Shore Community Bank Announces First Quarter 2009 Earnings
April 21 2009 - 5:36PM
PR Newswire (US)
TOMS RIVER, N.J., April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Shore
Community Bank (OTC:SHRC) (BULLETIN BOARD: SHRC) today reported net
income of $26,194 for the first quarter of 2009, compared to net
income of $49,155 reported for the first quarter of 2008. Basic and
diluted net income per share for the three months ended March 31,
2009, were 2 cents as compared to a net income per share, basic and
diluted, of 3 cents for the same period in 2008. Total assets at
March 31, 2009 were $227.0 million compared to $211.5 million at
March 31, 2008, representing an increase of 7.3 percent. Total
loans at March 31, 2009 stood at $155.5 million compared to $160.0
million at March 31, 2008, a decrease of 2.8 percent. Total
deposits grew 4.1 percent to $191.0 million at March 31, 2009
compared to $183.5 million at March 31, 2008. Non-performing assets
at March 31, 2009 stood at $7.8 million compared to $7.5 million at
December 31, 2008 and $7.2 million at March 31, 2008. The provision
for loan losses in the first quarter 2009 was $300,000, compared to
$195,000 in the same period last year. Net charge-offs in the first
quarter 2009 totaled $277,000, compared to a $2,000 net recovery
recorded in the first quarter of 2008. Additionally, a $68,000
charge was recorded in the first quarter of 2009 related to the
bank's OREO holdings. Robert T. English, President and Chief
Executive Officer commented, "Earnings continue to suffer due to
the carrying costs associated with the existing level of
non-performing assets. These costs come in many forms and include
interest expense to fund $7.8 million of non-earnings assets, the
attendant level of loan loss provisions, legal fees, property
insurance, real estate taxes, and a host of ancillary expenses. In
the face of these significant challenges the bank has remained
profitable due to the timely action taken in 2008 by the Board of
Directors and management to prudently reduce operating expenses in
areas that would not negatively impact the level of service that
our clients have come to expect from us." "Earnings will remain
under pressure until the local economy improves, business activity
picks up and the level of non-performing assets decline. There has
been recent talk by a few in the financial community of a bottom
having been reached and an impending rebound. Only time will tell
if the economy has begun to marginally improve or at the very least
stopped its downward trajectory. In the meantime, we continue to
plan for a challenging year while we focus on addressing the
service needs of our clients." said English. Shore Community Bank
is traded on the OTCBB (Over the Counter Bulletin Board) under the
symbol SHRC. Shore Community Bank operates six banking offices
located in Toms River, Ortley Beach, Jackson, and Manahawkin, New
Jersey. The Bank was founded in 1997 by a group of local business
leaders with the objective of returning community-based banking to
the Toms River, Ocean County, New Jersey area. Information in this
release relating to Shore Community Bank's future prospects which
are forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially, including, but not
limited to, the following: (1) operating, legal and regulatory
risks, such as continued levels of loan quality and origination
volume, continued relationships with major customers and
technological changes; (2) economic, political and competitive
forces affecting our banking business, such as changes in economic
conditions, especially in our market area, interest rate
fluctuations, competitive product and pricing pressures within our
market, personal and corporate bankruptcies, monetary policy and
inflation; (3) our ability to grow internally or through
acquisitions; and (4) the risk that management's analyses of these
risks and forces could be incorrect and/or that the strategies
developed to address them could be unsuccessful. Forward-looking
statements may be identified by the use of words such as "expects,"
"believe," "will," "intends," "will be" or "would." Shore Community
Bank assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking
information in this announcement, except as required under
applicable law. DATASOURCE: Shore Community Bank CONTACT: Robert T.
English, President & CEO, +1-732-240-5800 Web Site:
http://www.shorecommunitybank.com/
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