First Community Bankshares, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter 2022 Results and Quarterly Cash Dividend

BLUEFIELD, Va., Jan. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FCBC) () (the “Company”) today reported its unaudited results of operations and other financial information for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. The Company reported net income of $12.58 million, or $0.77 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2022, was $46.66 million or $2.82 per diluted common share.

The Company also declared a quarterly cash dividend to common shareholders of twenty-nine cents ($0.29) per common share, an increase of two cents ($0.02), or 7.41%, over the quarterly dividend declared in the same quarter of 2021. The quarterly dividend is payable to common shareholders of record on February 10, 2023, and is expected to be paid on or about February 24, 2023. This marks the 38^th consecutive year of regular dividends to common shareholders.

During the fourth quarter, the Company entered into an agreement to acquire Mount Airy, North Carolina-based Surrey Bancorp. The acquisition will strengthen the Company’s presence in western North Carolina, result in top market share in Mount Airy, and add approximately $500 million in assets. Surrey has a record of excellent financial performance and a very strong core deposit franchise across its seven branch network. The acquisition is subject to customary regulatory and shareholder approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023.

Fourth Quarter 2022 and Current Highlights

Income Statement

• Net income of $12.58 million for the quarter was an increase of $2.03 million compared to $10.56 million recorded in the same quarter of 2021. The increase is primarily attributable to an increase in net interest income of $5.39 million as well as a decrease in noninterest expense of $971 thousand. The positive increases to income were offset by an increase in the provision for credit losses of $4.26 million compared to the same quarter of 2021.
• Annualized return on average assets was 1.59% for the fourth quarter and 1.45% for year-end 2022. Annualized return on average common equity was 11.99% for the fourth quarter and 11.04% for year-end 2022.
• Net interest margin for the fourth quarter was 4.34%, which was an 82 basis point increase from 3.52% reported for fourth quarter of 2021. The yield on earning assets increased 79 basis points, primarily driven by increased earnings on loans and securities.
• The cost of interest-bearing deposits declined 5 basis points to 0.08%, primarily driven by a decrease in the cost of time deposits and an increase in non-maturing deposits.  
• Net interest income increased $5.39 million compared to the same quarter of 2021. Interest and fees on loans increased $2.64 million from the same quarter of 2021 and is primarily attributable to loan demand and originations.   Interest income from securities of $1.90 million was an increase of $1.54 million over the fourth quarter of 2021. Interest on deposits in banks also increased $981 thousand to $1.22 million for the fourth quarter as a result of the Federal Open Market Committee’s incremental 425 basis point rate increase in overnight rates throughout 2022 as compared to the overnight rates of 2021.
• The provision for credit losses of $3.42 million for the quarter was an increase of $4.26 million compared to the same quarter of 2021. The increase was largely attributable to the growth of the loan portfolio throughout 2022 and an economic forecast that projects higher unemployment rates and weaker macroeconomic trends. The fourth quarter and full year of 2021 included recoveries of pandemic-related provisioning.
• Salaries and employee benefits for the fourth quarter decreased $580 thousand, or 4.64%, over the same quarter in 2021, while increasing $2.94 million, or 6.65%, for the full year of 2022 compared with 2021. During the first quarter of 2022, the Company implemented annualized wage increases of approximately $2.5 million as part of its ongoing strategic initiative to enhance Human Capital Management, which included an increased minimum wage.

Balance Sheet and Asset Quality

• The Company’s loan portfolio increased by $234.63 million, a growth rate of 10.83%, during of 2022. Loan demand and originations were strong in all categories, including construction, commercial real estate, residential mortgage, and consumer loans.
• During the fourth quarter, the Company repurchased 55,210 of its common shares for $1.89 million. The Company repurchased 706,117 common shares for $21.31 million during 2022.   Share repurchases have been curtailed due to the announced acquisition of Surrey Bancorp.
• Non-performing loans to total loans remained low at 0.70% of total loans and continues the declining trend experienced over the past four quarters. The Company experienced net charge-offs for the fourth quarter of 2022 of $2.25 million, or 0.37% of annualized average loans, compared to net charge-offs of $1.17 million, or 0.22% of annualized average loans, for the same period in 2021. Net charge-offs for the year ended December 31, 2022, were $3.87 million, or 0.23% of annualized average loans, compared to net charge-offs of $2.96 million, or 0.18% of annualized average loans, for the same period in 2021.
• The allowance for credit losses to total loans was 1.27% at December 31, 2022.
• Book value per share at December 31, 2022, was $26.01, an increase of $0.67 from year-end 2021.
  
  

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), the Company uses certain non-GAAP financial measures that provide useful information for financial and operational decision making, evaluating trends, and comparing financial results to other financial institutions. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this news release include “tangible book value per common share,” “return on average tangible common equity,” “adjusted earnings,” “adjusted diluted earnings per share,” “adjusted return on average assets,” “adjusted return on average common equity,” “adjusted return on average tangible common equity,” and certain financial measures presented on a fully taxable equivalent (“FTE”) basis. FTE basis is calculated using the federal statutory income tax rate of 21%. While the Company believes certain non-GAAP financial measures enhance the understanding of its business and performance, they are supplemental and not a substitute for, or more important than, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP and may not be comparable to those reported by other financial institutions.

About First Community Bankshares, Inc.

First Community Bankshares, Inc., a financial holding company headquartered in Bluefield, Virginia, provides banking products and services through its wholly owned subsidiary First Community Bank. First Community Bank operated 48 branch banking locations in Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee as of December 31, 2022. First Community Bank offers wealth management and investment advice and services through its Trust Division and through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Community Wealth Management, which collectively managed and administered $1.28 billion in combined assets as of December 31, 2022. The Company reported consolidated assets of $3.14 billion as of December 31, 2022. The Company’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the trading symbol, “FCBC”. Additional investor information is available on the Company’s website at

This news release may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially. These risks include: changes in business or other market conditions; the timely development, production and acceptance of new products and services; the challenge of managing asset/liability levels; the management of credit risk and interest rate risk; the difficulty of keeping expense growth at modest levels while increasing revenues; and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission reports including, but not limited to, the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recent fiscal year end. Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made.