ECB Bancorp, Inc. Reports 2011 Third Quarter Results

ECB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECBE) ("ECB” or the "Company”) today announced its results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011.

2011 Third Quarter Financial Highlights

For the three months ended September 30, 2011, net income totaled $527,000, a 2.4% decrease from the $540,000 in net income for the three months ended September 30, 2010. After adjusting for $267,000 in preferred stock dividends and the accretion of warrant discount, net income available to common shareholders for the three months ended September 30, 2011 was $260,000 or $0.09 per basic and diluted share, a decrease of 4.8% compared to $273,000 or $0.10 per basic and diluted share for the three months ended September 30, 2010.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, net income was $588,000, a decrease of 70.4% compared to net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2010 of $1,984,000. After adjusting for $797,000 in preferred stock dividends and accretion of warrant discount, net loss available to common shareholders for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 was $209,000 or $0.07 per basic and diluted share, compared to net income available to common shareholders of $1,187,000 or $0.42 per basic and diluted share for the prior nine-month period.

Other Financial Highlights include:

• Consolidated assets decreased 0.9% to $923,695,000 at September 30, 2011 from $932,209,000 at September 30, 2010.
• Loans decreased 9.3% to $521,626,000 at September 30, 2011 compared to $575,003,000 at September 30, 2010.
• Deposits increased 0.8% to $796,609,000 at September 30, 2011 from $790,592,000 at September 30, 2010.
• Net interest income decreased 5.1 % to $6,623,000 for the three months ended September 30, 2011 from $6,977,000 for the same three-month period a year ago. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, net interest income decreased 2.7% to $20,436,000 compared to $21,005,000 for the first nine months of 2010.
• Noninterest income for the three months ended September 30, 2011 was $2,568,000, a decrease of 32.4% compared to $3,800,000 for the same three-month period a year ago. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, noninterest income decreased 21.6% to $6,538,000 compared to $8,334,000 for the same period in 2010. Excluding net gain on sale of securities for the three-month periods ending September 30, 2011 and 2010, noninterest income was $1,570,000, a decrease of 11.3% compared to $1,770,000 in the third quarter of 2010. Excluding net gain on sale of securities for the nine-month period ending September 30, 2011, noninterest income was $4,656,000, a decrease of 4.3% when compared to $4,863,000 for the nine-month period in 2010.

• Provision for loan losses charged to operations for the three months ended September 30, 2011 totaled $1,028,000, a decrease of 19.2% compared to the $1,273,000 provision charged to operations for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 and a decrease of 73.4% compared to the $3,863,000 loan loss provision charged in the same period 2010. For the nine months ended September 30, 2011, provision for loan loss totaled $6,231,000, a reduction of 27.9% compared to $8,643,000 loan loss provision taken in the same nine-month period in 2010.
• During the third quarter of 2011, the Company declared and paid a common stock dividend of $0.07 per share.

A. Dwight Utz, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated: "We have been moving forward with our previously announced private placement to have six institutional investors purchase $79.7 million of our stock at $16 per share. This transaction combined with our announcement in third quarter that we had executed a purchase and assumption agreement to acquire six branches from Bank of Hampton Roads located in Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Cary, Plymouth and Roper, North Carolina, positions the Bank to move into 2012 with good momentum and a strong capital base.”

Thomas M. Crowder, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer stated: "Although we are still seeing slight net interest margin compression, we feel that the fourth quarter should see stabilization in our net interest margin and we look to continue to lower our cost of funds through year end to assist in this result.”

Mr. Utz concluded: "The third quarter saw ECB Bancorp continue to position itself for future expansion and we are looking forward to 2012 and continued execution of our multi-pronged growth strategy that the anticipated enhancement to our capital position will help us to accomplish.”

About ECB Bancorp, Inc.

ECB Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company, headquartered in Engelhard, North Carolina, whose wholly-owned subsidiary, The East Carolina Bank, is a state-chartered, independent community bank insured by the FDIC. The Bank provides a full range of financial services through its 25 offices covering eastern North Carolina from Currituck to Ocean Isle Beach and Greenville to Hatteras. The Bank also provides mortgages, insurance services through the Bank’s licensed agents, and investment and brokerage services offered through a third-party broker-dealer. The Company’s common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "ECBE”. More information can be obtained by visiting ECB’s web site at www.myecb.com.

"Safe Harbor Statement” Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements in this Press Release relating to plans, strategies, economic performance and trends, projections of results of specific activities or investments, expectations or beliefs about future events or results, and other statements that are not descriptions of historical facts, may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking information is inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, which include, but are not limited to, risk factors discussed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Forward-looking statements may be identified by terms such as "may”, "will”, "should”, "could”, "expects”, "plans”, "intends”, "anticipates”, "feels”, "believes”, "estimates”, "predicts”, "forecasts”, "potential” or "continue”, or similar terms or the negative of these terms, or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of the Company’s management about future events. Factors that could influence the accuracy of such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the necessary approvals required for the private placement and branch purchase may not be obtained or may not be obtained on the terms expected or on the schedule that we anticipate, and other closing conditions for such transactions may not be satisfied; pressures on the Company’s earnings, capital and liquidity resulting from current and future conditions in the credit and equity markets; the financial success or changing strategies of the Company’s customers; actions of government regulators or changes in laws, regulations or accounting standards that adversely affect our business; changes in the interest rate environment and the level of market interest rates that reduce our net interest margins and/or the values of loans we make and securities we hold; weather and similar conditions, particularly the effect of hurricanes on the Company’s banking and operations facilities and on the Company’s customers and the communities in which it does business; continued or unexpected increases in credit losses in the Company’s loan portfolio; continued adverse conditions in general economic conditions and real estate values in our banking market (particularly as those conditions affect its loan portfolio, the abilities of its borrowers to repay their loans, and the values of loan collateral); and other developments or changes in the Company’s business that it does not expect. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements in this paragraph. The Company has no obligation, and does not intend, to update these forward-looking statements.