News Details

DUNMORE, Pa., July 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First National Community Bancorp, Inc. (OTCQX:FNCB), the parent company of Dunmore-based First National Community Bank (the "Bank"), today reported net income for the three months ended June 30, 2015 of $0.8 million, or $0.05 per basic and diluted share. Net income for the comparable period of 2014 was $6.6 million, or $0.40 per basic and diluted share. For the six months ended June 30, 2015, net income was $4.3 million, or $0.26 per basic and diluted share, a decrease of $5.8 million compared to $10.1 million, or $0.61 per basic and diluted share, for the same six months of 2014. The decrease in quarter- and year-to-date earnings reflected non-recurring income recorded in 2014 related to two legal settlements received in the second quarter of 2014 and a gain on the sale of the Company's retail banking operations in Monroe County in the first quarter of 2014.

Annualized return on average assets was 0.34% and 0.89%, respectively for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2015, compared to 2.73% and 2.09%, respectively, for the same periods of 2014. For the second quarter and year-to-date periods of 2015, annualized return on average equity was 5.89% and 15.84%, respectively, and 60.91% and 50.62%, respectively, for the comparable 2014 periods.

On June 30, 2015, pursuant to approval from both the holders of the Company's fixed-rate subordinated notes due 2019 (the "Notes") and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the Company amended the original terms of the Notes to reduce the annual interest rate from 9.00% to 4.50% effective July 1, 2015 and to accelerate a partial repayment of principal amount. On June 30, 2015, the Company repaid $11.0 million, or 44.0%, of outstanding principal. These changes equate to a savings of $1.6 million in annual interest expense related to the Notes.

Second Quarter 2015 Highlights:

• Lowered annual interest rate on the Notes by 50.0% and made a 44.0% principal reduction payment;
• Total deposit growth of $70.0 million, or 8.8%, from the end of 2014 and $90.3 million, or 11.6%, from the end of the first quarter of 2015; and
• Non-interest expense decreased 20.6% comparing the six-month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014.

"Amending the interest rate and accelerating repayment of 44.0% of the principal on the Notes was a key strategic transaction for the Company that will improve our net interest margin and profitability going forward," stated Steven R. Tokach, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Additionally, future non-interest expense levels should benefit from reduced insurance costs, given our improved risk profile," concluded Mr. Tokach.

Summary Results for the Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2015

Net interest income before credit for loan and lease losses was $6.3 million for the second quarter, and $12.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2015 compared to $6.7 million and $13.2 million for the same periods in 2014. The decrease was primarily a result of lower interest and dividend income on securities, which reflected tax planning strategies involving the repositioning of the investment portfolio from tax-exempt securities into taxable securities and the timing of the reinvestment of sales proceeds. Partially offsetting the reduction in interest income was a $0.3 million reduction in interest expense, which was primarily due to a decrease in funding costs. The tax-equivalent net interest margin for second quarter 2015 was 2.85%, which was unchanged from the first quarter of 2015, and a decrease of 30 basis points from the prior year period. The Company anticipates an improvement in its future funding costs and tax-equivalent net interest margin as a result of the 50.0% reduction in the annual interest rate and 44.0% principal reduction of the Notes.

Non-interest income was $1.6 million and $5.0 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, compared to $5.0 million and $8.4 million, respectively, for the same periods in 2014. The decrease in second quarter and year-to-date 2015 non-interest income was primarily due to nonrecurring income recorded in the comparable periods of 2014. In the second quarter of 2014, the Company received $2.1 million in recoveries related to two legal settlements, one of which was the recovery of all past due interest, late charges and legal and other expenses as part of a settlement of previously charged-off commercial real estate loans, and the other was a recovery in connection with a previously disclosed shareholder derivative suit. In addition, net gains on the sale of securities decreased $1.4 million and $0.7 million, respectively, comparing the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015 and 2014. Also impacting the decrease in non-interest income for the year-to-date periods, were nonrecurring income in 2014 from the legal settlements detailed above and the divestiture of retail banking operations in Monroe County.

For the three months ended June 30, 2015, non-interest expense decreased $2.3 million, or 25.5%, to $6.7 million, from $9.0 million for the same three months of 2014. On a year-to-date basis, non-interest expense decreased $3.5 million, or 20.6%, to $13.5 million in 2015 from $17.0 million in 2014. For both the three-month and year-to-date periods, the decrease resulted primarily from reductions in expenses of other real estate owned, legal expense and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporate ("FDIC") insurance expense. With regard to the reduction in FDIC insurance, the Company was notified during the second quarter of 2015 that it was now considered in Risk Category I, the lowest risk category, for assessment purposes. Also during the second quarter of 2015, due to its improved risk profile, the Company renewed its professional liability, fidelity bond and errors and omissions insurance policies at considerably lower rates.

Asset Quality

The Company recorded net charge-offs of $1.0 million and $1.1 million, respectively, for the three and six months ended June 30, 2015, respectively, compared to net recoveries of $3.6 million and $3.7 million, respectively, for the same periods of 2014. During the second quarter of 2015, the Company recorded a partial charge-off in the amount of $0.9 million on one commercial real estate loan. The net recovery position in 2014 was due largely to the previously mentioned legal settlement. The majority of the balance of net charge-offs was recorded during the second quarter of 2015.

