The Southern Banc Company, Inc. Announces Preliminary Fourth Quarter Earnings

GADSDEN, Ala., Sept. 13, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gates Little, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Southern Banc Company, Inc. (OTCBB:SRNN), the holding company for The Southern Bank Company, announced preliminary unaudited results (subject to audit adjustments following the year-end audit) of operations for the fourth quarter and year ended June 30, 2017:

• For the three months ended June 30, 2017, the Company reported net loss of approximately $447,000, or $(0.58) per basic and diluted share as compared to a net loss of approximately $1,242,000, or $(1.61) per basic and diluted share, for the three months ended June 30, 2016. 
   
• For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, the Company recorded a net loss of approximately $792,000, or $(1.03) per basic and diluted share, as compared to a net loss of approximately $1,358,000, or $(1.76) per basic and diluted share, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016.
   
• For the three months ended June 30, 2017, net interest income before provision for loan losses increased approximately $188,000, or 24.5% as compared to the same period in 2016. The increase in the net interest income for the three month period was primarily attributable to an increase in interest and fees on loans in the amount of approximately $203,000 offset by a decrease in interest and dividends on securities of approximately $37,000. For the three months ended June 30, 2017, interest paid on deposits and borrowings decreased approximately $20,000 as compared to the same period in 2016.
   
• For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, net interest income before provision for loan losses increased approximately $354,000, or 11.3% as compared to fiscal year 2016.  The increase in the net interest margin for the fiscal year was primarily attributable to an increase in total interest income of approximately $286,000, or 7.3% offset by a decrease in total interest expense of approximately $68,000, or 8.4%. For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017 provision for loan losses decreased approximately $651,000 from $1,859,000 for fiscal year 2016 to $1,208,000 for fiscal year 2017.
   
• For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, non-interest income decreased approximately $137,000, or 50.4% from $273,000 for fiscal year 2016 to $136,000 for fiscal year 2017.  The decrease in non-interest income was primarily attributable to a decrease in net gain on sale of securities of approximately $135,000 and a decrease in customer service fees of approximately $9,000 offset by an increase in miscellaneous income of approximately $7,000.
   
• For the three months ended June 30, 2017 total non-interest expenses decreased approximately $179,000, or 16.7%, as compared to the same three month period in 2016.  The decrease in non-interest expense for the three month period was primarily attributable to decreases in salaries and benefits of approximately $75,000 or 13.5% due to a reduction in bonus accruals, a reduction in professional service expense of approximately $60,000 or 37.3% and a reduction in other operating expenses of approximately $48,000 or 25.7%.
   
• For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2017, total non-interest expenses decreased approximately $58,000, or 1.54%, as compared to fiscal year 2016.  The decrease in non-interest expense for the fiscal year was primarily attributable to decreases in professional services expense of approximately $60,000, or 14.2%, and salary and benefit expenses of approximately $37,000, or 1.8%, offset by an increase in data processing expenses of approximately $33,000 or 7.4%.

The Company’s total assets at June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016 were approximately $97.9 million.  Total stockholders’ equity was approximately $11.9 million, or 12.1% of assets and $13.2 million, or 13.5% of assets at June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

The unaudited financial information for the three and twelve months ended June 30, 2017 has been prepared on the same basis as our audited financial information and includes, in the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary to present the data for such periods.  The Company expects to release its final year end results and its related audited financial statements in October 2017, following completion of the year-end audit. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The Bank has four full service banking offices located in Gadsden, Albertville, Guntersville, and Centre, AL, and one loan production office in Birmingham, AL. The stock of The Southern Banc Company, Inc. is listed on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “SRNN”.

Certain statements in this release contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “target,” “plan,” “project,” “continue,” or the negatives thereof, or other variations thereon or similar terminology, and are made on the basis of management’s plans and current analyses of the Company, its business and the industry as a whole.  These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, competition, interest rate sensitivity and exposure to regulatory and legislative changes.  The above factors, in some cases, have affected, and in the future could affect the Company’s financial performance and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements, even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results expressed or implied therein will not be realized.

(Selected financial data attached)