ATLANTA, April 13, /PRNewswire/ -- Premier Bancshares, Inc. (Amex: PMB)
announced their preliminary results for the first quarter 1998. The Company
reported record net income of $3,570,000, or $.23 per diluted share for the
quarter. This compares to net income of $2,347,000, or $.16 per diluted share
(restated for the January, 1998, 3 for 2 stock split) for the same period in
1997; an increase of approximately 42% in per share income.
The $.23 for first quarter 1998 represents a 20% increase over restated
diluted per share income for the fourth quarter 1997 of $.19 after taking into
account the 3 for 2 stock split.
The Company recently announced the pending mergers of Button Gwinnett
Financial Corporation, Lawrenceville, Georgia; The Bank Holding Company,
Griffin, Georgia; and Lanier Bank and Trust, Cumming, Georgia. On March 25,
1998, the shareholders of Lanier Bank and Trust approved the merger with
Premier. These acquisitions should be consummated during the second quarter
of 1998 pending regulatory approval and will result in Premier having total
assets of approximately $1.2 Billion.
Premier's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Darrell Pittard, said,
"During the first quarter we experienced strong loan growth in the mortgage
lending division, which is in part attributable to business referrals from
recent consolidated and pending mergers. We are beginning to benefit from the
operating efficiencies and market share growth gained through our recent
mergers. During March we completed the outsourcing of our data processing to
FiServ, consolidated all bank operations into a Gwinnett County facility, and
merged the Citizens Bank of Gwinnett into Premier Bank to further enhance
operating efficiencies.
"We are also pleased with the financial performance of our pending
acquisitions. They have exceeded their projected earnings and growth
targets."
Premier is a multi-bank holding company with assets of $822,000,000 and
has 33 offices located throughout the southeast.
PREMIER BANCSHARES, INC.
(preliminary results)
QUARTER ENDED MARCH 31
(dollars in thousands except
per share data) 1998 1997 Change Percent
Net income $3,570 $2,347 1,223 52.1%
Net interest income (FTE) 8,568 7,514 1,054 14.0%
Net interest income 8,426 7,412 1,014 13.7%
Noninterest income 7,775 3,932 3,843 97.7%
Noninterest expense 11,035 8,306 2,729 32.9%
Provision for income taxes 1,596 555 1,041 187.6%
Provision for loan losses 0 136 (136) (100.0%)
PER SHARE DATA
Net income, diluted $ 0.23 $ 0.16 0.07 41.6%
Book Value, diluted $ 4.59 $ 4.01 0.58 14.5%
FINANCIAL RATIOS
Return on average assets 1.77% 1.39%
Return on average equity 21.04% 16.63%
Net interest margin (FTE) 4.57% 4.75%
Total shareholders equity
to assets 8.80% 8.42%
Allowance for loan losses
to loans, net of unearned
and loans held for sale 1.83% 2.01%
Allowance for loan losses to
loans, net of unearned 1.59% 1.87%
ENDING BALANCES AS OF
MARCH 31
Total assets $822,288 $698,627 123,661 17.7%
Earning assets 760,956 649,095 111,860 17.2%
Loans, net of unearned &
loans held for sale 555,618 430,076 125,542 29.2%
Loans held for sale 72,957 29,575 43,382 146.7%
Allowance for loan losses 8,849 8,034 815 10.1%
Investments and federal funds
sold 132,381 189,694 (57,313) (30.2%)
Deposits 683,094 599,586 83,508 13.9%
Shareholders' equity 72,371 58,817 13,554 23.0%
Intangible Assets 2,727 2,765 (38) (1.4%)
AVERAGE BALANCES FOR THE QUARTER
Total assets $818,102 $687,205 130,897 19.0%
Earning assets 760,019 643,292 116,727 18.1%
Loans, net of unearned
& loans held for sale 550,704 384,809 165,895 43.1%
Allowance for loan losses 9,004 7,348 1,656 22.5%
Investments and federal funds
sold 131,027 202,537 (71,510) (35.3%)
Deposits 665,251 567,324 97,927 17.3%
Shareholders' equity 68,813 57,383 11,430 19.9%
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com or
fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 283325
CONTACT:
Michael E. Ricketson, Executive Vice
President, Premier Bancshares, Inc., 404-814-3090
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