BOCA RATON, Fla., April 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- (NASDAQ Global Select: FUBC) --1(st) United Bancorp, Inc. ("1(st) United") reported net income of $2.7 million ($0.08 per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2014 which is a 66% increase compared to net income of $1.6 million ($0.05 per share) for the three months ended March 31, 2013.

Highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2014:

Financial Condition


    --  Total assets at March 31, 2014 were $1.74 billion, as compared to
        approximately $1.85 billion at December 31, 2013.  During the quarter
        ended March 31, 2014, 1(st) United increased total loans by $25.1
        million comprised of loan originations and advances of $79.4 million and
        payments, payoffs and resolutions of $54.3 million.
    --  Total deposits at March 31, 2014 were $1.43 billion, as compared to
        $1.55 billion at December 31, 2013 primarily a result of a customer
        deposit of $128.0 million received in December 2013 and withdrawn in
        January 2014 as well as normal customer activity.  Non-interest bearing
        deposits were approximately 38% of total deposits at March 31, 2014 as
        compared to 34% of total deposits at December 31, 2013.
    --  Total risk-based capital ratio, Tier 1 capital ratio, and leverage ratio
        for 1(st) United at March 31, 2014 were 15.58%, 14.70% and 10.09%,
        respectively, and exceeded all regulatory requirements for "well
        capitalized."

Asset Quality


    --  Total non-performing assets were $31.5 million (1.81% of total assets)
        at March 31, 2014 representing a $2.9 million decrease as compared to
        the December 31, 2013 balance of $34.4 million (1.87% of total assets).
    --  Excluding assets covered by FDIC loss share agreements, non-performing
        assets were $15.1 million (0.87% of total assets) at March 31, 2014.
    --  Included in the $31.5 million in non-performing assets at March 31, 2014
        was $16.4 million of assets covered under loss share agreements as
        compared to $17.6 million of assets covered under loss share agreement
        at December 31, 2013.
    --  Classified loans (substandard and special mention) decreased by $3.8
        million from $59.5 million at December 31, 2013 to $55.7 million at
        March 31, 2014.  The decrease was due to resolutions, including sales,
        payoffs and transfers to other real estate owned, as well as credit
        upgrades of assets which have shown continued improvement.

Operating Results

Net income of $2.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2014 was impacted by:


    --  The net interest margin was 4.97% for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. 
        The margin was positively impacted by increased cash flows of assets
        covered under loss share agreements due to resolutions, including sales,
        payoffs and transfers to other real estate owned of $2.8 million or 75
        basis points. Exclusive of this, 1st United's margin would have been
        approximately 4.22%.
    --  The provision for loan losses was $333,000 for the quarter ended March
        31, 2014.
    --  Net gains on sales of other real estate of $213,000 were realized for
        the quarter ended March 31, 2014, with gains associated with the sale of
        assets covered under loss share agreements $306,000 during the quarter.
    --  A charge of approximately $2.7 million was recorded during the quarter
        related to the increased cash flows (which resulted in approximately
        $2.8 million of income during the quarter on resolved loans and $306,000
        in gains on the sale of other real estate owned) on the resolution,
        including sales, payoffs, transfers to other real estate owned and sale
        of other real estate owned, of assets covered under FDIC loss sharing
        agreements, which reduced the FDIC loss share receivable.
    --  Inclusive within non-interest expense were write-downs of $244,000 of
        other real estate owned to their fair values due to updated appraisals.

Management Comments:

"We are pleased with the strength and quality of our $1.74 billion asset enterprise at March 31, 2014," said Warren S. Orlando, Chairman. "With the closure of one banking center in South Florida in early January 2014, we have 21 banking centers in Florida with the majority of them in major growth areas. We continue to believe that our strong capital base, liquidity and overall financial strength will allow us the opportunity to continue to expand both organically as well as through potential acquisitions."

"Our earnings were $2.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. Our margin continues to remain strong and is driven by our core deposits and low cost of funds. We had approximately 38% of our total deposits comprised of non-interest bearing deposits at March 31, 2014. Our new loan pipeline remains strong. We continued our trend of net organic growth for the quarter and are hopeful this trend will continue throughout 2014," said Rudy E. Schupp, Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to see new loan production in each of the markets we are serving."

"We are encouraged with the continued improvement in non-loss share, non-performing assets during the quarter ended March 31, 2014, with reductions of $1.8 million. Our non-loss share non-performing asset ratio was reduced to 0.87% of total assets as compared to 0.91% at December 31, 2013. We are also seeing continued improvement in classified assets. We remain vigilant and will continue to monitor asset quality and act quickly to resolve problem assets as they are identified," said John Marino, President and Chief Financial Officer.

For interested persons, 1(st) United will be hosting an investor call to review the year end results at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time on April 21, 2014. The number for the conference call is (800) 857-9849 (Passcode: 3183056). A replay of the conference call will be available beginning the evening of April 21, 2014 until May 4, 2014 by dialing (800) 839-1169 (domestic), using the passcode 1423.

About 1(st) United Bancorp, Inc.

1(st) United is a financial holding company headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. 1(st) United's principal subsidiary, 1(st) United Bank, is a Florida chartered commercial bank, which operates 21 branches in South and Central Florida, including Brevard, Broward, Hillsborough, Indian River, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, and Pinellas Counties. 1(st) United's principal executive office and mailing address is One North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, FL 33432 and its telephone number is (561) 362-3431. 1(st) United's stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "FUBC".

