Shore Community Bank Announces Record 2018 Net Income And Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend

TOMS RIVER, N.J., Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Shore Community Bank (SHRC) today reported net income of $1,033,524, or $0.32 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to net income of $163,388, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2017. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $4,002,282, or $1.26 per diluted share, compared to $2,067,788, or $0.66 per diluted share, for the year ended December 31, 2017.

Commenting on the results, Robert T. English, President and Chief Executive Officer stated, "The Board and management are extremely pleased with the financial performance this year which represents the fourth consecutive year of record profits. Net income of $4.0 million translates into a return on average assets of 1.45% and represents a significant achievement for our Bank. Also of note, is an efficiency ratio at year end below 53% which is a bank's key performance metric for controlling expenses and maximizing revenue." Mr. English further stated, "Prudently managing overhead in 2018 contributed significantly to the bottom line as did improved credit quality allowing for the release of a portion of our loan loss reserve as well as a reduced federal income tax rate."

The Board of Directors also announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share. The dividend will be paid on February 15, 2019 to all shareholders of record on February 05, 2019.

The increase in net income for the year 2018 was positively impacted by the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which resulted in a reduction of the Banks 2018 federal tax rate as compared to 2017. In the prior year, as a result of the tax law change which became effective in late 2017, the Bank had recognized a noncash one-time charge of its deferred tax asset of $486,873 or $0.16 per diluted share.

Total assets, at December 31, 2018, declined 1.3 percent and totaled $267.5 million, compared to $271.1 million at December 31, 2017 while total loans increased 3.8 percent and finished the year at $210.7 million compared to $202.9 million at December 31, 2017. Total deposits declined 2.8 percent to $235.4 million at December 31, 2018, compared to $242.1 million at year-end 2017.

Non-performing assets, which includes other real estate owned (OREO) totaled $3.0 million at December 31, 2018 and included $2.0 million in non-performing loans and $1.0 million in OREO, compared to a total of $3.7 million at year end 2017 which included $2.8 million in non-performing loans and $0.9 million in OREO.

Total non-performing assets at December 31, 2018, as a percentage of total assets, were 1.12 percent compared to 1.36 percent at December 31, 2017.

A credit to the provision for loan losses of $220,000 was recorded for the quarter ended December 31, 2018, compared to a provision expense of $85,000 for the same period in 2017. Net charge-offs totaled $78,489 in the fourth quarter of 2018 compared to net loan recoveries of $4,802 in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The allowance for loan losses as a percentage of period end loans was 1.21 percent at December 31, 2018 compared to 1.43 percent at December 31, 2017.

Book value per share at December 31, 2018 was $9.97 compared to $9.04 at December 31, 2017 based on 3.1 million shares outstanding in each period.

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.