SCBT Financial Corporation Reports Operating Earnings of $4.3 million
January 26, 2009
Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend of $0.17
COLUMBIA, SC – January 22, 2009 – SCBT Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: SCBT), the holding company for SCBT, National Association, today released its unaudited results of operations and other financial information for the three-month period and year ended December 31, 2008. The Company produced solid operating results due primarily to our net interest margin, continued sound asset quality and good loan growth for the fourth quarter. In addition, during the fourth quarter, the Company sold its position in Freddie Mac preferred stock of $10.25 million, original cost basis. Along with the $9.76 million impairment charge recorded in the third quarter, the company recorded an additional loss on this sale of $383,000 on a pre-tax basis, during the fourth quarter. During October, and as previously released, the Company issued 1.01 million shares of common stock in a private placement offering which provided $26.8 million, net of issuance cost, of additional Tier 1 regulatory capital that will enhance our capital structure and support the future growth of SCBT.
Quarterly Cash Dividend
The Board of Directors of SCBT declared today a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share payable on its common stock. This per share amount is equal to the dividend paid in the immediately preceding quarter and will be payable on February 20, 2009 to shareholders of record as of February 6, 2009.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Operating Earnings & Net Income
• Operating Net Earnings of $4.3 million — down 24.0%; YTD $22.9 million — 3.6% increase
• Diluted operating earnings per share of $0.39; YTD diluted operating EPS of $2.20
• Net Income of $3.5 million — $0.33 per share; driven primarily by 167% increase in the quarter provision for loan losses
• YTD Net Income of $15.9 million — $1.52 per share
Loan growth
• 4th Quarter loan growth $36.4 million — 6.4% annualized growth
Asset quality
• Allowance for loan losses: 1.36% of period end loans; up from 1.28%
• NPAs: 0.76% of total assets and 0.91% of loans and repossessed assets
• Net charge-offs — increased to 0.35% annualized for the quarter — increased to 0.26% YTD
