Exhibit 99.1
NEWS RELEASE
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: | FOR MORE INFORMATION, |
| May 22, 2007 | CONTACT: | David D. Brown |
| | | (276) 326-9000 |
First Community Bancshares Announces Increased Second Quarter Dividend and
Treasury Stock Repurchase Program
Bluefield, Virginia – First Community Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCBC) (www.fcbinc.com) announced today that the board of directors declared a second quarter cash dividend to stockholders of twenty-seven cents ($0.27) per share. The dividend represents an increase of 3.8% over the $0.26 per share paid in the second quarter of 2006. The increase is indicative of continued strong earnings by the Company and its subsidiary bank, First Community Bank, N. A. The second quarter dividend is payable to stockholders of record June 15, 2007, and is expected to paid on or about June 29, 2007. The annualized dividend represents a yield of 3.3% based on recent First Community market prices. 2007 is expected to be the Company’s 16th consecutive year of dividend increases to stockholders.
The board of directors also renewed the treasury stock repurchase program. The program allows for repurchase and maintenance of up to 550,000 shares of the Company’s common stock. Repurchases, which will be conducted through open market purchases by the Company or by its broker under a previously disclosed 10(b)5-1 trading plan, will be made from time to time depending on market conditions and other factors. Repurchased shares will be held in treasury for general corporate use.
First Community Bancshares, Inc., headquartered in Bluefield, Virginia, is a $2.12 billion financial holding company and is the parent company of First Community Bank, N. A. First Community Bank, N. A. operates through fifty-six locations and four wealth management offices in the four states of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. First Community Bank, N. A. offers wealth management services through its Trust & Financial Services Division and Investment Planning Consultants, Inc., a registered investment advisory firm, which offers wealth management and investment advice. The Company’s wealth management group managed assets with a market value of $817 million at March 31, 2007. First Community Bancshares, Inc.’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol, “FCBC”. Additional investor information can be found on the Internet at www.fcbinc.com.
This news release may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially. These risks include: changes in business or other market conditions; the timely development, production and acceptance of new products and services; the challenge of managing asset/liability levels; the management of credit risk and interest rate risk; the difficulty of keeping expense growth at modest levels while increasing revenues; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including but not limited to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recent year ended. Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements contained within this news release.
