First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. Closes Third Quarter 2021 With Net Earnings Growth of 51%, Deposit Growth of 30%, and Loan Growth of 16%

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. (OTC Markets: FCIT), the parent bank holding company for First Citrus Bank, has released its financial results for the third quarter of 2021.

The reported net earnings of $2,022,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2021, resulting in both the strongest single quarter and YTD earnings performance in company history as the bank’s core loans (exclusive of PPP loans), assets and deposits also grew to record levels.

Third Quarter 2021 Highlights (compared to third quarter 2020)

• Net earnings growth of 51%;
• Asset growth of 19%;
• Loan growth (excluding PPP loans) of 16%;
• Deposit growth of 30%;
• Return on equity growth of 31%;
• Earnings per share growth of 51%.

Nine Months YTD 2021 Highlights (compared to nine months YTD 2020)

• Net earnings growth of 64%;
• Earnings per share growth of 63%;
• Book value per share growth of 15%.
  

Net earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2021, was $5,687,000, or $2.77 per share, compared to the net income of $3,462,000, or $1.70 per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2020.

Book value per share as of September 30, 2021, was $23.01, an increase of 15% over the $19.19 book value per share as of September 30, 2020. A $0.45 special cash dividend per share of Common, Class A Preferred and Class B Preferred was paid on March 4, 2021.

Total assets were $673 million as of September 30, 2021, an increase of $107 million, or 19% from $566 million as of September 30, 2020.

Total loans contracted to $423 million as of September 30, 2021, a decrease of $17 million, or (4%) from $440 million as of September 30, 2020, due to SBA forgiveness of loans made under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Excluding PPP loans, the core loan portfolio grew to $384 million as of September 30, 2021, an increase of $53 million, or 16%, compared to $331 million for the prior year period. PPP loans decreased to 563 loans and totaled $39 million as of September 30, 2021. The number of loans granted forgiveness by the SBA reached 1,666 loans and totaled $139 million as of September 30, 2021.

As of September 30, 2021, there were no loans delinquent 30 to 89 days, compared to $246,000 for the prior year period. As of September 30, 2021, there were no nonperforming loans, defined as nonaccrual loans and loans 90 days due accruing interest, compared to $1.4 million as of September 30, 2020.

Total deposits as of September 30, 2021, were $611 million, an increase of $142 million, or 30%, over the prior year quarter. Demand deposits grew 37% over the prior year quarter to $332 million and represented 54% of total deposits.

“The word’s out. First Citrus bankers are helping a multitude of small businesses and individuals on both sides of the Bay. This is purely a credit to our people, said John Barrett, President and CEO of First Citrus Bank. “You’re continuing to see how those market share gains, and economies of scale are playing out with another record earnings performance.”

About First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc.
First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc., is a Florida corporation and the parent bank holding company for First Citrus Bank, a Florida commercial bank. First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc., is headquartered in Tampa, Florida and was ranked as the third best-performing regional bank stock in the Southeastern United States over the past three years by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Stock trades on the OTC Markets under ticker symbol "FCIT."

About First Citrus Bank
First Citrus Bank, a $670 million commercial bank, was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Tampa. Ranked as one of the Top 100 Community Banks in 2021 by American Banker and named Top 5 SBA Lender in Tampa Bay for 2020 by the SBA. First Citrus Bank was selected as the Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce 2019 Small Business of the Year and ranked as one of the Top 25 Commercial Loan Producers in the Nation by the magazine Independent Banker. It serves businesses and individuals through a range of tailored financial solutions specializing in personal and business banking services with six locations throughout Tampa Bay

First Citrus Bank enhances vibrancy throughout Tampa Bay by helping families become more financially secure and businesses economically successful. For additional information, please visit http://www.firstcitrus.com.

Information in this release relating to the company'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 "expects,” "believe,” "will,” "intends,” "will be" or "would." First Citrus Bancorporation assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this announcement, except as required under applicable law.