DUNN, N.C., July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company" NASDAQ: SLCT), the holding company for Select Bank & Trust, today reported net income of $1.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.16, compared to net income of $613,000 and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.09 for the second quarter of 2014. The third quarter 2014 merger of New Century Bancorp, Inc., and legacy Select Bancorp, Inc., impacts comparisons of the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015.

Total assets, deposits, and total loans for the Company as of June 30, 2015, were $742.4 million, $579.6 million, and $573.7 million, respectively, compared to total assets of $508.3 million, total deposits of $428.7 million, and total loans of $333.9 million as of the same date in 2014.

Commenting on second quarter 2015 results, William L. Hedgepeth II, President and CEO stated, "We are pleased to report another record quarter, our third consecutive quarter of net income growth since our merger. This has been a tremendous achievement for Select. During this quarter we have worked to reposition our branch structure by strategically consolidating our Burlington and Gibsonville markets and will combine our offices in the Fayetteville market. We believe these enhanced initiatives, to be completed in the third quarter, will result in notable expense reductions and increased efficiencies. Additionally, we have announced the acquisition of two branches, one in Morehead City and the other in Leland, in the Wilmington area, which we expect will be a fourth quarter event."

"Loan growth has been strong while asset quality continues to remain high which is a top priority at Select," Mr. Hedgepeth said. "Our continued focus on profit and growth are a top priority in our strategic plan. We are expanding our markets utilizing the combined resources of our July 25, 2014 merger with legacy Select Bank and our performance results to-date are improving. We are very pleased with these developments and believe the changes add value to our community bank franchise."

Non-performing loans decreased to $11.7 million at June 30, 2015 from $11.9 million at December 31, 2014. Non-performing loans equaled 2.04% of loans at June 30, 2015, decreasing from 2.15% of loans at December 31, 2014. Other real estate and repossessed assets equaled $1.6 million at December 31, 2014 and decreased to $1.0 million at June 30, 2015. For the quarter, recoveries were $16,000 or -0.01% of average loans, compared to a recovery of $139,000 or -0.10% of average loans in the fourth quarter of 2014. At June 30, 2015, the allowance for loan losses was $6.8 million, or 1.19% of total loans, slightly down from $6.8 million or 1.24% of total loans at December 31, 2014.

Mr. Hedgepeth concluded, "We are pleased with our performance this quarter and the $1.8 million in earnings. This was an active quarter for us. By expanding our franchise and continuing loan growth in our markets, we look forward to the positive contributions that we expect our repositioned financial centers will add. We believe we are well-positioned for the remainder of 2015."

Select Bank & Trust has branch offices in these North Carolina communities: Dunn, Burlington, Clinton, Elizabeth City, Fayetteville, Gibsonville, Goldsboro, Greenville, Lillington, Lumberton, Raleigh and Washington.

The information as of and for the quarter ended June 30, 2015, as presented is unaudited. This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, (i) statements regarding certain of our goals and expectations with respect to earnings, earnings per share, revenue, expenses and the growth rate in such items, as well as other measures of economic performance, including statements relating to estimates of credit quality trends, and (ii) statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "may," "could," "should," "would," "believe," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "projects," "outlook" or similar expressions. The actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to, our ability to manage growth, substantial changes in financial markets, regulatory changes, changes in interest rates, loss of deposits and loan demand to other savings and financial institutions, and changes in real estate values and the real estate market. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company's SEC filings, including its periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, copies of which are available upon request from the Company.



    Select Bancorp, Inc.

    Selected Financial Information and Other Data

    ($ in thousands, except per share data)

                                                                                 At or for the three months ended                                                 At or for the twelve months ended
                                                                                 --------------------------------                                                 ---------------------------------


                                                June 30,                March 31,                      December     September                  June 30,               December                     December                     December
                                                      2015                     2015                             31,           30,                       2014                      31,                          31,                          31,
                                                                                                              2014          2014                                               2014                         2013                         2012


    Summary of Operations:

    Total interest income                                        $8,262                                     $8,242                      $7,988                               $7,541                                      $5,261                             $26,104            $22,903             $25,132

    Total interest expense                                        835                                        939                       1,141                                1,169                                       1,098                               4,519              5,258               6,632
                                                                  ---                                        ---                       -----                                -----                                       -----                               -----              -----               -----

    Net interest income                                         7,427                                      7,303                       6,847                                6,372                                       4,163                              21,585             17,645              18,500

    Provision for (recovery of) loan losses                     (139)                                       130                         177                                  105                                       (427)                              (194)             (325)            (2,597)
                                                                 ----                                        ---                         ---                                  ---                                        ----                                ----               ----              ------

    Net interest income after provision                         7,566                                      7,173                       6,670                                6,267                                       4,590                              21,779             17,970              21,097

    Noninterest income                                            941                                        863                         836                                  650                                         565                               2,675              2,629               3,598

    Merger/Acquisition related expenses                 35                                       -                          217                              1,325                                          237                                 1,941                 -                  -

    Noninterest expense                                         5,518                                      5,370                       5,345                                5,168                                       3,917                              18,719             15,855              17,236
                                                                -----                                      -----                       -----                                -----                                       -----                              ------             ------              ------

    Income before income taxes                                  2,954                                      2,666                       1,944                                  424                                       1,001                               3,794              4,744               7,459

    Provision for income taxes                                  1,133                                        923                         666                                  230                                         388                               1,437              1,803               2,822
                                                                -----                                        ---                         ---                                  ---                                         ---                               -----              -----               -----

    Net Income                                                  1,821                                      1,743                       1,278                                  194                                         613                               2,357              2,941               4,637

