{"id":483833,"date":"2021-04-28T16:53:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T20:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/select-bancorp-reports-first-quarter-2021-earnings\/"},"modified":"2021-04-28T16:53:55","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T20:53:55","slug":"select-bancorp-reports-first-quarter-2021-earnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/select-bancorp-reports-first-quarter-2021-earnings\/","title":{"rendered":"Select Bancorp Reports First Quarter 2021 Earnings"},"content":{"rendered":"
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DUNN, N.C., April 28, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Select Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: SLCT<\/strong>) (the \u201cCompany\u201d), the holding company for Select Bank & Trust Company, today reported net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 of $6.3 million with basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.36, compared to net income of $1.1 million with basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.06 for the comparative quarter ended March 31, 2020. The increase in net income in the first quarter of 2021 compared to 2020 was primarily attributable to an increase in earnings from the three additional western North Carolina branches that were acquired in April of 2020, an increase in non-interest income and a reduction in the provision for loan losses.<\/p>\n

Total assets, deposits, and gross loans for the Company as of March 31, 2021 were $1.8 billion, $1.6 billion, and $1.3 billion, respectively, compared to total assets of $1.3 billion, total deposits of $982.7 million, and gross loans of $1.0 billion as of the same date in 2020.<\/p>\n

\n Comments of the Chief Executive Officer and Other Matters<\/u>\n <\/p>\n

William Hedgepeth, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated, \u201cWe are very pleased with our first-quarter earnings. Our markets are rebounding even with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the businesses in the communities we serve are growing and are posting stronger revenues and profits. These businesses have adapted their operations for things such as limited occupancy, having some employees working remotely, revising product and service offerings, changes in hours of operations and implementing other changes to ensure their success. We have assisted our customers in our markets with additional Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP loans, expedited loan renewals and quicker loan decisions. During the first quarter we had strong loan growth of $37.9 million, an increase in deposits of $96.8 million and we increased total assets by $102.3 million. Our mortgage and SBA departments had their strongest quarter yet increasing fee income by $192,000 over the first quarter of 2020. We are very pleased with the growth in our newer western North Carolina markets, and in Holly Springs (Raleigh area), Cornelius (Charlotte area) and Virginia Beach. We are expecting continued franchise growth related to those strategic initiatives. We have worked very hard on our net interest margin and are pleased to report it was 4.02% for the first quarter this year. It has been extremely difficult to maintain our margin at this level but I can assure you it is constantly at the forefront of our daily decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hedgepeth continued, \u201cOur asset quality has remained very strong and has even improved when compared to the pre-pandemic first quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2020. Past dues, nonaccruals and foreclosed real estate were lower at March 31, 2021 when compared to either March 31, 2020 or December 31, 2020. Our staff has worked diligently with our customers to understand the issues and challenges they are facing. Our PPP loan portfolio was approximately $51.2 million at the end of March 2021 and is down approximately $4.3 million since year end. In Phase 1 we originated 1,249 PPP loans for $97.0 million. As of March 31, 2021, we had 1,067 PPP loans that were forgiven totaling $81.4 million. In Phase 3 we have originated $35.6 million as of March 31, 2021. At the height of the pandemic we granted 419 loan deferrals related to COVID-19 for $219.6 million. As of March 31, 2021, we had 18 loan deferrals related to COVID-19 totaling $16.8 million. Based on our asset quality numbers our allowance for loan loss was reduced slightly from year-end, but we believe it is sufficient to absorb any losses in the near future. The country is not out of the pandemic yet so we will continue to provide additional staff resources, together with an \u2018all hands-on deck\u2019 philosophy to facilitate as many customer requests as possible. We will continue to work with our customers by assisting them with any stimulus programs in the future.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stated last year that all of us are dealing with unprecedented times, and it was paramount that we remain flexible and accommodate the needs of the communities in which we operate. All of our branch lobbies are now open for business transactions while keeping the health and safety of our customers and employees as our primary objective. As we continue to proceed through the recovery process of the pandemic, we will remain mindful of the changes in the operational activities our customers adopted to address the effects of social distancing measures, occupancy limitations and other challenges that influenced how they interacted with their customers. We believe crafting financial solutions which enable and enhance our customers\u2019 relationships with their customers further strengthens business partnerships during these times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other matters of interest to shareholders are:<\/p>\n