The First Bancorp Reports Second Quarter Results

The First Bancorp (Nasdaq: FNLC), today announced unaudited results for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Net income was $3.2 million, down $81,000 or 2.4% from the same period in 2012, and earnings per common share on a fully diluted basis of $0.29 were down $0.03 or 9.4% from the same period in 2012. Compared to the previous quarter, net income was up $386,000 or 13.5% and earnings per common share on a fully diluted basis were up $0.02 or 7.4%.

The Company also announced unaudited results for the six months ended June 30, 2013. Net income was $6.1 million, down $138,000 or 2.2% from the same period in 2012, and earnings per common share on a fully diluted basis of $0.56 were down $0.04 or 6.7% from the same period in 2012.

“Although our second quarter results are slightly below the same period in 2012, I am very pleased with the $386,000 or 13.5% increase in net income compared to the previous quarter,” observed Daniel R. Daigneault, the Company’s President & Chief Executive Officer. “We opened our sixteenth branch in Bangor in February, and we posted these results despite the higher operating costs associated with the new location. We remain excited by the opportunity to expand our franchise in this growing market and are pleased with the growth we have achieved there in the first four months.

“Our balance sheet grew $27.7 million or 2.0% in the second quarter of 2013,” President Daigneault noted. “The investment portfolio increased $27.8 million or 6.2%, ending the quarter at $478.9 million. The loan portfolio increased $2.6 million or 0.3%, with modest growth in commercial loans and a small decline in home equity loans. On the funding side, low-cost deposits were up $9.9 million or 2.8% in the second quarter, and year over year, low-cost deposits are up $49.9 million or 15.6%. This is the result of healthy deposit inflows and the low-cost deposits added in October 2012 with the purchase of the Union Street branch in Rockland.

“The unprecedented low interest rate environment is now in its fifth year,” President Daigneault said, “and with no ability to further lower rates on liabilities, most banks continue to see yields decline on their assets. This results in margin compression and The First Bancorp’s net interest margin for the first six months of 2013 was 0.15% lower than the same period of 2012. This is in line with other banks in the country, with our UBPR peer group’s net interest margin down 0.16% year-over-year as of the end of the first quarter.

“Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis was down $1.3 million for the first six months of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012,” President Daigneault continued. “Margin compression was responsible for $978,000 of the decline, and lower volumes of earning assets were responsible for $284,000. Fortunately, we provisioned $2.2 million less for loan losses and had an $803,000 increase in non-interest income in the first half of 2013 compared to the first half of 2012. When combined, these mostly offset the decline in net interest income and the $1.9 million increase in operating expenses.

“We continue to see an improving trend in credit quality,” President Daigneault commented, “with non-performing assets at 1.75% of total assets – the lowest level we have seen in nearly four years. This is well below the 2.32% peak in non-performing assets we saw at December 31, 2011 and down from 2.00% at the end of the previous quarter. Net chargeoffs year to date were $2.5 million or 0.59% of average loans on an annualized basis compared to $3.5 million or 0.81% of average loans on an annualized basis for the same period in 2012. The allowance for loan losses stood at 1.46% of total loans as of June 30, 2013, up slightly from 1.44% at December 31, 2012, and down from 1.63% a year ago.”

“Our core operating ratios remain healthy,” observed the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, F. Stephen Ward, “with a return on average assets of 0.87% and a return on average tangible common equity of 9.70% year to date. These compare to a return on average assets of 0.88% and a return on average tangible common equity of 10.35% for the same period in 2012. With higher operating expenses attributable to the new Bangor office, our efficiency ratio has inched up to 57.26% year to date. It remains well below our UBPR peer group average, however, at 67.81% as of March 31, 2013.

“The First Bancorp’s stock has increased 6.13% or $1.01 per share in 2013,” said Mr. Ward, “and when the quarterly dividend of $0.195 per share is added, our total return with dividends reinvested was 8.54%. For the same period, the Russell 2000 and Nasdaq Bank Indices (which we are included in), had total returns with dividends reinvested of 15.85% and 19.25%, respectively. The broad market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, had a total return with dividends reinvested of 13.83%. We feel the price of our shares has held up exceptionally well after the common stock offering was announced in late March and as of June 30, 2013, we were trading at 1.62 times tangible book value – an excellent valuation for a community bank stock.

