First Quarter Leads First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. to Record Deposit Growth

TAMPA, Fla., April 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. (OTC Markets: FCIT), the parent bank holding company for First Citrus Bank, has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2020. 
Collaboration between our deposit and lending teams is fueling low-cost deposit growth. The year over year period ending March 31, 2020, was the strongest core deposit growth period since 2004. More importantly, low-cost deposit growth was the highest in the company’s history. First-quarter profits were down 21% largely due to personnel additions on the business and retail banking roster.First Quarter 2020 Highlights (compared to first quarter 2019)Book value per share growth of 8%^*;Asset growth of 10%;Loan growth of 11%;Demand deposit growth of 32%;Total deposit growth of 19%.Net income for the three months ended March 31, 2020, was $835,000, or $0.41 per share, compared to the net income of $1,057,000, or $0.52 per share for the three months ended March 31, 2019. Book value per share as of March 31, 2020, was $18.71, an increase of 8.5% over the $17.25 book value per share as of March 31, 2019. A $0.40 special cash dividend per share of Common, Class A Preferred, and Class B Preferred stock was paid on March 4, 2020. Total assets were $437 million as of March 31, 2020, an increase of $41 million, or 10%, from $396 million as of March 31, 2019.Total loans grew to $338 million by March 31, 2020, an increase of $33 million, or 11%, from $312 million as of March 31, 2019.Total deposits as of March 31, 2020, were $386 million, an increase of $62 million, or 19%, over 2019. Demand deposit balances represented 37% of 2020 total deposits.“We’ve made significant gains on the recruiting front as evidenced by the improvements in demand deposit growth. The Payroll Protection Program launched this past month and created an unexpected but welcomed seam in the market to nimbly add clients from regional and money center competitors. Another tailwind to enhance the First Citrus brand,” said John Barrett, President and CEO of First Citrus Bank.

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 second-best-performing regional bank stock in the Southeastern United States over the past three years by S&P Global Market Intelligence. Stock trades on the OTC Markets under ticker symbol “FCIT.”About First Citrus Bank
First Citrus Bank, a $508 million commercial bank, was established in 1999 and is headquartered in Tampa. It was selected as the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce 2019 Small Business of the Year and ranked as one of the Top 200 Community Banks in 2019 by American Banker. 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 retail and commercial banking services, First Citrus Bank has five locations throughout Tampa Bay.First Citrus Bank enhances vibrancy throughout Tampa Bay by helping families become more financially secure and businesses economically successful. For additional information, please visit http://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.For more information contact:
John Linton, EVP & Chief Financial Officer
813.792.7177