FLORENCE, S.C., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — First Reliance Bancshares, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: FSRL), the holding company for First Reliance Bank, reported unaudited pre-tax income for the quarter ended June 30, 2005 of $588,073, an increase of $246,613, or 72%, over the $341,460 reported for the quarter ended June 30, 2004. Unaudited net income increased 75%, to $429,403, as compared to $245,196 reported in the prior-year period. Earnings benefited from strong growth in both net interest income and noninterest income. Specifically, net interest income increased 67% to $3.5 million in the second quarter of 2005, while noninterest income increased by 23% to $780,899. Diluted earnings per share were $0.13, an increase of $0.04 from the $0.09 reported in the prior year period.
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Net Income for the six months ended June 30, 2005 was $815,002, an increase of $248,631, or 44%, from the level reported in the prior year six- month period. As was the case with the quarterly results, the higher profitability was driven primarily by higher net interest income, which increased 64%, and noninterest income, which increased 23%. Diluted earnings per share were $0.24 compared to $0.21 for the prior-year period.
At June 30, 2005, total assets were $362.8 million, an increase of $144.3 million, or 66%, over the $218.4 million reported for June 30, 2005. Loans increased $127.7 million, or 72%, to $304.0 million, funded primarily by growth in deposits. Deposits increased to $296.8 million, up 67% from $177.5 million reported the prior year period.
“We are extremely pleased to report exceptional growth and profitability for the 2nd quarter,” said Rick Saunders, President & CEO. “Our business model centers around a common vision focused on growing our bank across South Carolina. We would like to be the largest bank in South Carolina, and our strategy is to pick high performing, high growth markets and then find the best bankers in those locations and build businesses around those bankers. This strategy combined with our retail initiatives such as the eACCESSMortgage, the 5 Way Mortgage Service Promise, Totally Free Checking, ACCESSBanker, and ACCESSCoin to Cash provide experiences that create trust and loyalty in order to become the bank of choice for our customers, associates, communities, and owners.”
During the third quarter, to show customers that the bank and its employees are willing to go the extra mile, First Reliance Bank will launch more customer service perks such as Totally Free Business Checking, 8 to 8 Banking, and customer appreciation events. “We do extra things for our customers on a regular basis that show we care,” Saunders said. “We’re centered on service and customer relationships. We want people to have a personal relationship with their bankers. There lies our focus and strategies and that’s what we want people to know about us.”
Based in Florence, South Carolina, First Reliance Bancshares, Inc. is a bank holding company with approximately $363 million in assets as of June 30, 2005. First Reliance Bank, which was opened in 1999, is the Company’s sole operating subsidiary. The bank, which serves as one of the only locally owned and operated banks in the Florence area, maintains two branch locations and a Technology Center in Florence, South Carolina. In addition, the bank’s aggressive planned growth strategy resulted in expansion into the Columbia, South Carolina market where they opened a Lexington regional facility in 2004. In March of 2005, the Charleston regional office was opened in historic downtown Charleston, South Carolina. Their newest facility, expected to open in the 3rd quarter of 2005, will serve the Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina community. First Reliance Bank focuses heavily on personal customer service and offers a full range of financial services. Personal products include checking and savings accounts, money market accounts, CDs and IRAs, and personal mortgage loans, while business products include checking and savings accounts, commercial lending services, and money market accounts. In September 2004, First Reliance Bank began offering Wholesale Mortgage Services and Title Insurance Services. In December of 2004, the company began offering business customers a courier service. In addition, First Reliance Bank also provides Internet banking, electronic bill paying services, free coin counter use for customers and non-customers, and overdraft privilege to its customers. The Company’s stock is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “FSRL”. Information about the Company is available on our website at www.firstreliance.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements about branch openings within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events.
Any or all of our forward-looking statements here or in other publications may turn out to be incorrect. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Many such factors will be important in determining our actual future results. Consequently, no forward-looking statements can be guaranteed. Our actual results may vary materially, and there are no guarantees about the performance of our stock.
We undertake no obligation to correct or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future results or otherwise. You are advised, however, to consult any future disclosures we make on related subjects in our reports to the SEC.
Contact Jeffrey A. Paolucci, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, (843) 674-3250, or jpaolucci@firstreliance.com
First Reliance Bancshares, Inc.
