share, basic and diluted, of 2 cents for the same period in 2009.

Total assets at March 31, 2010 were $209.4 million compared to $227.0 million at March 31, 2009, which represents a decline of 7.8 percent. Total loans at March 31, 2010 stood at $135.1 million compared to $155.5 million at March 31, 2009, a decrease of 13.1 percent.  Total deposits declined 9.5 percent or $18.2 million to $172.8 million at March 31, 2010 compared to $191.0 million at March 31, 2009. Core deposits, comprised of checking and savings accounts, grew by $1.3 million at March 31, 2010 compared to March 31, 2009 while non-core, more costly, certificates of deposit declined $19.5 million.

Non-performing assets at March 31, 2010 stood at $10.6 million compared to $10.0 million at December 31, 2009 and $7.8 million at March 31, 2009. The provision for loan losses in the first quarter 2010 was $405,000, compared to $300,000 in the same period last year. Net charge-offs in the first quarter 2010 totaled $400,023, compared to net charge-offs of $277,397 recorded in the first quarter of 2009. Additionally, a $15,562 expense was recorded in the first quarter of 2010 related to the sale of a residential property held in the bank's Other Real Estate Owned portfolio.

The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of period end loans was 1.53 percent at March 31, 2010 compared to 1.48 percent at December 31, 2009 and 1.37 percent at March 31, 2009.

Robert T. English, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "We are pleased to see our earnings grow this quarter from a year ago as the recession has finally begun to release its grip on the economy. Although certain economic indicators have recently pointed to a modest rebound, concerns remain as to the ultimate strength and durability of the recovery. The timing and methods utilized by the Federal Reserve and Treasury Dept. to withdraw the various monetary stimulus programs which earlier had been injected into the economy will undoubtedly have a downside impact on the nascent recovery as will the specter of raising interest rates." English stated further, "We are focused on reducing the level of our non-performing assets and to that end we are in negotiations with a number of borrowers to restructure their loans or liquidate the underlying collateral. Additionally, a number of foreclosure actions which were initiated more than a year ago have begun to wind their way through the legal system and we anticipate the logjam will finally begin to move forward. Once we gain possession of the collateral, we can move more swiftly in disposing of these problem assets."

Shore Community Bank is traded on the OTCBB (Over the Counter Bulletin Board) under the symbol SHRC.  

Shore Community Bank operates six banking offices located in Toms River, Ortley Beach, Jackson and Manahawkin, New Jersey.  The Bank was founded in 1997 by a group of local business leaders with the objective of returning community-based banking to the Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey area.

Information in this release relating to Shore Community Bank's future prospects which are forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not limited to, the following: (1) operating, legal and regulatory risks, such as continued levels of loan quality and origination volume, continued relationships with major customers and technological changes; (2) economic, political and competitive forces affecting our banking business, such as changes in economic conditions, especially in our market area, interest rate fluctuations, competitive product and pricing pressures within our market, personal and corporate bankruptcies, monetary policy and inflation; (3) our ability to grow internally or through acquisitions; and (4) the risk that management's analyses of these risks and forces could be incorrect and/or that the strategies developed to address them could be unsuccessful. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "expects," "believe," "will," "intends," "will be" or "would." Shore Community Bank assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this announcement, except as required under applicable law.

SOURCE Shore Community Bank