The Bank of Princeton Earns $2.0 Million Through 3rd Quarter

PRINCETON, N.J., Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bank of Princeton (the "bank") today announced its results for the third quarter of 2011.

Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2011 was $0.6 million, or $0.16 per share, compared to $1.1 million, or $0.32 per share for the third quarter of 2010.  For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, net income was $2.0 million, or $.50 per share, compared to $2.1 million, or $0.64 per share, for the first nine months of 2010.  The 2010 results reflect a $1.0 million gain on the acquisition of MoreBank.

Revenues continued to grow rapidly, driven principally by the growth in the bank's loan portfolio.  Net interest income of $13.2 million year-to-date is 78% ahead of the 2010 level, and the $4.8 million in the third quarter of 2011 is 87% ahead of the third quarter of 2010.

Non-interest expense of $3.9 million and $10.9 million for the three and nine month periods ending September 30, 2011 are 77% and 71% in excess of the prior year periods, reflecting growth in branches, lending personnel and in the supporting infrastructure.

Total assets grew to $589.4 million at September 30, 2011, compared to $488.3 million at December 31, 2010.  This increase was driven by strong progress in lending and facilitated by continued development in deposits. The bank's deposits increased $98.7 million to $524.5 million at September 30, 2011, an increase of 23% from the prior year-end. The deposit growth came from the bank's two newest branches that came on line during the nine month period ended September 30, 2011, as well as from continued increases in existing branches.  The bank's experienced team of lenders drove growth in the bank's loan portfolio, which increased $83.6 million to $365.1 million at September 30, 2011, an increase of 30% from December 31, 2010.  

Capital also increased from the prior year-end as the result of net income of $2.0 million, an increase in unrealized gains on securities of $1.7 million and sales of common stock of $3.0 million.

Steve Ackmann, President of The Bank of Princeton, commented, "This quarter has seen significant growth for the bank in all areas. Earnings continued to grow to $2.0 million for the first nine months of 2011.  Our dedicated staff of bankers and our newest offices in Monroe and Lambertville drove outstanding deposit growth, and our veteran lending group has been successful in increasing the loan portfolio in both The Bank of Princeton and MoreBank locales. At the same time, we continue to build loan losses while maintaining excellent asset quality. We are particularly proud of our ability to provide loans to the community at this time," said Ackmann.

During the third quarter of 2011, the bank experienced significant activity in its branch development.  The Lambertville, NJ branch, the bank's tenth, opened to the public on July 19, 2011 and is already being well received in the community.  Additionally, the bank obtained approval this quarter for a new branch on Nassau Street in downtown Princeton.  This office will strengthen the bank's presence in this core area by allowing it to serve customers on the northern side of local Princeton market.  An opening in the fourth quarter 2011 is anticipated.  In the MoreBank market, the bank relocated the North Wales, PA branch from an in-store location to a storefront branch.  This will expand the bank's service in the area considerably, and will allow the opportunity to better serve our customers and the community through a full-service branch.

In October, 2011, the bank completed the sale of approximately 620,000 additional shares of common stock at a price of $13.75 per share, adding an additional $8.5 million in new capital, a portion of which was received in the third quarter.  This will provide additional capital for general corporate purposes and will fund the continued growth throughout the market.

As always, the bank is grateful for the support of its shareholders, customers and committed employees who continue to make this growth possible.

The Bank of Princeton is a growing, profitable community bank founded in 2007, with assets approaching $600 million.  It was recently named one of New Jersey's 50 Fastest Growing Companies by NJBIZ.  It is a New Jersey state-chartered commercial bank with seven branches in New Jersey, including two in Princeton. Our other New Jersey branches are located in Hamilton, Pennington, Montgomery, Monroe Township and Lambertville. We also have three branches operating under the MoreBank name in the Philadelphia, PA area.  The Bank of Princeton is a member of the FDIC.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. This release contains "forward-looking statements," which involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements are not historical facts and include expressions about management's confidence, strategies, and expectations about new and existing programs, products, relationships, opportunities, technologies, and market conditions. These statements may be identified by the use of such words as "believe," "expect," "continue," "anticipate," "should," "may," "strong," "solid," "potential," or similar statements or variations of such terms. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include: changes in general, economic and market conditions, both in the bank's market area and nationally, legislative and regulatory conditions, or the development of an interest rate environment which adversely affects our interest rate margin or other income anticipated from operations and investments, changes in monetary policy, the continued viability of our customers and a variety of other matters, most, if not at all of which, are beyond our control. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which only reflect management's analysis as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements or to make any public announcement when we consider forward-looking statements in this release to no longer be accurate, whether as a result of new information or future events.

Contact: The Bank of Princeton
Steven C. Ackmann, President, (609) 454-0335 [email protected]

SOURCE The Bank of Princeton