Total non-performing loans were $5.8 million at June 30, 2015, an increase of $0.6 million, or 11.1%, from $5.2 million at March 31, 2015, and $0.2 million, or 4.3%, from December 31, 2014. The ratio of non-performing loans to total loans was 0.84% at June 30, 2015 compared to 0.77% at March 31, 2015 and 0.82% at December 31, 2014. (At March 31, 2015, the most recent data available, the FDIC average for commercial banks with assets between $1.0 billion and $3.0 billion at March 31, 2015 was 0.91%.) The allowance for loan and lease losses as a percentage of gross loans was 1.51% at June 30, 2015, 1.63% at March 31, 2015 and 1.72% at the end of 2014. (The above described FDIC peer group average was 1.35% at March 31, 2015.)

Financial Condition

Total assets increased $57.6 million, or 5.9%, to $1.0 billion at June 30, 2015 as compared to $970.0 million at December 31, 2014. The balance sheet growth largely reflected a $36.6 million increase in cash and cash equivalents, which resulted from a $70.0 million or 8.8%, increase in total deposits, partially offset by a $14.4 million, or 14.9%, reduction in borrowed funds. Interest-bearing deposits increased $50.0 million, or 7.5% from year-end 2014 to the close of the second quarter of 2015, while non-interest bearing demand deposits grew by $20.0 million, or 16.1%. The increase in interest-bearing deposits primarily reflected the attainment of a large deposit relationship, partially offset by the planned runoff of higher-costing certificates of deposit generated through QwickRate®, a national deposit listing service. The Company experienced moderate loan demand, as loans, net of unearned income, net deferred loan fees and costs and the ALLL, increased $14.5 million, or 2.2% from December 31, 2014 to June 30, 2015. The reduction in borrowed funds reflected decreases of $3.4 million, or 5.6%, in FHLB of Pittsburgh advances and $11.0 million, or 44.0%, in the Company's Notes.   

Total shareholders' equity increased $3.5 million, or 6.9%, to $54.9 million at June 30, 2015 from $51.4 million at December 31, 2014. The capital improvement resulted primarily from net income of $4.3 million partially offset by a $0.8 million decrease in accumulated other comprehensive income, which resulted entirely from depreciation in the fair value of available-for-sale securities offset by the tax impact of the depreciation. At June 30, 2015, the Company's total risk-based capital and Tier I leverage ratios were 11.60% and 6.64%, respectively. The respective ratios for the Bank at June 30, 2015 were 13.82% and 9.28%. The ratios well exceeded the 10.00% and 5.00% required to be well capitalized under the prompt corrective action provisions of the Basel III capital framework for U.S. banking organizations, which became effective for the Company and the Bank on January 1, 2015.

Availability of Filings

Copies of the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q will be provided upon request from: Shareholder Relations, First National Community Bancorp, Inc., 102 East Drinker Street, Dunmore, PA 18512 or by calling (570) 348-6419. These reports, along with all of the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission are also available on the Investor Relations page of the Company's website, www.fncb.com/investorrelations.

About First National Community Bank:

First National Community Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company of First National Community Bank, which provides personal, small business and commercial banking services to individuals and businesses throughout Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wayne Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania.  The institution was established as a National Banking Association in 1910 as The First National Bank of Dunmore, and has been operating under its current name since 1988. For more information about FNCB, visit www.fncb.com.                                       

The Company may from time to time make written or oral "forward-looking statements," including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in its reports to shareholders, and in other communications by the Company, which are made in good faith by the Company pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These forward-looking statements include statements with respect to the Company's beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions, that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various factors (some of which are beyond the Company's control). The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause the Company's financial performance to differ materially from the plans, objectives, expectations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements: the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in the Company's markets; the effects of, and changes in trade, monetary and fiscal policies and laws, including interest rate policies of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; inflation, interest rate, market and monetary fluctuations; the timely development of and acceptance of new products and services; the ability of the Company to compete with other institutions for business; the composition and concentrations of the Company's lending risk and the adequacy of the Company's reserves to manage those risks; the valuation of the Company's investment securities; the ability of the Company to pay dividends or repurchase common shares; the ability of the Company to retain key personnel; the impact of any pending or threatened litigation against the Company; the marketability of shares of the Company and fluctuations in the value of the Company's share price; the impact of the Company's ability to comply with its regulatory agreements and orders; the effectiveness of the Company's system of internal controls; the ability of the Company to attract additional capital investment; the impact of changes in financial services' laws and regulations (including laws concerning capital adequacy, taxes, banking, securities and insurance); the impact of technological changes and security risks upon the Company's information technology systems; changes in consumer spending and saving habits; the nature, extent, and timing of governmental actions and reforms, and the success of the Company at managing the risks involved in the foregoing and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the Company's filings with the SEC.

The Company cautions that the foregoing list of important factors is not all inclusive. Readers are also cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date of this report, even if subsequently made available by the Company on its website or otherwise. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this report.

Readers should carefully review the risk factors described in the Annual Report and other documents that the Company periodically files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.

CONTACT: INVESTOR CONTACT:
         James M. Bone, Jr., CPA
         Executive Vice President and
         Chief Financial Officer
         First National Community Bank
         (570) 348-6419
         james.bone@fncb.com