Mid-Year Earnings Grow 46 Percent at South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C., July 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. (the "Company") (OTCQX: SABK), parent of South Atlantic Bank, today reported net income of $1,650,071 or $0.34 per diluted share for the six months ended June 30, 2017, compared to $1,129,668 or $0.23 per diluted share reported for the same period a year ago. Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2017 was $963,937 or $0.17 per diluted share, compared to $632,756 or $0.11 for the same period a year ago. The net income figures represent a 46.1 percent increase for the six months ended June 30, 2017, and a 52.3 percent increase for the three months ended June 30, 2017, when compared to the same periods last year.

Mid-Year Financial Highlights

• Credit quality continues to be strong with nonperforming assets to average total assets of just 0.03 percent.
• The net interest margin improved to 4.00 percent for the first six months of the year, a seven-basis point improvement when compared to the same period a year ago.
• Total loans grew 21.3 percent, to $415.0 million at June 30, 2017 from $342.0 million at June 30, 2016.
• Total deposits grew 7.56 percent, to $456.0 million at June 30, 2017 from $424.0 million at June 30, 2016.
• Total assets crossed the $500 million mark for the first time during the second quarter.
• Total assets grew 12.2 percent to $519.3 million at June 30, 2017 from $462.9 million at June 30, 2016.

"The Company's financial performance in the first six months of 2017 is attributed to several factors," said K. Wayne Wicker, chairman of the board and chief executive officer. "Continued double digit growth in the loan portfolio fueled a 19 percent increase in net interest income. The mortgage loan department also contributed with robust growth in loan volume, closed loans and fee income, contributing to a nearly 16 percent increase in noninterest income. Better economic conditions have sparked business expansion, new projects, and real estate sales of new and second home purchases, all of which are positive for our bank."

During the second quarter, the Company reduced its impaired loan classification by three loans totaling $2.9 million. This occurred through the sale of one loan totaling $2.4 million, a payoff in full for one loan totaling $401,499, and a principal reduction of one loan, reducing its balance to $182,243 and removing it from impaired status. The Company's credit quality remains strong. 

In the third quarter 2017, the Company will open two locations in the greater Charleston area. Construction is nearly complete on its regional headquarters in Mount Pleasant and a new office on East Bay Street is being readied for its debut. These two offices will help to establish the Company as a premier community bank in this market.

About South Atlantic Bank
South Atlantic Bank, the subsidiary bank of South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: SABK), is a $525.4 million financial institution that is locally owned, controlled, and operated. Headquartered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the bank operates additional offices in Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Georgetown, North Myrtle Beach, and Mount Pleasant. The bank's new regional headquarters in Mount Pleasant will open in late summer, with an office on East Bay Street in Charleston soon to follow.

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. For more information, visit SouthAtlantic.bank.

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SOURCE South Atlantic Bancshares, Inc.