Exhibit 20.1
CONTACT: Mary K. Talbot
(401) 245-8819
SLADE'S FERRY POSTS 12.8 PERCENT INCREASE
IN OPERATING EARNINGS IN 2003
SOMERSET, Mass. (January 29, 2004) -- Slade's Ferry Bancorp, (NASDAQ
small cap: SFBC) parent company of Slade's Ferry Trust Company, announced
that its 2003 operating income increased 12.8 percent over the previous
year, reaching $3.35 million.
The Company's operating income excludes a $658,000 settlement with
the State of Massachusetts regarding the taxation of Real Estate Investment
Trust (REIT). Net income (including the extraordinary REIT charge) was $2.69
million, compared to $2.97 million in 2002, a decrease of 9.4 percent.
Diluted earnings per share, before the extraordinary item, reached
$0.83, compared to $0.75 in 2002. Diluted EPS after the extraordinary item
was $0.67.
The Company also announced a 22.3 percent increase in fourth quarter
earnings. Net income for the three months ending December 31, 2003 was $1.1
million, compared to $876,000 for the same time period in 2002. Diluted EPS
for the quarter was $0.26, up from $0.22 in 2002.
"2003 was a very exciting and important year for Slade's Ferry
Bancorp," President & CEO Mary Lynn Lenz said. "We worked hard to
strengthen our balance sheet and we made great strides in the marketing of
our products and services. As a result, we are in an excellent position to
continue to grow our earnings and our market presence."
Total assets grew $41.1 million in 2003. Assets topped $439.4 million
at the end of the year, a 10.3 percent increase since year-end 2002. Total
net loans also climbed significantly during the year, reaching $331.5 at
year-end, a 27.6 percent increase. The loan growth was fueled by strong
increases in residential and home equity products, which the bank
aggressively marketed during the year.
One-to-four family residential loans increased by $37.4 million, or
74 percent, reaching $87.9 million as of year-end. Outstanding home equity
loans more than doubled during the year, climbing to $18.3 million as of
December 31, 2003. Commercial loans increased by $17.4 million, or 10.4
percent, topping $184.5 million at the end of the year.
Asset quality continued to strengthen. Total nonperforming assets at
the end of 2003 were $407,000, compared to $643,000 at year-end 2002.
Nonperforming loans represented 0.12 percent of total loans at the end of
2003 compared to 0.24 percent of total loans at the end of the previous
year.
Total stockholders' equity at December 31, 2003 was $42.7 million
versus $41.2 million at December 31, 2002, an increase of 3.8 percent, or
$1.5 million. Both the company and the bank maintain capital levels
sufficient to be considered "well-capitalized" under applicable regulatory
capital guidelines and requirements.
The Board of Directors also declared a dividend of $0.09 per share
that was paid out on January 16, 2004 to stockholders of record as of
December 19, 2003.
Slade's Ferry Bancorp was founded to serve community-banking needs
with both personal and commercial products and services. With more than
$439 million in assets and 10 retail branches in Southeastern
Massachusetts, Slade's Ferry is a trusted community partner. Traded on the
NASDAQ Small Cap Market as SFBC, Slade's Ferry Bancorp can also be found on
the web at www.sladesferry.com and in six Massachusetts communities -
Fairhaven, Fall River, New Bedford, Seekonk, Somerset and Swansea.
# # #
This new release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements
regarding the strength of the company's capital and asset quality. Other
such statements may be identified by words such as "believes," "will,"
"expects," "project," "may," "developments," "strategic," "launching,"
"opportunities," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "targets"
and similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current
beliefs and expectations of Slade's Ferry Bancorp's management and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ
materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements as a
result of numerous factors.
The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ
materially from the anticipated results or other expectation expressed in
our forward-looking statements: (1) enactment of adverse government
regulations (2) competitive pressures among depository and other financial
institutions may increase significantly and have an effect on pricing,
spending, third-party relationships and revenues; (3) the strength of the
United States economy in general and specifically the strength of the New
England economics may be different than expected, resulting in, among other
things, a deterioration in overall credit quality and borrowers' ability to
service and repay loans, or a reduced demand for credit, including the
resultant effect on the Bank's loan portfolio, levels of charge-offs and
non-performing loans and allowance for loan losses; (4) changes in the
interest rate environment may reduce interest margins and adversely impact
net interest income and (5) changes in assumptions used in making such
forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks materialize
or should underlying beliefs or assumptions prove incorrect, Slade's Ferry
Bancorp's actual results could differ materially from those discussed. All
subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to
Slade's Ferry Bancorp or any person acting on its behalf are expressly
qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements set forth above.
Slade's Ferry Bancorp does not intend or undertake any obligation to update
any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur
after the date of the forward-looking statements are made.
