BLUEFIELD, Va. - First Community (NASDAQ:FCCO) Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) disclosed its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The company announced a net income of $12.69 million, or $0.71 per diluted common share, representing a 29.26% increase from the same quarter in the previous year. For the first half of 2024, net income reached $25.53 million, or $1.42 per diluted common share, an 18.22% rise from the same period in 2023.
The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.31 per common share, scheduled for payment on or about August 23, 2024, to shareholders of record as of August 9, 2024. This continues a 39-year tradition of regular dividends.
Key financial highlights for the quarter include a significant reduction in the provision for credit losses, which decreased by $3.96 million, or 96.49%, from the comparable quarter of the previous year. The decrease was primarily due to a smaller required provision as the loan portfolio saw a decline of $147.81 million from the same period in 2023. Moreover, the company reported a recovery of provision for the allowance for unfunded commitments of $305 thousand for the current quarter.
However, net interest income saw a decrease of $950 thousand compared to the same quarter in 2023, largely due to higher rates paid on interest-bearing deposits. Despite this, the net interest margin improved slightly to 4.51%, up from 4.48% in the same quarter of the previous year.
Noninterest income saw an increase of approximately $557 thousand, or 6.34%, compared to the same quarter of 2023. Noninterest expense rose modestly by $226 thousand, or 0.92%. Included in this quarter's noninterest expense was a one-time charge of $1.80 million related to the settlement of a putative class action lawsuit.
Annualized return on average assets (ROA) was 1.58% for the second quarter and 1.59% for the first half of 2024, while annualized return on average common equity (ROE) stood at 10.02% and 10.10% for the respective periods. Both metrics showed improvement over the same periods in 2023.
On the balance sheet, consolidated assets totaled $3.23 billion as of June 30, 2024. The company also repurchased 155,044 common shares during the second quarter at a total cost of $5.28 million.
Asset quality indicators showed that non-performing loans to total loans increased to 0.80% compared with the same quarter of the previous year. The company experienced net charge-offs for the second quarter of 2024 of $1.03 million.
The book value per share as of June 30, 2024, was $27.85, marking an increase from the end of 2023.
This financial update is based on a press release statement from First Community Bankshares, Inc.
In other recent news, First Community Bankshares, Inc. released its unaudited financial results for Q1 2024, displaying a notable rise in net income to $12.85 million, a 9.02% increase from the previous year. This growth is attributed to an uptick in net interest income and a decrease in the provision for credit losses. The bank also maintained its 39-year streak of regular dividends, declaring a quarterly cash dividend of $0.29 per common share.
The firm experienced an increase in net interest margin to 4.47%, up from 4.35% in the same quarter of 2023, largely driven by increased earnings on loans. The acquisition of Surrey Bancorp in 2023 added approximately $239.08 million in loans to the company's portfolio, contributing to this rise. Noninterest income also saw a rise of 7.88%, primarily due to increased interchange income.
Still, noninterest expenses rose by 12.36% mainly due to increased salaries, service fees, and other operating expenses associated with the addition of Surrey branches and staff. The company's balance sheet showed a decrease in securities available for sale by 40.83%, largely due to the maturity of U.S. Treasury Notes. These are the recent developments in the company's financial performance.
InvestingPro Insights
First Community Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FCBC) has shown a robust financial performance in the second quarter of 2024, as evidenced by their recently disclosed earnings. To provide a deeper understanding of the company's health and future prospects, let's delve into some key metrics and insights from InvestingPro.
InvestingPro Data for FCBC reveals a market capitalization of $804.99 million, which underscores the company's solid position in the market. The Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio stands at 16.58, indicating how much investors are willing to pay for a dollar of earnings, and it has slightly improved when adjusted for the last twelve months as of Q1 2024, coming in at 15.18. This improvement suggests a positive market sentiment regarding the company's earnings potential. The company's revenue growth has been healthy, with a 9.27% increase over the last twelve months as of Q1 2024.
An InvestingPro Tip that stands out is FCBC's consistent dividend payments, which have been maintained for 31 consecutive years. This track record of dividend reliability is further strengthened by the company raising its dividend for 4 consecutive years, demonstrating a commitment to shareholder returns even as it navigates through various market conditions.
Moreover, the company's share price is trading near its 52-week high, reflecting strong investor confidence. This is supported by a notable price total return of 26.55% over the last month and an even more impressive 29.33% over the last three months. Such returns are indicative of the company's strong market performance and can be a signal to potential investors about the stock's momentum.
For readers interested in further insights and tips, InvestingPro offers additional analysis on First Community Bankshares, Inc. which can be found at https://www.investing.com/pro/FCBC. There are several more InvestingPro Tips available, providing a comprehensive look at the company's financials and market performance. Use the coupon code PRONEWS24 to get up to 10% off a yearly Pro and a yearly or biyearly Pro+ subscription, and explore the wealth of information that can help in making informed investment decisions.
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