Shore Community Bank Announces 48% Increase In Third Quarter Net Income

TOMS RIVER, N.J., Oct. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Shore Community Bank (SHRC) today reported net income of $1,048,539 or $0.33 per diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2018, compared to net income of $706,474 or $0.23 per diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2017, representing an increase of  48.4 percent in net income.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, the Bank reported net income of $2,968,758, or $0.94 per diluted share compared to net income of $1,904,399 or $0.61 per diluted share for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, which represents an increase in net income of 55.9 percent.

The Board of Directors also announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share. The dividend will be paid on November 16, 2018 to all shareholders of record on November 6, 2018.

Robert T. English, President & Chief Executive Officer stated, "As a result of a solid net interest margin, coupled with the prudent management of non-interest operating expenses which year over year have grown a modest 2.50%, we have achieved record earnings. The management team and associates continue to deliver the high level of attention and personal service that our clients have come to expect from us." Mr. English further stated, "We anticipate fourth quarter earnings performance to be consistent with our recent quarterly earnings trend and cap a very successful 2018."

Total assets at September 30, 2018 were $282.5 million, growing 4.2 percent, compared to $271.1 million at December 31, 2017. Total loans increased 2.6 percent and stood at $208.3 million at September 30, 2018, compared to $202.9 million at December 31, 2017 while total deposits increased 3.8 percent totaling $251.3 million at September 30, 2018, compared to $242.1 million at December 31, 2017.

Non-performing assets, which includes other real estate owned (OREO), totaled $1.7 million at September 30, 2018, comprised of $0.8 million in non-performing loans and $0.9 million in OREO compared to a total of $3.7 million of non-performing assets at December 31, 2017 which included $2.8 million of nonaccrual loans and $0.9 million of OREO. Total non-performing assets at September 30, 2018, as a percentage of total assets, were .62 percent compared to 1.36 percent at December 31, 2017.

A credit to the provision for loan losses of $150,000 was recorded for the three months ended September 30, 2018, compared to a provision expense of $60,000 for the same period in 2017. Net loan recoveries totaled $79,650 in the third quarter of 2018 compared to net charge-offs of $145,760 in the same quarter last year.

The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of period end loans was 1.37 percent at September 30, 2018 compared to 1.43 percent at December 31, 2017.

Book value per share at September 30, 2018 was $9.67 based on 3,123,456 shares outstanding, compared to $9.04 at December 31, 2017 based on 3,098,858 shares outstanding.

Shore Community Bank is traded on the OTC Pink under the symbol "SHRC."

Shore Community Bank operates five banking offices located in Toms River, 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 "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "forecast," "intend," "will," "may" or other similar words and expressions. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Shore Community Bank assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this announcement, except as required under applicable law.