“In May we completed the final repurchase of preferred stock issued to the U.S. Treasury under their Capital Purchase Program in 2009 with proceeds from our equity raise in the first quarter of this year,” Mr. Ward observed, “We remain very well capitalized after this repurchase, with a leverage capital ratio for the Bank of 8.44%, and tier one and tier two risk-based capital ratios of 14.47% and 15.72%, respectively, as of June 30, 2013. These are all well above the FDIC’s well-capitalized requirements and exceed the new Basel III requirements recently set forth by banking regulators.

“Maintaining strong capital ratios and good earnings has enabled us to keep the dividend at $0.195 per share per quarter or $0.78 per share per year during the difficult economic climate we have seen over the past five years,” Mr. Ward observed. “We recognize that our dividend is an important factor for many in their decision to invest in our stock, and we paid out 69.6% of earnings in the second quarter compared to 65.0% in the second quarter of 2012. Our dividend yield was 4.46% at June 30, 2013, based on the closing price of $17.48 per share.”

“The second quarter of 2013 was a good quarter for The First Bancorp,” President Daigneault concluded, “with a healthy increase in earnings compared to the previous quarter and continued improvement in credit quality. Our new offices on Union Street in Rockland and in Bangor are important investments for the future, and we look forward to the growth opportunity these provide. We are also pleased to have repaid the U.S. Treasury in full with proceeds from the common stock offering in the first quarter and continue to see our generous cash dividend as important reason that investors hold our stock.”

The First Bancorp, headquartered in Damariscotta, Maine, is the holding company for The First, N.A. Founded in 1864, The First is an independent community bank with 16 offices in Lincoln, Knox, Hancock, Washington and Penobscot Counties. The Bank provides a full range of consumer and commercial banking products and services to mid-coast and eastern Maine. First Advisors, a division of The First, provides investment advisory, private banking and trust services from four offices in Lincoln, Hancock and Penobscot Counties.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Certain information in this release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Management uses these “non-GAAP” measures in its analysis of the Company’s performance and believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations and enhance comparability of results with prior periods as well as demonstrating the effects of significant gains and charges in the current period. The Company believes that a meaningful analysis of its financial performance requires an understanding of the factors underlying that performance. Management believes that investors may use these non-GAAP financial measures to analyze financial performance without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends in the Company’s underlying performance. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.

In several places net interest income is calculated on a fully tax-equivalent basis. Specifically included in interest income was tax-exempt interest income from certain investment securities and loans. An amount equal to the tax benefit derived from this tax-exempt income has been added back to the interest income total, which adjustments increased net interest income accordingly. Management believes the disclosure of tax-equivalent net interest income information improves the clarity of financial analysis, and is particularly useful to investors in understanding and evaluating the changes and trends in the Company’s results of operations. Other financial institutions commonly present net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis. This adjustment is considered helpful in the comparison of one financial institution’s net interest income to that of another institution, as each will have a different proportion of tax-exempt interest from its earning assets. Moreover, net interest income is a component of a second financial measure commonly used by financial institutions, net interest margin, which is the ratio of net interest income to average earning assets. For purposes of this measure as well, other financial institutions generally use tax-equivalent net interest income to provide a better basis of comparison from institution to institution. The Company follows these practices.

The following table provides a reconciliation of tax-equivalent financial information to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. A 35.0% tax rate was used in both 2013 and 2012.

The Company presents its efficiency ratio using non-GAAP information. The GAAP-based efficiency ratio is noninterest expenses divided by net interest income plus noninterest income from the Consolidated Statements of Income. The non-GAAP efficiency ratio excludes securities losses and other-than-temporary impairment charges from noninterest expenses, excludes securities gains from noninterest income, and adds the tax-equivalent adjustment to net interest income. The following table provides a reconciliation between the GAAP and non-GAAP efficiency ratio:

The Company presents certain information based upon average tangible common equity instead of total average shareholders’ equity. The difference between these two measures is the Company’s preferred stock and intangible assets, specifically goodwill from prior acquisitions. Management, banking regulators and many stock analysts use the tangible common equity ratio and the tangible book value per common share in conjunction with more traditional bank capital ratios to compare the capital adequacy of banking organizations with significant amounts of goodwill or other intangible assets, typically stemming from the use of the purchase accounting method in accounting for mergers and acquisitions. The following table provides a reconciliation of average tangible common equity to the Company’s consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles:

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results and events to differ materially, as discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.