SLADE'S FERRY BANCORP
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)
AS OF
DECEMBER 31, DECEMBER 31,
ASSETS: 2003 2002
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
<s> <c> <c>
Cash and deposits with other banks $ 18,642,370 $ 14,993,969
Money market mutual funds 63,539 222,567
Federal funds sold 4,000,000 19,500,000
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Cash and Cash Equivalents 22,705,909 34,716,536
Interest bearing time deposits with
other banks 200,000 200,000
Securities held to maturity 11,300,402 13,696,254
Securities available for sale 47,162,852 65,907,926
Federal Home Loan Bank stock 3,023,800 1,013,400
Loans (net) - Note A 331,496,525 259,816,056
Premises & equipment 5,894,736 6,067,879
Accrued interest receivable 1,497,104 1,492,591
Goodwill 2,173,368 2,173,368
Cash surrender value of life insurance 10,980,879 9,750,661
Other assets 3,012,966 3,540,312
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TOTAL ASSETS $439,448,541 $398,374,983
===========================================================================
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Deposits $333,144,817 $335,632,532
Advances from Federal Home Loan Bank 60,474,864 19,185,338
Other liabilities 3,086,719 2,336,109
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Total Liabilities 396,706,400 357,153,979
Preferred stockholders' equity in
subsidiary 0 54,000
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Stockholders' equity:
Common stock 39,959 39,378
Paid in capital 28,609,206 27,693,199
Retained earnings 14,698,595 13,445,335
Accum. other comprehensive loss (605,619) (10,908)
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Stockholders' Equity 42,742,141 41,167,004
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $439,448,541 $398,374,983
===========================================================================
Note: A-Loans is net of:
Reserve for Loan Losses $ 4,154,394 $ 4,854,388
Unearned Income $ 443,393 $ 341,234
SLADE'S FERRY BANCORP
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND EXPENSE
(UNAUDITED)
3 MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 31,
2003 2002
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<s> <c> <c>
INTEREST AND DIVIDEND INCOME:
Interest and fees on loans $ 4,673,997 $ 4,187,990
Interest and dividends on investments 602,784 942,941
Other interest 17,671 96,467
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total interest and dividend income 5,294,452 5,227,398
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTEREST EXPENSE:
Interest on deposits 966,363 1,395,966
Interest on other borrowed funds 507,975 331,884
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Total interest expense 1,474,338 1,727,850
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Net interest and dividend income 3,820,114 3,499,548
Provision (benefit) for loan losses (62,969) (685,000)
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Net interest and dividend income after
provision (benefit) for loan losses 3,883,083 4,184,548
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OTHER INCOME:
Service charges on deposit accounts 279,058 243,353
Security gains, net 0 43,292
Other income 343,268 280,559
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Total other income 622,326 567,204
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OTHER EXPENSE:
Salaries and employee benefits 2,035,076 2,001,306
Occupancy expense 175,707 207,748
Equipment expense 142,989 108,740
Writedown on securities 0 155,710
Other expenses 692,640 836,196
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Total other expense 3,046,412 3,309,700
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Income before income taxes and extraordinary
item 1,458,997 1,442,052
Income taxes 387,972 566,173
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Net Income before extraordinary item 1,071,025 875,879
Extraordinary item, net of income taxes 0 0
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NET INCOME $ 1,071,025 $ 875,879
=============================================================================
Basic earnings per share:
Income before extraordinary item $ 0.27 $ 0.22
Extraordinary item, net of income tax 0.00 0.00
----------------------------
Net income $ 0.27 $ 0.22
============================
Diluted earnings per share:
Income before extraordinary item $ 0.26 $ 0.22
Extraordinary item, net of income tax 0.00 0.00
----------------------------
Net income $ 0.26 $ 0.22
============================
SLADE'S FERRY BANCORP
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME AND EXPENSE
(UNAUDITED)
12 MONTHS ENDING DECEMBER 31,
2003 2002
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<s> <c> <c>
INTEREST AND DIVIDEND INCOME:
Interest and fees on loans $17,602,784 $17,276,773
Interest and dividends on investments 2,860,922 4,404,641
Other interest 152,924 355,060
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Total interest and dividend income 20,616,630 22,036,474
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTEREST EXPENSE:
Interest on deposits 4,505,217 6,703,002
Interest on other borrowed funds 1,567,953 1,224,752
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Total interest expense 6,073,170 7,927,754
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Net interest and dividend income 14,543,460 14,108,720
Provision (benefit) for loan losses (602,326) (310,000)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net interest and dividend income after
provision (benefit) for loan losses 15,145,786 14,418,720
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER INCOME:
Service charges on deposit accounts 1,119,112 885,037
Security gains, net 1,944 625,832
Other income 1,092,489 1,021,948
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total other income 2,213,545 2,532,817
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER EXPENSE:
Salaries and employee benefits 7,778,787 7,368,364
Occupancy expense 886,287 845,366
Equipment expense 541,960 478,047
Writedown on securities 0 1,240,868
Other expenses 3,325,718 2,919,157
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total other expense 12,532,752 12,851,802
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Income before income taxes and extraordinary
item 4,826,579 4,099,735
Income taxes 1,480,525 1,134,183
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net Income before extraordinary item 3,346,054 2,965,552
Extraordinary item, net of income taxes (1) (658,168) 0
NET INCOME $ 2,687,886 $ 2,965,552
Basic earnings (loss) per share:
Income before extraordinary item $ 0.84 $ 0.76
Extraordinary item, net of income tax (0.17) 0.00
----------------------------
Net income $ 0.67 $ 0.76
============================
Diluted earnings (loss) per share:
Income before extraordinary item $ 0.83 $ 0.75
Extraordinary item, net of income tax (0.16) 0.00
----------------------------
Net income $ 0.67 $ 0.75
============================
<FN>
(1) Reflects the final settlement from the MA Department of Revenue for
the interest and state excise tax assessed on the REIT, net of any
applicable tax benefits.
</FN>