FLORENCE, S.C., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — First Reliance Bancshares, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: FSRL), the holding company for First Reliance Bank, reported unaudited pre-tax income for the year ended December 31, 2004 of $1,909,232, an increase of $489,849, or 35%, over the $1,419,383 reported for the year ended December 31, 2003. Unaudited net income increased 32%, to $1,338,699, as compared to $1,015,799 reported in the prior-year period. Earnings benefited from a strong growth in both net interest income and noninterest income. Specifically, net interest income increased 53% to $9.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, while noninterest income grew 15% to $2.5 million. Basic earnings per share were $0.52, an increase of $0.04 from the $0.48 reported in the prior-year period. The earnings per share the year ending December 31, 2004 is based on average shares of 2,580,251 compared to 2,135,285 shares reported in the prior-year period. The additional shares are primarily the result of a successful stock offering completed in December 2004. The offering provided $8 million of new capital and increased the number of shares by 700,000.
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Net income for the three months ended December 31, 2004 was $337,018, an increase of $58,898, or 21% from the level reported in the prior year three- month period. As was the case with the year end results, the higher profitability was driven primarily by higher net interest income, which increased 66%, and noninterest income, which increased 16%. Basic earnings per share were $0.15 compared to $0.11 for the prior-year period, an increase of $0.04.
At December 31, 2004, total assets were $284.9 million, an increase of $104.5 million, or 58% over the $180.3 million reported for December 31, 2003. Loans increased $99.0 million or 71% to $238.4 million, funded primarily by growth in deposits. Deposits increased to $225.5 million, up 62% from $139.4 million for the prior-year period. The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of loans was 1.16% as of December 31, 2004.
Rick Saunders, President and CEO, commented, “We are extremely pleased with the acceleration in our earnings in each of the four quarters of 2004. Through tremendous efforts of our retail banking group, we have been able to grow loans by $99 million or 71% since the beginning of the year. This growth in earning assets has enabled the company to grow net interest income at a rate which has more than outpaced the decline in income from mortgage refinance activity. We will continue to make strategic investments in 2005. Our third and newest full-service branch in Lexington opened in July 2004 and is exceeding expectations with loan and deposit growth, each above $30 million. A fourth branch in Charleston, South Carolina is planned to open in the first quarter of 2005 with the fifth branch in Mount Pleasant scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2005. These branches will be located at 51 State Street in the center of the Charleston Historic District and 800 South Shelmore Boulevard, a primary thoroughfare in Mount Pleasant.”
Based in Florence, South Carolina, First Reliance Bancshares, Inc., is a bank holding company with approximately $285 million in assets as of December 31, 2004. 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 offices and a Technology Center in Florence, South Carolina and one branch in Lexington, South Carolina. 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, money market accounts, and a new deposit courier service. In September 2004, the Company began offering Wholesale Mortgage Services and Title Insurance Services. In December of 2004, the company began offering business customers a courier service. The Company also provides Internet banking, electronic bill paying services and an 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 http://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
First Reliance Bancshares, Inc.
Consolidated Reports of Income
Three Three Twelve Twelve
Months Months Months Months
Ended Ended Ended Ended
Dec 31, Dec 31, Dec 31, Dec 31,
2004 2003 2004 2003
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
Interest Income
Loans and Fees 3,771,425 2,103,717 12,094,388 7,504,097
Taxable Securities 186,200 148,969 723,439 604,306
Nontaxable Securities 118,285 90,261 415,347 357,377
Nonmarketable
Securities 9,107 - 35,417 -
Federal Funds Sold and
Other 19,577 2,466 21,890 33,683
Total 4,104,594 2,345,413 13,290,481 8,499,463
Interest Expense
Deposits 1,118,096 586,692 3,497,939 2,197,877
FHLB Advances 172,487 70,964 533,411 240,976
Federal Funds Purchased
and Repurchase
Agreements 16,654 7,065 29,718 21,282
Total 1,307,237 664,721 4,061,068 2,460,135
Net Interest Income 2,797,357 1,680,692 9,229,413 6,039,328
Provision for loan
losses 515,000 250,583 1,361,762 791,650
Net Interest Income
after provision 2,282,357 1,430,109 7,867,651 5,247,678
Noninterest Income
Residential mortgage
origination fees 177,015 256,479 584,023 906,452
Service charges on
deposit accounts 336,468 263,995 1,231,759 956,452
Brokerage fees 27,898 4,550 131,626 29,182
Gain on sale of
securities available
for sale 2,163 - 5,971 2,990
Gain on sale of Other
Real Estate - - - -
Credit life insurance
commissions 15,367 19,347 82,090 64,170
Other charges,
commissions and fees 114,507 29,139 420,019 178,986
Total 667,971 573,511 2,455,488 2,138,233
Noninterest Expense
Salaries and employee
benefits 1,387,660 897,384 4,874,035 3,344,854
Occupancy expense 148,848 74,533 425,686 237,814
Furniture and equipment
expense 170,018 117,576 616,186 357,946
Loss on sale of other
real estate 55,966 26,070 55,966 35,572
Other operating
expenses 705,093 485,540 2,442,034 1,990,342
Total 2,467,585 1,601,103 8,413,907 5,966,528
Income before tax 482,743 402,517 1,909,232 1,419,383
Income tax expense 145,725 124,397 570,533 403,584
Net Income 337,018 278,120 1,338,699 1,015,799
Basic earnings per share 0.15 0.11 0.52 0.48
Diluted earnings per share 0.14 0.10 0.48 0.46
First Reliance Bancshares, Inc.
Balance Sheet
December December
31 31
2004 2003
(Unaudited) Audited
Assets:
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and due from banks 3,621,122 4,693,102
Federal funds sold 1,042,000 100,000
Total cash and cash equivalents 4,663,122 4,793,102
Investment securities
Securities available for sale 28,567,666 27,688,992
Nonmarketable equity securities 1,910,425 1,055,000
Other Investments
Total investment securities 30,478,091 28,743,992
Loans held for sale 1,332,890 971,627
Loans receivable 238,362,092 139,389,064
Less allowance for loan losses (2,758,225) (1,752,282)
Loans, net 235,603,867 137,636,782
Premises, furniture, and equipment, net 5,891,402 5,796,819
Accrued interest receivable 1,458,673 949,663
Other real estate owned 320,598 279,393
Other assets 5,119,827 1,192,505
Total Assets 284,868,470 180,363,883
Liabilities:
Deposits:
Noninterest bearing transaction
accounts 27,558,168 19,084,520
Interest bearing transaction accounts 15,525,590 15,866,254
Savings 46,299,198 18,217,378
Time deposits $100,000 and over 93,975,912 54,364,004
Other time deposits 42,132,546 31,882,795
Total deposits 225,491,414 139,414,951
Securities sold under agreements to repurchase 3,061,903 2,363,570
Federal funds purchased - 1,043,000
Advances from Federal Home Loan Bank 27,900,000 19,100,000
Accrued interest payable 742,017 442,233
Other liabilities 414,488 297,490
Total Liabilities 257,609,821 162,661,244
Shareholders' Equity:
Common Stock 32,039 24,667
Capital Surplus 23,428,033 15,106,070
Retained Earnings 3,664,301 2,325,602
Accumulated other comprehensive income 241,671 246,300
Treasury Stock (7,396) -
Total Equity 27,358,649 17,702,639
Total Liabilities and Shareholders Equity 284,968,470 180,363,883
SOURCE First Reliance Bancshares, Inc.
-0- 01/18/2005
/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
MH-JE
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7537 01/18/200510:00 ESThttp://www.prnewswire.com
