Shore Community Bank Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Results

TOMS RIVER, N.J., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Shore Community Bank (OTC Bulletin Board: SHRC) today reported net income for the three months ended December 31, 2011 increased 36.6 percent to $234,683, or $0.14 per diluted share, compared to net income of $171,737, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the same period in 2010.

For the year ended December 31, 2011, Shore Community Bank reported net income of $762,384, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared to 674,914, or $0.39 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2010, an increase in net income of 13.0 percent.

Total assets, at December 31, 2011, declined 2.3 percent and totaled $203.1 million, compared to $207.9 million at December 31, 2010.  Total loans decreased 2.2 percent and finished the year at $115.3 million, as compared to $117.9 million at December 31, 2010. Total deposits decreased 3.4 percent to $164.7 million at December 31, 2011, as compared to $170.5 million at December 31, 2010.

Non-performing assets totaled $8.3 million at December 31, 2011, and included $6.5 million in non-performing loans and $1.9 million in other real estate owned (OREO), compared to a total $9.2 million at year end 2010 which included $8.1 million in non-performing loans and $1.1 million in OREO.

Commenting on the results, Robert T. English, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "We are pleased to have achieved an increase of 13.0% in net income for our shareholders even in light of a slight decline in total assets and loans in 2011. Loan demand remained weak throughout the year as a lackluster economy kept prudent and creditworthy borrowers on the sidelines." Mr. English further stated, "In 2011, we continued our multiyear focus on asset quality and worked diligently to reduce the overall level of non-performing assets. We remain cautiously optimistic relative to the asset quality goals we have established for 2012."

The provision for loan losses totaled $100 thousand for the three months ended December 31, 2011, compared to $175 thousand for the same period in 2010. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, the provision for loan losses totaled $575 thousand compared to $1.2 million in the twelve month period ended December 31, 2010. Net loan charge-offs totaled $183 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to a net loan loss recovery of $12 thousand in the same period last year. Net loan charge-offs for the twelve months ended December 31, 2011, totaled $1.1 million compared to $740 thousand in the twelve months ended December 31, 2010.

The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of period end loans was 1.73 percent at December 31, 2011 compared to 2.12 percent at December 31, 2010.

The Bank's capital ratios remain strong and are in excess of what is considered "well capitalized" by bank regulatory standards. At December 31, 2011, the Tier 1 leverage and Tier 1 risk based capital ratio were 9.5 percent and 16.3 percent, respectively. The total risk-based capital ratio was 17.5 percent.

Book value per share at December 31, 2011 was $12.11, compared to $11.45 at December 31, 2010 based on 1.7 million shares outstanding in each period.

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