Strong Fourth Quarter Leads First Citrus Bancorporation, Inc. to Another Record Year

TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 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 fourth quarter of 2019. 
The additions to our lending team are beginning to create traction in the loan portfolio. The fourth quarter period ending December 31, 2019 was the strongest growth quarter of the year for loans with 83% higher growth than the prior year quarter. More importantly, the fourth quarter checking account growth was 270% higher than the prior year quarter. 2019 was another record earnings year with net income up 2% over the prior year. Fourth Quarter 2019 Highlights (compared to fourth quarter 2018)Book value per share growth of 10%^*;Asset growth of 4%;Loan growth of 6%;Deposit growth of 7%;Nonperforming assets remained near record lows, at .25% of assets.Fiscal Year End 2019 Highlights (compared to fiscal year end 2018)Net earnings growth of 2%;Earnings per share growth of 1%;Return on equity decreased from 12% to 11%.Net income for the twelve months ending December 31, 2019 was $3,959,000, or $1.95 per share, compared to the net income of $3,895,000, or $1.93 per share, for the twelve months ending December 31, 2018.Book value per share as of December 31, 2019 was $18.71, an increase of 10% over the $16.96 book value per share as of December 30, 2018. A $0.25 special cash dividend per share of Common, Class A Preferred, and Class B Preferred stock was paid on March 4, 2019. Total assets were $419 million as of December 31, 2019, an increase of $16 million, or 4%, from $403 million as of December 30, 2018.Total loans grew to $332 million by December 31, 2019, an increase of $20 million, or 6%, from $312 million as of December 31, 2018.Total deposits as of December 31, 2019 were $348 million, an increase of $24 million, or 7%, over 2018. Demand deposit balances represented 39% of 2019 total deposits.“In 2019, we doubled our business banking corps, opened a new office in downtown St. Petersburg, and continued to expand our branch banking team. We will build on that momentum in 2020,” 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 $417 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