Forward Looking Statements

Any non-historical statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on current plans and expectations that are subject to uncertainties and risks, which could cause 1(st) United's future results to differ materially. The following factors, among others, could cause our actual results to differ: our ability to comply with the terms of loss sharing agreements with the FDIC; legislative and regulatory changes, including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform, Consumer Protection Act and Basel III; our ability to integrate the business and operations of companies and banks that we have acquired and those that we may acquire in the future; the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which we conduct operations; the effects of security breaches and computer viruses that may affect our computer systems; the accuracy of our financial statement estimates and assumptions, including the estimate of our loan loss provision and the FDIC loss share receivable; the failure to achieve expected gains, revenue growth, and/or expense savings from past and future acquisitions; the frequency and magnitude of foreclosure of our loans; increased competition and its effect on pricing including the impact on our net interest margin from repeal of Regulation Q; our customers' willingness and ability to make timely payments on their loans; changes in securities and real estate markets; changes in monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. Government; inflation, interest rate, market, and monetary fluctuations; the effects of our lack of a diversified loan portfolio, including the risks of geographic and industry concentrations; our need and our ability to incur additional debt or equity financing; the effects of harsh weather conditions, including hurricanes, and man-made disasters; our ability to comply with the extensive laws and regulations to which we are subject; the willingness of clients to accept third-party products and services rather than our products and services and vice versa; technological changes; negative publicity and the impact on our reputation; changes in consumer spending and saving habits; changes in accounting principles, policies, practices or guidelines; limited trading activity of our common stock; the concentration of ownership of our common stock; our ability to retain key members of management; anti-takeover provisions under federal and state law as well as our Articles of Incorporation and our Bylaws; other risks described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and our ability to manage the risks involved in the foregoing. These factors, as well as additional factors, can be found in our periodic and other filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Actual results may differ materially from projections and could be affected by a variety of factors, including factors beyond our control. Forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of the press release, and 1(st) United assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements or the reasons why actual results could differ.




                      For the three month period ended

                                 March 31,
                                 ---------

                         2014                     2013
                         ----                     ----

    INCOME STATEMENT            (Amounts in thousands, except
     DATA                                     per

    (unaudited)                        share data)


    Interest income                $19,538                       $17,720

    Interest expense                   858                           991
                                       ---                           ---

    Net interest
     income                         18,680                        16,729

    Provision for
     loan losses                       333                           650
                                       ---                           ---

    Net interest
     income after
     provision for
     loan                           18,347                        16,079

       losses


    Net gains on
     sales of OREO                     213                           441

    Net gains on
     sales of
     securities                          -                           122

    Adjustment to
     FDIC loss share
     receivable                     (2,648)                       (2,820)

    Other non-
     interest income                 1,189                         1,269
                                     -----                         -----

    Total non-
     interest income                (1,246)                         (988)


    Salaries and
     employee
     benefits                        6,556                         6,199

    Occupancy and
     equipment                       2,021                         1,969

    Other non-
     interest expense                4,323                         4,308
                                     -----                         -----

    Total non-
     interest expense               12,900                        12,476


    Income before
     taxes                           4,201                         2,615

    Income tax
     expense                         1,515                           995
                                     -----                           ---

    Net income                      $2,686                        $1,620
                                    ======                        ======


    PER SHARE DATA

    Basic and diluted
     earnings per
     share                           $0.08                         $0.05


    SELECTED
     OPERATING RATIOS

    Return on average
     assets                           0.63%                         0.42%

    Return on average
     shareholders'
     equity                           4.64%                         2.76%

    Net interest
     margin                           4.97%                         5.09%


    Average assets              $1,740,556                    $1,551,341

    Average
     shareholders'
     equity                       $234,988                      $237,703



    SELECT FINANCIAL DATA                                              March 31,                            December 31,

                    (unaudited)                                                            2014                     2013
                                                                                           ----                     ----

                                                        (Amounts in thousands, except per share
                                                                          data)


    BALANCE SHEET DATA

    Total assets                                                                                $1,738,395               $1,845,113

    Gross loans                                                                                  1,159,066                1,133,980

    Allowance for loan losses                                                                       10,033                    9,648

    Net loans                                                                                    1,149,316                1,124,571

    Cash and cash equivalents                                                                       78,314                  198,221

    Securities available for sale                                                                  323,828                  327,961

    Other real estate owned                                                                         16,238                   18,580

    Goodwill and other intangible assets                                                            67,603                   67,798

    FDIC loss share receivable                                                                      25,951                   29,331

    Deposits                                                                                     1,429,381                1,547,913

    Non-interest bearing deposits                                                                  539,640                  526,311

    Shareholders' equity                                                                           235,241                  230,108


    SELECTED ASSET QUALITY DATA, CAPITAL AND

       ASSET QUALITY RATIOS


    Equity/assets                                                                                    13.53%                   12.47%

    Non-accrual and loans past due greater than 90 days                                               1.32%                    1.40%

       loans/total loans

    Allowance for loan losses/total loans                                                             0.87%                    0.85%

    Allowance for loan losses/non-accrual loans                                                      67.20%                   60.92%

    Leverage ratio                                                                                   10.09%                    9.66%

    Tier 1 risk based capital                                                                        14.70%                   14.61%

    Total risk based capital                                                                         15.58%                   15.47%

    Book value per share                                                                             $6.82                    $6.71

    Number of shares of outstanding common stock                                                34,489,547               34,288,841

SOURCE 1st United Bancorp, Inc.