Exhibit 99.1
Contact: Kenneth P. Cherven
President/CEO
(727) 520-0987
NEWS
RELEASE
FIRST COMMUNITY BANK CORPORATION ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS AND
EXTENSION OF OFFERING OF UNITS
Pinellas Park, Florida (January 28, 2010) – Kenneth P. Cherven, President and CEO of First Community Bank Corporation of America (the “Company”), reported that the Company had an after-tax loss for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009, of $(2,428,000) compared to a net loss of $(4,516,000) for the same period in 2008. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company reported a net loss of $(4,974,000) compared to $(3,635,000) in 2008. The fourth quarter losses resulted from a charge to the provision for loan losses of $4,423,000 in the last quarter of 2009 compared to a $7,098,000 charge in the last quarter of 2008. The provision for loan losses was $11,125,000 and $9,237,000 for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively. The ratio of allowance for loan losses to total loans was 1.92% on December 31, 2009. The ratio of non-performing assets as a percentage of total assets was 5.45% on December 31, 2009, compared to 2.93% on December 31, 2008. The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary bank, First Community Bank of America (the “Bank”), experienced a stabilization of loans 30 days or more delinquent which were $38.6 million on December 31, 2009 compared to $38.5 million on September 30, 2009. The Bank’s non-accrual loans declined from $29.3 million on September 30, 2009 to $27.1 million on December 31, 2009. The Bank remains well capitalized for regulatory purposes. The Bank’s total problem loans (as shown on the schedule below) declined $3.2 million, or 5.26%, from September 30, 2009. The Bank’s Tier 1 capital ratio was 7.30% and its total risk-based capital ratio was 11.24% on December 31, 2009. The following table shows the changes in the Company’s problem assets between September 30, 2009 and December 31, 2009.
First Community Bank Corporation of America
Problem Asset Progression (3Q to 4Q 2009)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | (Dollars In Millions) | | | | | | |
| | | 9/30/2009 | | | 12/31/2009 | | | $
Change | | %
Change | |
30+ day delinquencies (includes TDR’s over 30 days) | | $ | 38.5 | | | $ | 38.6 | | | $ | 0.10 | | 0.30 | % |
TDR’s under 30 days | | | 20.1 | | | | 16.1 | | | | -4.00 | | -19.90 | % |
OREO | | | 2.2 | | | | 2.9 | | | | 0.70 | | 31.82 | % |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total problem assets | | $ | 60.8 | | | $ | 57.6 | | | -$ | 3.20 | | -5.26 | % |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
Composition of problem assets: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Nonperforming loans | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Nonaccrual excluding TDR’s | | $ | 25.7 | | | $ | 24.2 | | | -$ | 1.50 | | -5.84 | % |
Nonaccrual TDR’s | | | 3.6 | | | | 2.9 | | | | -0.70 | | -19.44 | % |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total nonaccruals | | $ | 29.3 | | | $ | 27.1 | | | -$ | 2.20 | | -7.51 | % |
OREO | | | 2.2 | | | | 2.9 | | | | 0.70 | | 31.82 | % |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total nonperforming assets | | $ | 31.5 | | | $ | 30.0 | | | -$ | 1.50 | | -4.76 | % |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
All TDR’s | | $ | 21.9 | | | $ | 20.3 | | | -$ | 1.60 | | -7.31 | % |
| | | | |
Total assets | | $ | 561 | | | $ | 550 | | | -$ | 11.0 | | -2.00 | % |
Nonperforming loans/total assets | | | 5.62 | % | | | 5.45 | % | | | | | -0.16 | % |
Total problem assets/total assets | | | 10.84 | % | | | 10.47 | % | | | | | -0.37 | % |
The Company recorded a net loss available to common shareholders, after dividends paid on its Series A Preferred Stock held by the Treasury under the TARP Capital Purchase Program and amortization of preferred discount, for the quarter ended December 31, 2009, of $(2,563,000), or $(.62) basic per share, compared to a net loss of $(4,549,000), or $(1.11) basic per share, for the same period in 2008. For the year ended December 31, 2009, the Company recorded a net loss available to common shareholders of $(5,525,000), or $(1.33) basic per share, compared to a net loss available to common shareholders of $3,635,000, or $(.88) in 2008.
Total assets increased 10%, from $502 million on December 31, 2008, to $550 million on December 31, 2009. Net loans were $399 million as of December 31, 2009 which was essentially unchanged from $404 million on December 31, 2008.
For the year, deposit growth was strong, increasing 14% from $403 million on December 31, 2008, to $459 million on December 31, 2009. The deposit mix also significantly improved as the balance of core deposits on December 31, 2009 increased 55% from December 31, 2008. The average interest cost for deposits for the year ended December 31, 2009, was 2.20%, down from 2.92% in 2008. The average interest cost for deposits for the quarter ended December 31, 2009 was 1.95%, down from 2.72% in 2008.
The Company previously announced an offering (the “Offering”) of 600,000 units (the “Units”) to all existing Company shareholders and other investors. Each Unit consists of 4.165 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $.05 per share (“Common Stock”) and one share of 10% Cumulative Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series B, with an initial liquidation preference of $25.00 (the “Convertible Preferred Stock”). The Company today announced that it has extended the Offering and it will now expire at 5:00 P.M. Eastern time on February 12, 2010.
The terms and conditions of the Offering are more fully set forth in the Company’s prospectus filed with the SEC on January 4, 2010. Interested shareholders should contact Mike Lauder or Mike Acampora of Raymond James & Associates, Inc. at 1-800-363-9652, request offering materials and return order forms promptly.
First Community currently operates 11 banking offices along the west coast of Florida. The Company’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “FCFL.”
Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made herein are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning and protections of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions, and future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond our control, and which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements.
Words such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “plan,” “project,” “assume,” “indicate,” “continue,” “target,” “goal,” and similar words or expressions of the future are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, and a variety of factors could cause our actual results and experience to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.
All written and oral forward-looking statements that are made by or are attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. All written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice, including, without limitation, those risks and uncertainties described in our registration statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on December 30, 2009 and in our other periodic reports filed with the SEC and in the prospectus filed on January 4, 2010 related to the Offering under “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors,” and otherwise in our SEC reports and filings. Such reports are available upon request from the Company, or from the Securities and Exchange Commission, including through the SEC’s Internet website at http://www.sec.gov.
We have no obligation and do not undertake to update, revise or correct any of the forward-looking statements after the date hereof, or after the respective dates on which any such statements otherwise are made.
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This Press Release is not an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities. The Units are offered only in those jurisdictions where permitted, and only by the prospectus relating to the Offering, which should be read carefully before investing.
