PRESS
RELEASE
October 30, 2002
Contact
James F. Arneson
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
(360) 459-1100
(360) 459-0137 (fax)
First
Community Financial Group Reports 30% Increase in Third
Quarter 2002 Earnings
Lacey,
Wash., October 30 -- First Community Financial Group, Inc.
(“FCFG” or “the Company”), parent company of First
Community Bank of Washington (www.fcbonline.com)
today announced earnings for the quarter ended September 30,
2002 of $1,649,000. This is an increase of $381,000, or 30%
over the quarter ended September 30, 2001. Earnings per
diluted share amounted to $0.73 for the quarter ended
September 30, 2002, up 28% from the $0.57 reported in the
third quarter of 2001.
Earnings
for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 increased
$1,308,000, or 39% over the first three quarters of 2001 to
total $4,639,000.The resulting earnings per diluted share of
$2.09 are 39% higher than the $1.50 earned in the first three
quarters of 2001.Return on average equity increased to 15.35%
for the nine-month period, compared to 12.32% for the
comparable period in 2001. Similarly, return on average assets
increased to 1.64% for the period, compared to 1.34% for the
nine-month period in 2001.
Total
assets climbed to $394,370,000 at September 30, 22002, an
increase of $29,747,000, or 8% over the December 31, 2001
balance of $364,623,000.Total loans increased $14,378,000, or
5% during the first three quarters, finishing the period at
$303,079,000. Deposits also increased 3%, or
$8,357,000 during the first nine months to $322,087,000.
Net
interest income for the third quarter of 2002 increased 6%, or
$307,000 over the third quarter of 2001.This increase reflects
the continued impact from a decrease in interest rates, which
had a more pronounced effect on interest-bearing liabilities
than on interest earning assets. The Company’s small loan
product also had an impact on the growth in net interest
income. Small loans contributed $1,304,000 to net
interest income in the third quarter of 2002, an increase of
$141,000 from the $1,163,000 contribution in the quarter ended
September 30, 2001.
Interest
income for the three months ended September 30, 2002 decreased
$641,000, or 8%, from the same period of the prior year. Interest
expense for the same period decreased $948,000, or 37%.
Non-interest
income for the quarter ended September 30, 2002 was
$2,040,000, an increase of $439,000, or 27% over the same
period in 2001, while non-interest expense for the third
quarter of 2002 increased by only $3,000 to $4,664,000.
The
Company’s capital position also continues to grow stronger,
increasing $3,685,000 to $42,480,000 during the first three
quarters of 2002 after payment of dividends totaling $0.30 per
share, or $659,000. Additionally, the Company issued $13
million in pooled trust preferred securities early in the
third quarter.
First
Community Financial Group, Inc., through its wholly owned
subsidiary, First Community Bank of Washington, has 21 offices
in four western Washington counties and offers a full spectrum
of financial services including commercial, construction,
residential and consumer lending, deposit products and other
banking services. The bank provides a broad range of
investment services through its subsidiary FCB Financial
Services, Inc. Further information about the bank may be found
on the Internet at www.fcbonline.com.
Note
Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release may contain statements that are not
historical in nature, including the discussions of the
adequacy of the Company's capital resources and allowance for
credit losses, are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995 (“PLSRA”). Forward-looking statements are
subject to the risks and uncertainties that may cause actual
future results to differ materially. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date of this news
release. FCFG does not undertake any obligation to
publicly release any revisions to forward-looking statements
contained in this release, with respect to events or
circumstances after the date of this release, or to reflect
the occurrence of unanticipated events. Such risks and
uncertainties with respect to the Company include those
related to the economic environment, particularly in the
region in which the Company operates, competitive products and
pricing, fiscal and monetary policies of the federal
government, changes in government regulations affecting
financial institutions, including regulatory fees and capital
requirements, changes in prevailing interest rates,
acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses,
credit risk management and asset/liability management, the
financial and securities markets, and the availability of and
costs associated with sources of liquidity.
Condensed
Statements of Condition
Condensed
Statements of Operations
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