First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. Reports Record-Setting Growth in 2021 First Quarter

TAMPA, Fla., April 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. (OTC Markets: FCIT), the parent bank holding company for First Citrus Bank, released its financial results for the first quarter of 2021.

Net income of $1,705,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 was the highest in company history. During the first quarter, assets, deposits, and loans also grew to record levels largely due to loans made under the Small Business Administration's ("SBA") Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") and related depository accounts established with new PPP loan customers.

First Quarter 2021 Highlights (compared to first quarter 2020)

• Net earnings growth of 104%;
• Asset growth of 39%;
• Loan growth of 41%;
• Deposit growth of 43%;
• Earnings per share growth of 102%.
  

Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, was $1,705,000 or $0.83 per share, compared to the net income of $835,000, or $0.41 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

Book value per share as of March 31, 2021, was $21.08, an increase of 12.7% over the $18.71 book value per share as of March 31, 2020. A $0.45 special cash dividend per share of Common, Class A Preferred, and Class B Preferred stock was paid on March 4, 2021.

Total assets were $609 million as of March 31, 2021, an increase of $172 million, or 39%, from $437 million as of March 31, 2020.

Total loans grew to $478 million by March 31, 2021, an increase of $140 million, or 41%, from $338 million as of March 31, 2020, primarily due to loans made under the PPP. PPP lending reached 1,277 loans totaling $110 million during 2020, ending at $109 million as of March 31, 2021. By the end of the first quarter, 559 loans totaling $67 million were granted forgiveness by the SBA, offset by 842 new round two of PPP loans totaling $66 million.

At March 31, 2021, loans delinquent 30 to 89 days totaled of $1.2 million compared to $0.3 million at March 31, 2020. At March 31, 2021, nonperforming loans, defined as nonaccrual loans and loans 90 days past due accruing interest, totaled $1.0 million or 0.21% of total loans compared to $2.2 million or .64% at March 31, 2020. Through March 31, 2021, First Citrus Bank provided temporary loan payment deferments (180-day deferment of principal) in response to the CARES Act for five loans totaling $12.4 million or 2.6% of total loans at March 31, 2021.

Total deposits as of March 31, 2021, were $551 million, an increase of $165 million, or 42%, over 2020. Demand deposit balances represented 54% of 2021 total deposits.

"Coming off another record year, we kicked off 2021 with our best quarterly operating performance in history. The Paycheck Protection Program created a seam in the market that we’ll continue to capitalize on as we open our newest full-service location this summer in downtown St. Petersburg," said John Barrett, President and CEO of First Citrus Bank. "We’re excited to bring the First Citrus brand of banking to Pinellas County because when local businesses succeed, the community thrives, and our shareholders win, many of whom are clients!"

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 fifth best-performing regional bank stock in the Southeastern United States over the past five years by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Stock trades on the OTC Markets under the ticker symbol "FCIT."

About First Citrus Bank
First Citrus Bank, a $600 million commercial bank, was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Tampa. It is ranked as one of the Top 100 Community Banks in 2020 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, including a loan production office in St. Petersburg.

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