Consolidated Reports of Income
Three Three Six Six
Months Months Months Months
Ended Ended Ended Ended
June June June June
30, 2005 30, 2004 30, 2005 30, 2004
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Interest Income
Loans and Fees 5,229,173 2,692,522 9,534,875 5,049,119
Taxable Securities 169,193 149,449 351,478 339,862
Nontaxable Securities 127,650 101,046 253,621 202,193
Nonmarketable
Securities 20,910 16,728 32,749 16,728
Federal Funds Sold and
Other 73,378 633 80,551 2,028
Total 5,620,304 2,960,378 10,253,274 5,609,930
Interest Expense
Deposits 1,829,733 728,558 3,167,558 1,380,255
FHLB Advances 288,169 121,725 527,671 239,683
Federal Funds Purchased
and Repurchase
Agreements 23,572 2,817 38,707 8,005
Total 2,141,474 853,100 3,733,936 1,627,943
Net Interest Income 3,478,830 2,107,278 6,519,338 3,981,987
Provision for loan
losses 393,600 368,334 566,152 478,262
Net Interest Income
after provision 3,085,230 1,738,944 5,953,186 3,503,725
Noninterest Income
Residential mortgage
origination fees 291,846 143,618 444,620 242,623
Service charges on
deposit accounts 345,842 308,992 674,447 557,379
Brokerage fees 38,894 51,870 69,896 82,167
Gain on sale of
securities available
for sale - 2,703 - 2,703
Gain (loss) on Sale
of Other Real Estate (33,316) - (63,341) -
Gain (loss) on Sale
of Fixed Assets - - (287) -
Credit life insurance
commissions 7,616 26,965 15,277 49,844
Other charges,
commissions and fees 130,017 99,200 245,797 189,574
Total 780,899 633,348 1,386,409 1,124,290
Noninterest Expense
Salaries and employee
benefits 1,872,090 1,161,727 3,578,170 2,233,323
Occupancy expense 223,676 90,559 382,071 167,416
Furniture and
equipment expense 186,246 157,534 360,464 301,022
Other operating
expenses 996,044 621,012 1,872,309 1,124,373
Total 3,278,056 2,030,832 6,193,014 3,826,134
Income before tax 588,073 341,460 1,146,581 801,881
Income tax expense 158,670 96,264 331,579 235,510
Net Income 429,403 245,196 815,002 566,371
Basic earnings per share 0.13 0.10 0.25 0.23
Diluted earnings per share 0.13 0.09 0.24 0.21
First Reliance Bancshares, Inc.
Balance Sheet
June 30December 31June 30
2005 2004 2004
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Audited)
Assets:
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and Due Forms 2,953,765 3,803,535 3,354,526
Federal funds sold 12,671,000 1,042,000 2,300,000
Total cash and cash
equivalents 15,624,765 4,845,535 5,654,526
Investment securities
Securities available for
sale 27,551,306 28,567,666 24,018,542
Nonmarketable equity
securities 2,128,350 1,714,700 1,240,725
Total investment
securities 29,679,656 30,282,366 25,259,267
Loans held for sale 1,778,172 1,332,890 1,656,217
Loans receivable 303,977,537 238,362,092 176,236,611
Less allowance for loan
losses (3,310,741) (2,758,225) (2,087,299)
Loans, net 300,666,796 235,603,867 174,149,312
Premises, furniture, and
equipment, net 7,432,841 5,891,402 5,788,877
Accrued interest receivable 1,881,583 1,458,673 981,140
Other real estate owned 180,533 320,598 488,297
Other assets 5,532,301 5,235,552 4,435,218
Total Assets 362,776,647 284,970,883 218,412,854
Liabilities:
Deposits:
Noninterest bearing
transaction accounts 33,735,936 27,560,581 22,239,499
Interest bearing
transaction accounts 20,508,017 15,525,590 16,544,728
Savings 69,700,582 46,299,198 24,400,184
Time deposits $100,000
and over 108,052,285 93,975,912 81,892,752
Other time deposits 64,787,211 42,132,546 32,389,206
Total deposits 296,784,031 225,493,827 177,466,369
Securities sold under
agreements to repurchase 3,752,863 3,061,903 2,095,810
Federal funds purchased - - -
Advances from Federal Home
Loan Bank 32,000,000 27,900,000 20,000,000
Accrued interest payable 783,789 742,017 500,917
Other liabilities 879,413 414,487 209,324
Total Liabilities 334,200,096 257,612,234 200,272,420
Shareholders' Equity:
Common Stock 32,767 32,039 24,963
Capital Surplus 23,866,450 23,428,034 15,387,861
Treasury Stock (9,896) (7,396) -
Retained Earnings 4,479,303 3,664,301 2,891,973
Accumulated other
comprehensive income 207,927 241,671 (164,363)
Total Equity 28,576,551 27,358,649 18,140,434
Total Liabilities and
Shareholders Equity 362,776,647 284,970,883 218,412,854
SOURCE First Reliance Bancshares, Inc.
-0- 07/27/2005
/CONTACT: Jeffrey A. Paolucci, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of First Reliance Bank, +1-843-674-3250, or
jpaolucci@firstreliance.com /
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/Web site: http://www.firstreliance.com/
(FSRL)
CO: First Reliance Bancshares, Inc.; First Reliance Bank
ST: South Carolina
IN: FIN OTC
SU: ERN
JT-JK
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8901 07/27/200507:15 EDThttp://www.prnewswire.com
