South Atlantic Bancshares net income up 11.8 percent

MYRTLE BEACH, SC – South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: SABK), parent of South Atlantic Bank, today reported net income of $2,240,817 or $0.63 per diluted share for the year endedDecember 31, 2015, compared to $2,004,218 or $0.56 per diluted share reported for the same period a year ago. These figures represent an 11.8 percent increase in net income.

Financial Highlights

• Year-end 2015 represents the company’s fifth consecutive profitable year.
• Credit quality remains strong with net charge-offs to average total assets of 0.01 percent and zero past due loans for 2015.
• Net interest margin is 3.80 percent.
• Total loans grew 19.7 percent in 2015, from $262.6 million at December 31, 2014 to $314.3 million atDecember 31, 2015.
• Total deposits grew 3.3 percent, from $326.6 million reported at December 31, 2014, to $337.4 million atDecember 31, 2015.
• Total assets grew 10.2 percent, from $363.3 million at December 31, 2014, to $400.2 million at December 31, 2015.

“It has been a year of outstanding achievement for our company,” said K. Wayne Wicker, chairman of the board and chief executive officer. “Our financial performance continues to improve, fueled by growth in the loan portfolio in all the markets we serve. Additionally, the merchant services and mortgage loan areas of the bank contributed to our results, helping noninterest income grow fifty-four percent this year.

The company also met several goals in 2015. We further developed our branch network with expansion to North Myrtle Beach and plans for a new and larger office in the Mount Pleasant market. We moved our website from the dot com domain to the dot bank domain, which provides greater safeguards for online commerce. We also continued to upgrade customer services including our goMobile banking app,” Wicker said.

Additionally, the company completed a private placement offering for its common stock, raising $4.6 million to be used for general corporate purposes and to support the growth and capital position of the bank. In October, the company’s stock began to trade on the OTCQX Marketplace, creating greater visibility and accessibility. Lastly, a 10 percent stock dividend – the second in the company’s brief history – took place in December.

About South Atlantic Bank

South Atlantic Bank, the subsidiary bank of South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: SABK), is a $390.1 millionfinancial institution that is locally owned, controlled, and operated. The bank is headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with additional offices in Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Georgetown, North Myrtle Beach, andMount Pleasant, South Carolina. South Atlantic Bank offers a wide variety of services for businesses and consumers, including South Atlantic Bank goMobile, its mobile banking app. The bank also offers internet banking, no-fee ATM access, checking, CD, and money market accounts, merchant services, mortgage loans, remote deposit capture, and more. South Atlantic Bank was named a “Roaring Twenties” winner as one of the best performing large companies in the state of South Carolina by SC Biz News, in 2012, 2013, and 2015. For more information, visit SouthAtlantic.bank.