    Dividends on Preferred Stock                        19                                      19                            19                                 19                                            -                                   38                 -                  -
                                                       ---                                     ---                           ---                                ---                                          ---                                  ---               ---                ---

    Net income available to common                               $1,802                                     $1,724                      $1,259                                 $175                                        $613                              $2,319             $2,941              $4,637
    shareholders



    Share and Per Share Data:

    Earnings per share - basic                                    $0.16                                      $0.15                       $0.11                                $0.02                                       $0.09                               $0.26              $0.43               $0.67

    Earnings per share - diluted                                  $0.16                                      $0.15                       $0.11                                $0.02                                       $0.09                               $0.26              $0.43               $0.67

    Book value per share                                          $8.17                                      $8.07                       $7.91                                $7.61                                       $8.30                               $8.59              $8.09               $7.84

    Tangible book value per share                                 $7.45                                      $7.33                       $7.16                                $7.01                                       $8.29                               $7.83              $8.07               $7.79

    Ending shares outstanding                              11,499,398                                 11,458,561                  11,377,980                           11,349,368                                   6,931,168                          11,377,980          6,921,352           6,913,636

    Weighted average shares outstanding:

    Basic                                                  11,481,137                                 11,426,378                  11,375,803                           10,195,846                                   6,923,640                           8,870,114          6,918,814           6,898,147

    Diluted                                                11,548,878                                 11,510,147                  11,475,865                           10,312,085                                   6,928,428                           8,974,384          6,919,760           6,898,377


    Selected Performance Ratios:

    Return on average assets(2)                                 0.98%                                     0.94%                      0.65%                               0.10%                                      0.48%                              0.37%             0.53%              0.81%

    Return on average equity(2)                                 7.22%                                     7.11%                      5.23%                               0.82%                                      4.35%                              3.12%             5.28%              8.79%

    Net interest margin                                         4.46%                                     4.30%                      3.87%                               3.99%                                      3.62%                              3.88%             3.46%              3.57%

    Efficiency ratio (1)                                       65.94%                                    65.76%                     69.57%                              73.60%                                     82.85%                             77.16%            78.20%             78.00%


    Period End Balance Sheet Data:

    Loans, net of unearned income                              $573,729                                   $558,923                    $552,038                             $546,475                                    $333,868                            $552,038           $346,500            $367,891

    Total Earning Assets                                      665,028                                    663,017                     698,266                              710,005                                     458,696                             698,266            483,054             543,674

    Goodwill                                         6,931                                   6,931                         6,931                              6,931                                            -                                6,931                 -                  -

    Core Deposit Intangible                                     1,320                                      1,470                       1,625                                1,786                                         124                               1,625                182                 298

    Total Assets                                              742,443                                    748,371                     766,121                              784,983                                     508,282                             766,121            525,646             585,453

    Deposits                                                  579,609                                    600,520                     618,902                              644,093                                     428,734                             618,902            448,458             498,559

    Short term debt                                            32,884                                     18,943                      20,733                               18,077                                       7,179                              20,733              6,305              17,848

    Long term debt                                             24,914                                     25,282                      25,591                               26,049                                      12,372                              25,591             12,372              12,372

    Shareholders' equity                                      101,552                                    100,076                      97,685                               93,995                                      57,551                              97,685             56,004              54,179


    Selected Average Balances:

    Gross Loans                                                $569,785                                   $557,177                    $546,626                             $489,563                                    $336,286                            $430,571           $354,871            $391,648

    Total Earning Assets                                      669,586                                    672,655                     702,818                              632,922                                     465,976                             565,264            511,597             532,193

    Core Deposit Intangible                                     1,389                                      1,546                       1,714                                1,496                                         136                                 884                237                 389

    Total Assets                                              744,118                                    748,047                     776,839                              709,480                                     514,539                             631,905            555,354             574,616

    Deposits                                                  588,328                                    600,601                     632,633                              582,825                                     435,976                             523,954            470,526             481,387

    Short term debt                                            28,212                                     19,298                      19,790                               14,652                                       6,748                               9,957             13,879              17,848

    Long term debt                                             22,895                                     25,444                      25,818                               22,343                                      12,372                              20,494             12,372              12,372

    Shareholders' equity                                      101,216                                     99,376                      97,030                               84,744                                      57,158                              74,365             55,701              52,769


    Asset Quality Ratios:

    Nonperforming loans                                         $11,702                                    $13,473                     $11,876                              $12,375                                     $12,952                             $11,876            $15,856             $12,030

    Other real estate owned                                     1,030                                      1,187                       1,585                                1,687                                       1,169                               1,585              2,008               2,833

    Allowance for loan losses                                   6,842                                      6,919                       6,844                                6,529                                       6,447                               6,844              7,054               7,897

    Nonperforming loans (3) to period-end loans                 2.04%                                     2.41%                      2.15%                               2.26%                                      3.88%                              2.15%             4.58%              3.27%

    Allowance for loan losses to period-end                     1.19%                                     1.24%                      1.24%                               1.19%                                      1.93%                              1.24%             2.04%              2.15%
    loans

    Delinquency Ratio (4)                                       0.32%                                     0.23%                      0.91%                               0.36%                                      0.15%                              0.91%             0.25%              0.32%

    Net loan charge-offs to average loans                      -0.01%                                     0.04%                     -0.10%                               0.02%                                      0.18%                             -0.03%             0.15%             -0.12%



    (1) Efficiency ratio is calculated as non-interest expenses divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income.

    (2) Annualized.

    (3) Nonperforming loans consist of non-accrual loans and restructured loans.

    (4) Delinquency Ratio includes loans 30-89 days past due and excludes non-accrual loans.

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SOURCE Select Bancorp, Inc.