Year-to-Date Earnings Grow 8.8 Percent at South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., Oct. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: SABK), parent of South Atlantic Bank, today reported net income of $1,612,352 or $0.45 per diluted share for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, compared to the $1,482,184 or $0.42 per diluted share reported for the same period a year ago. These figures represent an 8.8 percent increase in net income year over year. Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2015, was $595,012 or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to $603,026 or $0.17 per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2014.

Financial Highlights

• Third quarter 2015 represents the company's nineteenth consecutive quarterly profit
• Credit quality remains strong with no net charge-offs for the three months ended September 30, 2015
• Net interest margin is 3.78 percent
• Total loans grew 20.5 percent, to $288.4 million at September 30, 2015 from $239.4 million at September 30, 2014
• Total deposits grew 13.0 percent, to $348.4 million at September 30, 2015 from $308.3 million at September 30, 2014
• Total assets grew 14.1 percent, to $385.8 million at September 30, 2015 from $338.1 million at September 30, 2014

"We continue to experience solid loan growth which has contributed to our financial performance year-to-date," said South Atlantic Bank chairman and chief executive officer K. Wayne Wicker. "This growth is due to calling officer efforts in our expanded geographic footprint, combined with better economic conditions. Additionally, improvement in mortgage loans and merchant services, along with securities gains, led to increased noninterest income, a key component of our performance."

Wicker continued, "In addition to improved financial performance, our company made strides in several other areas.  We successfully migrated our website from the dot com domain to the dot bank domain, which is exclusively available to members of the financial services industry. As our bank grows, we believe this move will provide our customers with even greater security for their online and mobile banking activities. We also listed our South Atlantic Bancshares common stock on the OTCQX Marketplace, in order to improve our visibility with investors and provide shareholders with great liquidity for the stock," Wicker said.

About South Atlantic Bank
South Atlantic Bank, the subsidiary bank of South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: SABK), is a $384.9 million financial institution that is locally owned, controlled, and operated. The bank is headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with additional offices in Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Georgetown, North Myrtle Beach, and Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. South Atlantic Bank offers a wide variety of services for businesses and consumers, including South Atlantic Bank goMobile, its mobile banking app. The bank also offers internet banking, no-fee ATM access, checking, CD, and money market accounts, merchant services, mortgage loans, remote deposit capture, and more. South Atlantic Bank was named a "Roaring Twenties" winner as one of the best performing large companies in the state of South Carolina by SC Biz News, in 2012, 2013, and 2015. For more information, visit SouthAtlantic.bank.

Member FDIC 

SOURCE South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc.