ATLANTA, Oct. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Premier Bancshares, Inc. (NYSE: PMB)
announces earnings of $3,171,000 or $.11 per share for the quarter ended
September 30, 1999. This compares to $5,352,000 or $.19 for the same quarter
in 1998. Third quarter earnings, excluding merger expenses, were $4,301,000
or $.15 per share; during the same quarter 1998, earnings, excluding merger
expenses, were $6,887,000 or $.25 per share. The decline in earnings is
primarily due to a decline in its mortgage banking subsidiary income; mortgage
lending volume has declined substantially since interest rates began rising
during the past six months.
On July 28, 1999, Premier Bancshares announced that it would merge with
BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) by a tax-free exchange of stock. The definitive
merger agreement fixes the exchange ratio at .5155 BB&T share for each Premier
share. When the merger is completed early in the first quarter of 2000, BB&T
will have the sixth largest share of deposits in metropolitan Atlanta and the
eighth largest bank operating in the State of Georgia.
On August 31, 1999, Premier Bancshares completed its acquisition of North
Fulton Bancshares, Inc. North Fulton Bancshares' subsidiary, Milton National
Bank, operates two offices in North Atlanta with total assets of approximately
$200 million.
Prior to the end of October, Premier is scheduled to complete the merger
of Bank Atlanta, which operates an office in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur,
Georgia. Bank Atlanta is a high-performing bank, with assets in excess of
$80 million.
In early November, Premier anticipates the completion of its acquisition
of Farmers and Merchants Bank of Summerville, Georgia. Farmers and Merchants
operates four locations in Northwest Georgia, and has total assets in excess
of $180 million.
Premier Bancshares' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Darrell D.
Pittard, said "Premier Lending Corporation, our mortgage banking subsidiary,
has taken a number of steps to reduce its operating expenses as mortgage loan
volume has declined. Premier Lending Corporation is implementing a plan which
includes several new loan products to increase its relative market share of
mortgage lending in its markets. On the other hand, we are very pleased that
Premier Bank's consumer and commercial lending areas have increased over 19%
since September 30, 1998. During the third quarter, Premier Bank's interest
margin improved to 4.64% from 4.49% on June 30, 1999."
On October 21, 1999, Premier Bancshares, Inc. declared a regular quarterly
cash dividend of $.09 per share. The company declared the dividend payable to
shareholders of record as of November 4, 1999. The dividend is to be paid on
November 18, 1999.
Premier Bancshares is a Georgia-based bank holding company with assets of
approximately $1.7 billion. After pending acquisitions, Premier Bancshares
and subsidiaries will have assets of approximately $2 billion and will be
operating in 40 offices. Today, Premier is the third largest Georgia-based,
independent banking franchise in the Atlanta and North Georgia markets, with
significant presence in such attractive markets as Cobb, Fulton, Gwinnett,
DeKalb, Forsyth, Henry, and Spalding counties.
Both the common stock of Premier Bancshares, Inc. and the preferred
securities of Premier Capital Trust I are traded on the New York Stock
Exchange under the symbols PMB and PMB.PR, respectively. Additional financial
information regarding Premier Bancshares, Inc. is available from Michael E.
Ricketson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Premier
Bancshares, Inc.
With the exception of historical information, the matters discussed
in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties.
PREMIER BANCSHARES, INC.
(preliminary results)
(dollars in thousands except per share data)
QUARTER ENDED September 30
1999 1998 Change Percent
Net income $3,171 $5,352 (2,181) -40.8%
Net income (excluding after
merger expenses) $4,301 $6,887 (2,586) -37.5%
Net interest income (FTE) 18,654 17,706 948 5.4%
Net interest income 18,587 17,504 1,083 6.2%
Noninterest income 7,205 11,022 (3,817) -34.6%
Noninterest expense 19,901 19,381 520 2.7%
Provision for income taxes 2,033 3,538 (1,505) -42.5%
Provision for loan losses 687 255 432 169.4%
PER SHARE DATA
Net income, diluted $0.11 $0.19 (0.08) -42.1%
Net income (excluding after
merger expenses) $0.15 $0.25 (0.10) -40.0%
Book Value $5.32 $5.14 0.18 3.5%
FINANCIAL RATIOS
Return on average assets 0.75% 1.35%
Return on average equity 8.51% 15.08%
Net interest margin (FTE) 4.64% 4.81%
Total shareholders equity
to assets 8.88% 8.99%
Allowance for loan losses to
loans, net of unearned and
loans held for sale 1.25% 1.40%
Allowance for loan losses to
loans, net of unearned 1.32% 1.47%
ENDING BALANCES AS OF September 30
Total assets $1,693,318 $1,586,177 107,141 6.8%
Earning assets 1,594,878 1,452,739 142,139 9.8%
Loans, net of unearned & loans
held for sale 1,355,106 1,137,837 217,269 19.1%
Loans held for sale 70,161 58,277 11,884 20.4%
Allowance for loan losses 16,957 15,897 1,060 6.7%
Investments and federal
funds sold 239,772 311,350 (71,578) -23.0%
Deposits 1,309,691 1,291,392 18,299 1.4%
Shareholders' equity 150,328 142,596 7,732 5.4%
Intangible Assets 4,387 4,624 (237) -5.1%
AVERAGE BALANCES FOR THE QUARTER
Total assets $1,688,161 $1,570,332 117,829 7.5%
Earning assets 1,595,880 1,460,415 135,465 9.3%
Loans, net of unearned 1,265,431 1,067,770 197,661 18.5%
Allowance for loan losses 16,788 15,950 838 5.3%
Investments and federal
funds sold 256,057 331,530 (75,473) -22.8%
Deposits 1,325,139 1,286,387 38,752 3.0%
Shareholders' equity 147,761 140,833 6,928 4.9%
NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30
Net income $13,566 $18,058 (4,492) -24.9%
Net income (excluding after
merger expenses) $15,590 $19,844 (4,254) -21.4%
Net income per share diluted $ 0.48 $ 0.65 (0.17) -26.2%
Net income (excluding after
merger expenses) $ 0.56 $ 0.71 (0.15) -21.1%
Return on average assets 1.08% 1.60%
Return on average equity 11.97% 17.75%
Net interest margin (FTE) 4.56% 4.71%
SOURCE Premier Bancshares, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.premierbancshares.com
CONTACT:
Darrell D. Pittard, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, 404-814-3090, or Michael E. Ricketson,
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,
770-476-3209, both of Premier Bancshares, Inc.
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