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First Northern Community Bancorp - Third
Quarter 2003 Earnings Report
Assets, Deposits and Loans Continue Strong Growth Momentum
First Northern Community Bancorp (FNRN), holding company for First
Northern Bank, today announced record earnings of $4.74 million for
the nine months ending September 30, 2003, an increase of 12.3% from
the $4.22 million earned in that same fiscal period last year. Diluted
earning per share for the nine months ending September 30, 2003 of
$1.35 was up 16.4% from the $1.16 reported in 2002 (the 2002 figure
was adjusted for the stock dividend issued in 2003). Annualized Return
on Average Assets for the period ending September 30, 2003 was 1.24%,
compared to 1.26% for the same period in 2002. Annualized Return on
Beginning Core Equity was 15.77%, compared to 14.29% one year ago.
Total assets at September 30, 2003 were $533.8 million, an increase of
$60.4 million, or 12.8%, over the third quarter of 2002. Total
deposits at September 30, 2003 were $475.4 million, up $52.7 million
or 12.47% compared to September 30, 2002 figures. During the same
period, total net loans increased $27.2 million, or 8.23%, to $357.5
million.
Net income for the quarter ending September 30, 2003 was $1.58
million, up 1.3% from the $1.56 million earned in the same period in
2002. Diluted earning per share for the quarter was $0.45, which was
up 2.3%, compared to the $0.44 per share earned a year ago (the 2002
per share earnings was adjusted for a stock dividend issued in 2003).
Owen “John” Onsum, President and Chief Executive Officer stated,
“During the third quarter, we sold many of our lower interest rate
mortgage loans on the secondary market as a precautionary measure to
mitigate the potential loss of future earnings that would result with
the eventual rise of interest rates.
These mortgage loan sales moderated our loan portfolio increases, and
in addition, impacted our third quarter earnings growth due to
interest rate fluctuations during the quarter. We have been diligent
in managing our mortgage loan warehousing; the low interest rate
environment experienced over the past two years greatly stimulated
mortgage refinances, as well as new home purchases which created an
enormous volume of mortgage loans for the Bank. The incredible volume
provided many challenges in managing the warehousing process, however,
we believe we have come through it in good shape.”
First Northern Community Bancorp’s stock is listed on the OTC Bulletin
Board under the symbol FNRN. As of September 30th, the stock was
trading at $24.50 per share or 1.91 times its core book value.
First Northern Bank, established in 1910, is a locally owned,
community based bank with ten branch offices strategically located to
serve businesses and individuals in the communities of Dixon, Davis,
Fairfield, Suisun City, Vacaville, West Sacramento, Sacramento,
Winters, and Woodland. The Bank has Real Estate Loan Offices in Davis,
Woodland, Vacaville, Roseville and El Dorado Hills, and an SBA Loan
Department and Asset Management & Trust Department in Sacramento.
First Northern offers a wide range of SBA, real estate, commercial,
agricultural and consumer loans, as well as a full array of non-FDIC
insured investment and brokerage products and services. The Bank can
be found on the Web at
www.thatsmybank.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may include certain "forward-looking statements"
about First Northern Community Bancorp (the "Company"). These
forward-looking statements are based on management's current
expectations and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and
changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from
these expectations due to changes in global political, economic,
business, competitive, market and regulatory factors. More detailed
information about these risk factors is contained in the Company's
most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, each as it may be amended from time to
time, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those contained in the
forward-looking statements. The financial information contained in
this release should be read in conjunction with the consolidated
financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company's most
recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances arising after the date on which they are made.
For further information regarding the Company, please read the
Company's reports filed with the SEC and available at
www.sec.gov.
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